Crunchyroll

**Crunchyroll** is the leading website for legal streaming of anime, manga, and J-dramas.  Crunchyroll has become so

   huge that it's not only the leading website for legal simulcasts of seasonal anime, but also has a huge blacklog of older anime to watch, does have select anime in both sub and dub in which most of them just have in sub, and even gives large anime YouTubers Crunchyroll referral links, in which Crunchyroll will pay them for every one of their fans that clicks on the link and uses it to sign up for a free trial of Crunchyroll Premium.

## History

Crunchyroll started in 2006 as a for-profit video upload and streaming site that specialized in hosting East Asian video content. Some of the content hosted on Crunchyroll included fansubbed versions of East Asian shows.

In 2008, Crunchyroll secured a capital investment of $4.05 million from the venture capital firm Venrock.[6] The investment drew criticism from anime distributors and licensors Bandai Entertainment and Funimation as the site continued to allow users to upload illegal copies of licensed titles.[7]

However, Crunchyroll eventually began securing legal distribution agreements with companies, including Gonzo, for an increasing number of titles. On January 8, 2009, after announcing a deal with TV Tokyo to host episodes of *Naruto Shippuden*, Crunchyroll stated that it was committed to removing all copyright-infringing material from its site and to hosting only content to which it had legitimate distribution rights.[8]

In 2010, Crunchyroll announced its acquisition of the North American DVD rights to *5 Centimeters Per Second*. This was the first DVD release licensed by Crunchyroll.[9]

On October 30, 2013, Crunchyroll began digitally distributing 12 different manga titles from Kodansha – series such as *Attack on Titan* and *Fairy Tail* were part of the manga that were available initially – through Crunchyroll Manga.[10]

On December 2, 2013, The Chernin Group, former News Corp. president Peter Chernin's holding company, announced that it has acquired a controlling interest in Crunchyroll. A person with knowledge of the transaction said the price for the acquisition was close to $100 million. The Chernin Group said that Crunchyroll management and existing investor TV Tokyo will maintain a "significant" stake in the company.[11][12]

On April 22, 2014, AT&T and The Chernin Group announced the formation of a joint venture to acquire, invest in and launch over-the-top (OTT) video services. Both companies committed over $500 million in funding to the venture.[13] The new company was named Otter Media and became the majority owner of Crunchyroll.[14] On August 3, 2015, *Variety*reported that Otter Media will unveil Ellation, a new umbrella company for its subscription-based video services including Crunchyroll.[15] Ellation's services included VRV, which debuted in 2016, a platform described as targeting "geeks, gamers and lovers of comedy, fantasy and technology."[16]

On October 22, 2015, the Anime News Network reported that Crunchyroll has 700,000 paying subscribers. In addition, the company announced that Crunchyroll and Sumitomo Corporation had created a joint venture to produce and invest in anime productions.[17][18][19][20]

On April 11, 2016, Crunchyroll and Kadokawa Corporation announced the formation of a strategic alliance that gave Crunchyroll exclusive worldwide digital distribution rights (excluding Asia) for Kadokawa anime titles in the upcoming year. It also granted Crunchyroll the right to co-finance Kadokawa anime titles to be produced in the future.[21]

On July 1, 2016, Crunchyroll announced plans to dub and release a number of series on home video.[22]

On September 8, 2016, Crunchyroll announced a partnership with Funimation.[23] Crunchyroll will stream selected Funimation titles, while Funimation will stream selected Crunchyroll titles, as well as their upcoming dubbed content. In addition, Funimation and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment will act as distributors for Crunchyroll's home video catalog.

On February 9, 2017, Crunchyroll announced that it had reached one million paid subscribers.[2][5]

On March 30, 2017, Crunchyroll began to distribute anime through Steam.[24][25]

On November 4, 2017, a group of hackers managed to DNS hijack the official site for almost 6 hours. Users were redirected to a fake lookalike site which prompted users to download a ransomware under the guise of "CrunchyViewer," although no accident has been reported. Crunchyroll has filed an FIR against the hackers.[26]

On January, 2018, Crunchyroll is now fully owned by Otter Media who bought out the remaining shares (20%) from TV Tokyo[27] and other investors.

