Anime might be about to get even more popular popular as Crunchyroll is launching its own 24-hour anime channel in the U.S.
The free, ad-supported channel will launch across the U.S. on October 11 and will be available on LG Channels, the Roku Channel, and Vizio WatchFree+. The service will then join Amazon’s Freevee on October 17.
The Crunchyroll channel will feature a launch line-up of older anime shows dubbed in English. This included Horimiya, Ranking of Kings, Moriarty the Patrio, Psycho-Pass, Arifureta, Sugar Apple Fairy Tail, To Your Eternity, and Code Geass.
“[The Crunchyroll channel is] a gateway to the world of anime where we will guide viewers to discover new worlds, new stories and new characters,” said Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini. “Thanks to our distribution partners at launch, millions of fans have easy access to the medium that is taking the world by storm.”
Newer and more premium shows will remain part of Crunchyroll’s subscription and ad-supported streaming services. The free channel is a collaboration between Crunchyroll and Game Show Network (GSN), both of which full under Sony Pictures Entertainment.
“GSN is thrilled by the massive response from our platform partners for this channel, which is a testament to Crunchyroll’s brand and library,” said GSN’s EVP of distribution Tim Carry. “We are grateful to bring this channel to market.”
Although owned by Sony, Crunchyroll is operated independently. Sony bought Crunchyroll back in 2021 and more recently merged it with the anime streaming service Funimation.
IGN’s Crunchyroll review gave it 8/10 and said: “Despite the fact that Crunchyroll is ‘just’ an anime streamer, it is one of the best streaming options. With a massive amount of varied programming, huge catalog, and eclectic genre choices, all wrapped up with seriously affordable pricing this is undoubtedly one of the most well put together services you can get.”
Want to read more about anime? Check out the best anime streaming sites and apps as well as our look at the top 25 anime shows of all time.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
