How to Watch Anime on Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll is the largest streaming service dedicated entirely to anime — Japanese animated series and films. It carries thousands of titles, from beloved classics like Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, and One Piece to the newest series airing in Japan right now. Crunchyroll typically releases new episodes within hours of their Japanese broadcast, which is why fans call this "simulcast."

If you have never watched anime before, do not let the large catalog overwhelm you. Crunchyroll's home screen highlights popular and highly rated series, and you can browse by genre — Action, Romance, Comedy, Fantasy, Slice of Life — to find something that matches your interests.

Crunchyroll offers a free tier supported by ads. You can watch many titles for free, though some series are restricted to paying subscribers. Crunchyroll Premium costs around $7.99 per month (Mega Fan plan) and removes all ads, gives you access to the full catalog including the newest simulcast episodes, and allows offline downloads on mobile devices.

To get started, download the Crunchyroll app from the App Store, Google Play, Roku Channel Store, Amazon Appstore for Fire TV, or the Apple TV App Store. You can also watch at crunchyroll.com in any browser.

Create a free account using your email address. You do not need a credit card for the free tier. Once you are signed in, search for a show or browse the featured section.

One important feature to know about: most anime series offer two audio options. "Sub" (subtitled) plays the original Japanese voice acting with English text at the bottom of the screen. "Dub" (dubbed) plays an English-language audio track recorded by American voice actors. Many fans prefer sub for authenticity; dubbed is often easier for beginners or those who do not want to read while watching. Both versions are available for most popular shows — look for the audio selector when you start an episode.

Once you find a series, tap the first episode and start from the beginning. Crunchyroll tracks your progress automatically and will show you where you left off when you return.

Parental controls are available under Account Settings. You can restrict content by maturity rating to keep younger viewers from accessing series rated for adults.