## Availability

With paid memberships, streaming to select Windows Phone devices (with OS 7.5 or higher), Roku devices, Boxee, Wii U,[28] PlayStation 3,[29] PlayStation 4,[30] PlayStation Vita,[31] Xbox 360[32] and Xbox One[33] consoles, and Vizio, Google and Internet enabled televisions is available.[*citation needed*] In June 2013 the service became available through Apple TV.[34] It is also the last title for WiiWare released in October 2015.

## Anime Awards

### 2016

Voting was held between January 3–10, 2017. The results were announced on January 11, 2017, with the exception of the "Anime of the Year" prize, which was announced on January 28, 2017. More than 1.8 million votes from around the world were submitted.[36][37] In response to complaints about vote rigging, Crunchyroll tweeted "We had very strong anti-cheating methods that gave us results in line with true audience sentiment" and "we had some surprisingly complex ways to fight multiple voting that worked based on multiple tests."[38]

Winners are listed first, highlighted in **boldface**, and indicated with a double dagger ().

2. *Mob Psycho 100*
3. *Erased*
4. *My Hero Academia*
5. *Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress*
6. *Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World*
7. *Kiznaiver*
Also nominated: *Joker Game* and *Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju*
2. Satoru Fujinuma from *Erased*
3. Mob from *Mob Psycho 100*
4. Mumei from *Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress*
2. Yoshikage Kira from *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable*
3. Tomura Shigaraki from *My Hero Academia*
4. Biba from *Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress*
Most popular "Other" choice: Betelgeuse from *Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World*[42]
2. Arataka Reigen from *Mob Psycho 100*
3. Izuku "Deku" Midoriya from *My Hero Academia*
4. Yakumo from *Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū*
2. Ochako Uraraka from *My Hero Academia*
3. Nico Niiyama from *Kiznaiver*
4. Mumei from *Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress*
Most popular "Other" choice: Megumin from *KonoSuba*[42]
2. Deku vs. Kacchan from Ep. 7 of *My Hero Academia*
3. Mumei vs. Kabane from Ep. 2 of *Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress*
4. Altland vs. Moss from Ep. 32 of *Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans*
2. *Mob Psycho 100*
3. *Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress*
4. *Flip Flappers*
Most popular "Other" choice: *Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World*[42]
2. "Kayo's first homecooked meal" from Ep. 9 of *Erased*
3. "Kakeru and Suwa learn to understand each other" from Ep. 4 of *Orange*
4. "Makoto flies over her new home" from Ep. 12 of *Flying Witch*
2. *Kiznaiver*
3. *Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū*
4. *Joker Game*
Most popular "Other" choice: *Orange*[42]
2. Satoru & Kayo from *Erased*
3. Katsuhira and Sonozaki from Kiznaiver
4. Luluco and Nova from *Space Patrol Luluco*
2. *KonoSuba*
3. *Keijo!!!!!!!!*
4. *Space Patrol Luluco*
Most popular "Other" choice: *Nanbaka*[42]
2. *My Hero Academia*
3. *Drifters*
4. *Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress*
2. *Mob Psycho 100*
3. *Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress*
4. *Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū*
Most popular "Other" choice: *Erased*[42]
2. *Mob Psycho 100*
3. *Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress*
4. *Space Patrol Luluco*
Most popular "Other" choice: *Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World*[42]

### 2017

The voting was held from January to early February of 2018 in three separate rounds. The winners were announced on 24th of February, 2018. The awards had a number of changes, including having six nominations for all categories and the addition of new categories. The awards also expanded beyond just anime series, with the categories Best Film and Best Manga awarding the best anime film and manga series of the year 2017.

The awards were presented in a live show hosted by Crunchyroll, by multiple different people of some fame in the western anime community, including many Anime YouTubers.

