Anime brand Crunchyroll is enhancing its lineup. It builds on more than 1,000 titles by adding eight new series that span the adventure-fantasy-historical fiction genres.
These shows are produced with noted publishers, including Kodansha, and animation studios, such as MAPPA.
Joanne Waage, GM of Crunchyroll, a WarnerMedia-Otter Media company, stated: “These stories range from the traditional to the innovative, blending Eastern and Western ideas within the spectrum of anime. We hope this content will not only delight our current fans, but also create a pathway for new fans to fall in love with this amazing art form.”
The new 2020 Crunchyroll originals slate, premiering throughout this year, includes “In/Spectre,” a supernatural romance-mystery now airing, “Tower of God,” based on the eponymous dark fantasy series, and “Onyx Equinox,” in which an Aztec boy saved from death by the gods becomes man’s champion.
Other upcoming originals: “The God of High School,” where friends compete in an epic tourney and reveal a mysterious organization, “Noblesse,” a fantasy that follows a vampire noble woken 820 years later, and “Meiji Gekken: Sword & Gun.” The working title is set in Japan 1870 as a spy, geisha assassin, yakuza guard and former samurai find a place in a new world.
In “FreakAngels,” a dozen 23-year-old psychics must rebuild civilization from the London rubble, while in “High Guardian Spice,” four girls become heroes at High Guardian Academy. Their job is to protect the world from a dangerous threat.
Crunchyroll originals will be available to fans internationally on Crunchyroll. The platform is also accessible via Anime Digital Network (in partnership with Citel) and Anime on Demand video streaming.
Original content is not new to the company, which reaches anime-manga fans in 200+ countries. New anime has also included “The Rising of the Shield Hero” and “A Place Further Than the Universe.”
As of May 2019, Crunchyroll has nearly 50 million registered users, with 2 million paid subscribers.
Crunchyroll is available free with ads, subscribed to ad-free for $6.95/month, or bundled with VRV for $9.99. VRV bundle includes Crunchyroll, Rooster Teeth, Nick, Shudder, Boomerang and Curiosity Stream.