Crunchyroll is back in the Manga app game

During the press conference held by Sony Group Corporation at CES 2025 in Las Vegas yesterday, the company announced A series of PlayStation video game adaptations are in production. Sony-owned Crunchyroll also announced a new side step with its aptly titled manga service Crunchyroll Manga. This manga app, scheduled to be released this year, aspires to be the number one destination for anime fans to read their favorite series.

Although Crunchyroll has not yet revealed when fans should expect Crunchyroll Manga to be released, the company has revealed that the standalone app will be a “new premium option for Crunchyroll members.” Furthermore, Crunchyroll has plans in the works to release the app on iOS and Android with future plans for web browser integration.

“Crunchyroll Manga will be the first online manga app to carry catalogs from popular publishers, offering fans unparalleled access to the fantasy works that inspire the anime we love,” Rahul Borini, president of Crunchyroll, said in a press release. “As we strengthen partnerships in this exciting new project, we aim to add even more value to Crunchyroll memberships, complementing our extensive anime library, Crunchyroll Game Vault, and wide range of products in the Crunchyroll Store.”

He continued: “Research shows that nearly 70% of anime fans read digital manga at least once a month, which highlights the huge demand for this medium. Not only will Crunchyroll Manga meet this growing interest, but it will also promote the ongoing global popularity of anime and manga alike.

Manga fans, this happens! 🧡 Crunchyroll Manga will launch in 2025! This application is just the beginning of a new chapter. What manga would you like to see featured?

📖More: https://t.co/BepYbR7ddc pic.twitter.com/zWumVS3Pko

— Crunchyroll (@Crunchyroll) January 7, 2025

Another “new” manga app with a lot of questions

As Borini notes, the reaction of fans who pick up the manga after the anime’s season finale (or while watching the anime adaptation) is a long-standing tradition. In fact, whenever a new seasonal anime comes out, social media managers at manga companies like Viz Media and Yen Press are quick to remind people to download their apps or visit their storefronts to pick up the anime where they left off while they wait for new seasons to come out. Premiere.

Reading manga via apps like Viz Manga, Shonen Jump App, and Manga Plus allows people to keep up with current and older manga series at affordable monthly subscription prices of $1.99, $2.99, and $1.99 ($4.99 for the Deluxe plan), respectively. For clarity, Crunchyroll Premium membership prices are as follows:

• Like ($7.99/month):
• Mega Fan ($11.99/month)
• Ultimate Fan ($15.99/month)

While Crunchyroll dipping into the manga app service makes a lot of sense given that it currently boasts the largest anime catalog – thanks in large part to… Its merger with Funimation– This isn’t technically the first time the streamer has offered subscribers an add-on for reading manga. In fact, before the streamer did a major overhaul of the website last year, Crunchyroll used to offer a web manga reading add-on for premium members where they could read chapters of Kodansha series like Attack on Titan connected. Unfortunately, the service appears to be shutting down in 2023.

In customer service’s response to the user about what happened to the much-forgotten service on r/crunchyroll subreddit, A Crunchyroll representative reportedly told them, “As part of Crunchyroll’s commitment to providing fans with the best experiences possible, we will be retiring the Crunchyroll manga app on December 11, 2023 (even though) it has already been removed from Google Play.”

io9 has reached out to Crunchyroll for comment on whether Crunchyroll Manga is a soft reboot of its old service, what membership levels it will be associated with, and whether it will have separate pricing options for users who don’t want to have it as a premium add-on. We’ll update if we hear back.

Crunchyroll’s changes for 2024 show no sign of slowing down

Anime fans seem to be a bit apprehensive about Crunchyroll Manga. Reaction on social media has described the service as a revisionist relaunch, lamented that it is only launching in English in the US and Canada with loose plans for later expansion, and supported physical media over digital licensing.

Others noted how the previous service only offered Kodansha manga, raising questions about how Crunchyroll Manga will deliver on its promise of “making it easier than ever to read new and beloved titles from many of the top publishers in one place.” Place,” when its potential competitors and former partners like Kodansha offer their own manga reading services like K Manga.

As a manga, like Square Enix manga arrivesuse the ticket payment service which is basically Inspires reading manga like a live service video game. There’s a chance Sony’s next merger with Kadokawa—More monopoly on the anime industry– It will cause the Crunchyroll Manga series catalog to be filled with manga from the publisher e.g Delicious in the dungeon.

This all comes after the backlash resulting from fans discovering that Crunchyroll’s Funimation merger meant they could They can no longer access the manga they purchased digitally On the sunset anime streamer. Crunchyroll has also started making some changes to the user experience, including Removed its comments section From anime episodes and allow users to do so Multiple profiles at the expense of.

While the above changes are largely innocuous in terms of how they’ll be integrated into the way other streaming devices work, Crunchyroll’s announcement in late 2024 that it will Paywall one piece Episodes To premium subscription levels, making fans feel like going to the high seas to pirate popular anime instead of being willing to collect more disposable income to watch long-running anime. Crunchyroll Manga may be the deal-breaker for fans hesitant to upgrade to Crunchyroll’s premium membership.

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