	+ *Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju* Season 2
	+ *Land of the Lustrous*
	+ *Little Witch Academia*
	+ *March Comes in Like a Lion* Season 2
 Best Girl
 * **Ochako Uraraka from *My Hero Academia***
	+ Atsuko "Akko" Kagari from *Little Witch Academia*
	+ Chise Hatori from *The Ancient Magus' Bride*
	+ Moriko Morioka from *Recovery of an MMO Junkie*
	+ Serval from *Kemono Friends*
	+ Tsuyu Asui from *My Hero Academia*
	+ Fafnir from *Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid*
	+ Izuku "Deku" Midoriya from *My Hero Academia*
	+ Kazuma from *KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on this Wonderful World!*
	+ Rei Kiriyama from *March Comes in Like a Lion*
 Best Manga
 * ***My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness***
	+ *Delicious in Dungeon*
	+ *Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju*
	+ *Golden Kamuy*
	+ *In This Corner of the World*
	+ *My Brother's Husband*
	+ Atsuko "Akko" Kagari from *Little Witch Academia*
	+ Chise Hatori from *The Ancient Magus' Bride*
	+ Gin Minowa from *Yuki Yuna is a Hero*
	+ Kukuri from *Magical Circle Guru Guru*
 Best Villain
 * **Stain from *My Hero Academia***
	+ Bondrewd from *Made in Abyss*
	+ Cartaphilus from *The Ancient Magus' Bride*
	+ Hiro Shishigami from *Inuyashiki*
	+ Tanya Degurechaff from *Saga of Tanya the Evil*
	+ Usagi from *Juni Taisen: Zodiac War*
	+ *Attack on Titan* Season 2
	+ *Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond*
	+ *Fate/Apocrypha*
	+ *Land of the Lustrous*
 Best Drama
 * ***The Ancient Magus' Bride***
	+ *ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept.*
	+ *Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju*
	+ *Made in Abyss*
	+ *March Comes in Like a Lion* Season 2
	+ *Scum's Wish*
	+ *Gamers!*
	+ *KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on this Wonderful World!* Season 2
	+ *Little Witch Academia*
	+ *Mr. Osomatsu* Season 2
 Best Slice of Life
 * ***Girls' Last Tour***
	+ *Interviews with Monster Girls*
	+ *Kemono Friends*
	+ *Recovery of an MMO Junkie*
	+ *Sakura Quest*
	+ *Tsuki ga Kirei*
	+ *All Out!!*
	+ *Case Closed*
	+ *Dragon Ball Super*
	+ *Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans* Season 2
 Best Opening
 * **"Peace Sign (ピースサイン)" by Kenshi Yonezu – *My Hero Academia*Season 2**
	+ "Here" by JUNNA – *The Ancient Magus' Bride*
	+ "Imawa no Shinigami (今際の死神)" by Megumi Hayashibara – *Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju*
	+ "Shadow and Truth" by ONE III NOTES – *ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept.*
	+ "Shinzou wo Sasageyo! (心臓を捧げよう!)" by Linked Horizon – *Attack on Titan* Season 2
	+ "The Other Side of the Wall" by Void\_Chords feat.MARU – *Princess Principal*
	+ "behind" by Karin Isobe, Yuna Yoshino, and Lynn – *Just Because!*
	+ "Hikari, Hikari (ひかり、ひかり)" by Yuuka Aisaka – *Recovery of an MMO Junkie*
	+ "Kafune (カフネ)" by Brian the Sun – *March Comes in Like a Lion* Season 2
	+ "Kirameku Hamabe (煌めく浜辺)" by Yuiko Ohara – *Land of the Lustrous*
 Best Animation
 * ***My Hero Academia* Season 2**
	+ *A Silent Voice*
	+ *Land of the Lustrous*
	+ *Little Witch Academia*
	+ *March Comes in Like a Lion* Season 2
	+ *Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid*
	+ *ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept.*
	+ *Land of the Lustrous*
	+ *Little Witch Academia*
	+ *Re:Creators*
 Best Film
 * ***Your Name***
	+ *A Silent Voice*
	+ *Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel I. presage flower*
	+ *Girls und Panzer der Film*
	+ *In This Corner of the World*
	+ *Kizumonogatari III: Reiketsu-hen*
	+ *Attack on Titan* Season 2
	+ *Inuyashiki*
	+ *Kado: The Right Answer*
	+ *Knight's & Magic*
	+ *Re:Creators*