Anime Strike, Crunchyroll, and the Users

With this anime season, we’re introduced to a promising contender in Amazon’s Anime Strike. Yes, they did start the season before last but let’s be real here, they didn’t have much in their catalog. This season, they added some very interesting series to their lineup. Not only that, but they also enlisted some sequels to anime that were originally on Crunchyroll and Funimation. I just find it very interesting to see where we are as the user to these different streaming platforms.

Last year the anime community was provided with the greatest news possible. Crunchyroll and Funimation partnering up. Crunchyroll would mainly be providing all the Subbed episodes while Funimation was handling the dubs. As someone who hates to use pirated sites to watch anime, this made things much much easier.  Instead of me paying both subscriptions, I had the ability to pay one encompassing the subs I wasn’t able to watch because it was on a different streaming platform. Then comes VRV. VRV takes it a step further and allows you to pay one subscription and have the benefit to use multiple subscriptions included. Things were great until the fire nation attac- I mean until Amazon came into the equation.

Obviously, no one is making you pay for 3 or 4 different subscriptions to watch anime, but if you’re one to watch anime on a seasonal basis, you do what you have to do. Especially if you need to watch a bunch of anime to write about them. Seems ridiculous to pay $10.95 a month for Amazon Prime and THEN have to pay AN ADDITIONAL $4.99! It wouldn’t be so bad if you could pay a certain amount for a year at a discounted rate. A great example being Crunchyroll. They charge you $60 for a year. This a great deal. You usually would need to pay $6.95 per month. This would add up to you paying around $83 a year. I don’t know about you but, I can do a few things with $23 in my pocket.

Spending more money than you have to is always a problem but the fact that Amazon has a pay wall before you pay the subscription isn’t the only problem. My biggest issue is fan engagement. I can’t help but see a lack of fan engagement while this streaming platform is in the middle of a competition with some of the greatest companies to engage with fans. I may be a tad bit biased since I do some contract work for Crunchyroll, but because of this I know specifically what they’re working for: their fans. Funimation, who at this point makes most of their money off of their DVD and Blueray releases, still makes just as much effort as Crunchyroll proving just as much to offer at their booths and panels. Let’s not forget their weekly DubbleTalk! I am just not convinced that Amazon wants to be a part of the anime community.

I do believe, as a business, Amazon has put many resources into Anime Strike. They’ve made great choices with their selection. Remember, this all started when they decided to grab the rights to Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress. The Winter Anime Season might’ve been a slow start with the only “exclusive series” worth attention being Blue Exorcist (which was also on Crunchyroll). I would love to see some of the efforts they make with licensing be used on other aspects such as fan engagement, finding a better deal for their “Channels” and subscriptions, and FIXING THEIR GODDAMN SUBTITLES! They are AWFUL.

While I do use Anime Strike, it’s mostly begrudgingly. If  I had the choice I would always go with my other options. Unfortunately, I foresee Amazon being a huge issue with other streaming platforms like Crunchyroll and Funimation when it comes to licensing a seasonal anime moving forward. They have money and they know how to use it.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this article. I really wanted to take a moment to share my opinion of Amazon’s Anime Strike. What do you think of Anime Strike? Is it really worth the money? Let me know in the comments below!