Crunchyroll for Windows

Free anime streaming service

Crunchyroll is a free application that lets you stream anime and drama shows. While Crunchyroll began in 2006 as a forum website, the service rebranded to an official platform that obtains the rights to play licensed anime and drama TV series like Jujutsu Kaisen.

Funimation and VRV are additional streaming services that are dedicated to anime content. Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and Netflix are generic streaming applications that have anime and drama series. Crunchyroll and VRV deliver the most anime titles to watch. TV shows are often refreshed since all the apps add and remove titles from the library lists.

Is Crunchyroll better than Netflix?

Crunchyroll is the optimal platform for anime, while Netflix is ideal for drama series. Netflix delivers drama series from more countries, but Crunchyroll gives you more anime shows with content mainly from Japan. While Crunchyroll has created original anime programs, Netflix has original drama shows.

Is Crunchyroll free now?

Although Crunchyroll is free to use, subscription tiers are available for purchase that give you additional benefits. While offline downloads are not available with the free plan, you can save your videos to watch without Wi-Fi with the paid plans. The paid editions let you stream from multiple devices while the free version does not.

Crunchyroll is updated daily with the newest episodes. While new shows are available to paid members an hour after the airing in Japan, free users will need to wait a week to watch.

Is Crunchyroll legal?

Since Crunchyroll is legal to use, the service receives the official rights to publish content on the platform. While you can view anime, drama, and manga series on Crunchyroll, the program is mainly used for anime. You can find older and newer titles within the streaming service, with older titles in the Crunchyroll library like Cardcaptor Sarkura and the original Naruto.

Is Crunchyroll safe?

Crunchyroll is safe to use, and you will not risk copyright issues with the service. While the free app has advertisements that are played multiple times during a single episode, the membership options give you an ad-free viewing experience.

Easy to use user interface

The simple user interface has tabs along the top of the window. The ‘Home’ tab lets you view your queue and history. You can sign up or log in at the bottom of the window or use the hamburger menu to create an account or sign in. You can upgrade to a premium account in the menu list.

You can access the Crunchyroll store from the menu. Crunchyroll has an online store to buy anime-related merchandise. In addition to the extra features with the paid memberships, some of the paid plans also include an annual Crunchroll swag bag. 

The most recently added shows will be available in the ‘New’ tab. The ‘Anime’ area includes all the anime titles in the library. While Crunchyroll does not include a large list of dramas, you can look through the available titles in the ‘Drama’ area. 

Descriptions and episode numbers will be listed for each show. You can type keywords into the search bar to quickly find content by tapping on the magnifying glass in the right corner. A ‘Sort by’ filter, that is set to ‘Popular’ by default, lets you organize the results.

English subtitles are available to read while you watch. While the audio dubs over the original audio are available, Crunchyroll mainly uses subs to translate. HIDIVE is an anime streaming app that delivers dubbed anime content in case you prefer listening to instead of reading translations.

A popular media for anime animations

Crunchyroll mainly delivers animated shows and comics to users. While the drama series are mostly of real actors and actresses, cartoon dramas are still available. The media that is available on Crunchyroll can fluctuate, and sometimes TV and manga series that were once available become unavailable. Crunchyroll keeps the database up to date for premium users, while free users will need to wait longer for new content.

What’s new?

The developers deliver frequent software updates to add new features to the platform. You can download the cross-platform Crunchyroll app on Android, Apple TV, iOS, Chromecast, Fire TV, PlayStation 3, PS4, Roku, Wii U, and Windows Phone devices.