It wouldn’t be wrong to call Crunchyroll the Netflix of anime. Any anime you want to see, your best bet is to go on Crunchyroll.
Not just anime, Crunchyroll has now widened its content library to K-Drama, manga, and anime games. The best part- you can watch dubbed anime on Crunchyroll as well as watch with accurate subtitles.
Even though Crunchyroll now has official licensing for all the shows and manga in its library, people still somehow doubt the legitimacy and safety of using Crunchyroll.
So, we decided to debunk the myths surrounding Crunchyroll and put your mind at ease, so you can watch your favorite anime on Crunchyroll.
Is Crunchyroll Legit?
You want the short answer or the long one; we’ll start with the short one. Yes, Crunchyroll is now completely legit. That ‘NOW’ is the reason we have a long answer to this question.
The start of Crunchyroll wasn’t as legit and secure as it is now. Crunchyroll was a platform with very little moderation.
That meant that although the majority of anime was available, it was mostly pirated content or fan-uploaded material– i.e. Ilegal.
After around 2 years since its inception, Crunchyroll managed to bag a hefty investment from Venrock in 2008.
Then in 2009, for the first time, Crunchyroll legally acquired DVD distribution rights of the popular anime 5 centimeters per second. Next year, Crunchyroll went fully legal. Removing every copyright-infringing content from the platform and legally obtaining anime and manga titles.
Fun Fact: Crunchyroll hosts its very own Anime Awards now. That’s not something an illegal platform would do.
Since then, Crunchyroll has been juggling around with various collaborators, investors, and partners- including the likes of Funimation and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
In August of 2021, Sony bought Crunchyroll, bringing two of the biggest anime platforms-Funimation and Crunchyroll- under one banner.
So, we think it’s fair to say that Crunchyroll is legit.
Is Crunchyroll Safe To Use?
Next up is the safety and security of the platform users.
It’s no secret that Crunchyroll was purely an experiment, otherwise who would think of making money through fan subscriptions in 2006; that too, with pirated content.
However, props to the people behind the scenes for realizing the potential and going legal at the right time.
But, going legal doesn’t necessarily mean being completely safe. That was the problem Crunchyroll faced too. Due to an abundance of fan forums, it was quite difficult to control what was being posted on the website.
Even after 3 years since going legal, there were complaints on the website forums and the official Crunchyroll subreddit about the viruses, malware, and spam of external links.
But, the officials always denied such claims. Even some users backed Crunchyroll, saying they’ve never experienced such things.
Crunchyroll even held a poll on their site, asking users to rate the security of the site. It’s a tiny poll, but it shows that the issue was there at first.
Thankfully, just like they solved the legality issue over time, they managed to overcome this too.
We wouldn’t say the spam is finished but there is next to no malware, spam, or virus in the content library. The fan forums, however, still suffer from plenty of spam and malware links. But we blame the users more than the moderators for this.
Reading several Crunchyroll reviews, fan comments on similar discussions, and keeping in mind our own experience, we are going to give Crunchyroll our seal of approval and say that it is safe to use.
If you have any reservations, you can always install anti-virus software to keep any viruses and malware at bay. We hear McAfee and Norton’s antivirus work extremely well with Crunchyroll.
Is Crunchyroll Safe To Pay?
Crunchyroll has free and paid plans for its users. The content library is pretty much the same however paid users get access to the latest uploads before the free users.
Furthermore, the free users need to bear a lot of ads, A LOT!
So, if you want the best anime streaming experience on Crunchyroll, it’s best to go for the premium plan.
But, there is a problem here too, and unlike the legality and security issues, this one persists even in 2021. You can see this forum discussion where people are talking about the premium plan payment issues.
There are no wrongful charges, it’s just that it’s difficult to renew your package. The restrictions on PayPal didn’t help either. Even users on automatic renewal complained that they received emails of subscription termination.
This in no way means that Crunchyroll is not safe to pay. It’s just that their payment system is glitchy and sometimes you have to try 2 to 3 times to get the job done.
Just another one of those issues that Crunchyroll doesn’t bother fixing because they know fans have no other platform to go to.
Crunchyroll Store? Legit or Not?
