Sony-Owned Crunchyroll Is Now Kneecapping Physical Anime Sales

If you watch anime regularly, you are certainly aware of Crunchyroll, a subscription streaming service owned by Sony that delivers many new and classic anime series to audiences across the globe. It's the biggest name in that space, regularly beating out Netflix and Amazon for rights to stream the medium's biggest hits. It's also got an online store where you can buy your favorite anime on physical media--which many devoted fans do, since streaming rights to shows can and do frequently expire. However, in a move that has familiar echoes to Sony's decision to end production of PlayStation game discs, the Crunchyroll store is being severely scaled back--and fans of anime on disc are very unhappy.

Some background: In 2023, Crunchyroll purchased The Right Stuf International, an Iowa-based online retailer of anime DVDs, Blu-rays, manga, and merchandise, to bolster their sales and merchandising presence. Right Stuf was folded into the Crunchyroll store, where it continued to be a source of physical anime media, offering discs of not just Crunchyroll-licensed anime but also shows and films from a wide variety of licensors.

Unfortunately, it seems that the time of the Crunchyroll store being a massive anime retail store with a broad selection open to all is coming to a close. According to a recent statement and FAQ posted online, the store will be dropping much of its current stock and transitioning to "a brand-new shopping experience that will be available exclusively for Mega and Ultimate Fans (subscription tiers)." Instead of physical discs, the Crunchyroll store will focus on "collectibles, curated drops, and limited-release products inspired by the anime series you love."

Reactions online to the announcement have been swift and angry, with longtime customers going back to the Right Stuf days particularly upset. Besides culling their product offerings and limiting the store to higher-paid subscription tiers, many have pointed out that Crunchyroll has dropped the ball on supporting popular series that Right Stuf initially licensed and distributed after the purchase, leaving physical releases of Gundam and Macross shows in the lurch and mishandling an ongoing Kickstarter to release the classic Dirty Pair anime on Blu-ray. Other fans had noticed that Crunchyroll was already severely cutting down on stocking releases from boutique licensors recently.

The transition leaves many anime fans without their go-to disc shop, and calls into question whether or not Crunchyroll-licensed shows will even see a physical release in the future. Taken with Sony's sudden decision to kill off PlayStation discs by early 2028, it's hard for many fans not to see this as another act of hostility towards the physical medium they love.