As we said earlier, Crunchyroll is continuously evolving. What started as an illegal anime streaming platform is now one of the biggest anime and manga streaming platforms. There is plenty of Crunchyroll-produced anime on there as well. You can also play online games now.
But, it’s the Crunchyroll store that is the talk of the town nowadays. There’s clothing merch, action figures, home accessories, and kitchen products too. Crunchyroll is now fully capitalizing from the anime titles it owns.
The best part- the store is free of any problems users face on the OG platform. It’s totally legit, the product quality is decent, and the prices are fairly reasonable too.
Delivery can take some time depending on your location, but that’s expected for worldwide deliveries.
Is Crunchyroll Safe For Kids?
With the launch of the Crunchyroll mobile app, this became a burning question for every parent.
Kids can now download and install the Crunchyroll app on their gaming consoles, Android and iOS devices, and devices like Chromecast. But, the Crunchyroll mature content library is not something suitable for kids.
SaferKid Rating: The parental help platform has a 12+ age rating for the Crunchyroll app.
Yes, there are plenty of kids’ shows like K-On! on Crunchyroll, but there is also a lot of mature anime on Crunchyroll. This mature content contains nudity, graphic violence, drug use, profane language, and much more. So, parents should keep their kids’ Crunchyroll app in check.
One thing that Crunchyroll can do here is put an age restriction while creating an account. Right now, anyone can make an account on Crunchyroll because they don’t ask for any age verification.
We seriously doubt they are at all interested in doing this, so it once again falls to the parents to make sure they protect their children from the mature content on Crunchyroll.
Another problem is that anime usually have very low age ratings. For instance, Demon Slayer’s age rating is 12+. That’s a show about killing demons with nothing but swords. It’s full of bloody and gory action, sexually provocative costumes, and profane language.
So, parental guidance is necessary to protect children from falling into the deep pit of mature anime content.
Does Crunchyroll Have Viruses & Malware?
No, but we know very well what users are worried about and we are going to address that particular issue here.
Back in 2017, Crunchyroll was attacked by some hackers who wanted nothing else but to transfer the traffic to a different website that looked just like Crunchyroll.
They put malware in the website which would redirect a user to the website through Cloudflare. When a user would reach that fake website, it would start downloading a file named ‘CrunchViewer.exe.’ on your device.
Anyone who had any anti-virus software installed on their PC was fine. However, they had to go through quite a process to get rid of the file.
Crunchyroll was quick to remove this malware and provide a solution to the subscribers on how to get rid of that malware.
Ever since Crunchyroll has vastly improved on its back-end security and hasn’t faced similar problems ever again.
So, to answer the question, there are no viruses or malware on Crunchyroll- apart from the ones that the fans spam in forum comments of course.
Conclusion
We hope this article clears up some confusion surrounding the biggest anime and manga library on the internet. Crunchyroll is one of those platforms that’s been constantly evolving ever since its inception.
Compare the 2021 Crunchyroll to the 2006 Crunchyroll, and the difference is stellar.
We also hope they continue improving the platform so fans can enjoy the best anime, manga, and dramas with seamless streaming.
Feel free to leave comments and queries you have about Crunchyroll and stay tuned for a Crunchyroll Premium review.
FAQs
Is the Crunchyroll mobile app good?
It’s pretty decent for a relatively new launch. Streaming is also fairly high-quality. The UI is similar to the website in terms of color and design. The Crunchyroll mobile app gives access to all the anime and manga titles on the website, which is quite impressive. So, for mobile anime streaming, Crunchyroll mobile app is very good.
Why is Crunchyroll not secure?
Until 2018, Crunchyroll was not a secure site. Whenever you open Crunchyroll on Chrome, it would say ‘Not Secure’ in the left corner of the address bar. However, Crunchyroll has since moved to HTTPS and is now a completely secure website.
If you open Crunchyroll right now, you will see a lock left to the URL and when you click on the lock, it says ‘Crunchyroll is secure’.
Is Hyouka on Crunchyroll?
No, Hyouka is no longer available on Crunchyroll. It was added to the library in August 2018 and removed in November 2018. It caused quite an uproar from the fans but to no effect. Hyouka still has a tab on Crunchyroll, but there are no videos anymore.
After the merger with Sony and the break up with Funimation, Crunchyroll lost a lot of anime and manga title rights and Hyouka was the first one to go.
