Who Is Winning The Anime Streaming War?
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There is a war raging in North America right now. A war for supremacy in the rapidly-expanding anime streaming space. There are a lot of players in this war, but two stand out as having anime at the forefront of what they offer. Those streaming platforms are Crunchyroll and HIDIVE.
So what is the better choice for the average consumer? Is it one of those platforms, or does another stand out as being particularly strong? Comparing them makes things a little complicated.
Crunchyroll vs. HIDIVE
Crunchyroll and HIDIVE are the two biggest streaming platforms that primarily focus on anime in North America. Yet, if you ask your average anime fan, most of them will likely say that Crunchyroll is the current king of the industry. Crunchyroll has over 50 million downloads on the Google Play store versus just over a million for HIDIVE.
There are a couple of reasons why Crunchyroll is at the forefront over anything else in the anime scene. The first is that it just simply has the seniority advantage. Crunchyroll began way back in 2006 as the go-to site for the English-speaking world to watch Japanese content. HIDIVE only began in 2017. Crunchyroll also casts a much wider net for a wider appeal. There are thousands of anime titles on it, whereas HIDIVE has just around 500.
Granted, this is at least somewhat intentional on HIDIVE’s part. They market themselves as a platform for premium anime content, something like the HBO of anime where they want their reputation to drive people to the platform. Does their content give them a proper reputation to send fans flocking to the app? That’s debatable. But they also undercut Crunchyroll’s prices by a decent amount.
HIDIVE’s $4.99 a month versus Crunchyroll’s minimum $7.99 a month certainly gives HIDIVE an edge. Anyone who wants some quality anime content without needing access to every popular show out there at the moment may be tempted to go with them just purely off the price point.
Other Contenders
Almost every other major streaming service in North America has some amount of anime content they call their own. However, the vast majority of that is simply licensed material that can usually also be found on Crunchyroll. Netflix and Disney+ are the two other major players currently producing first-party anime content.
Netflix has shows like Seven Deadly Sins and Devilman Crybaby which boast uniqueness and cult followings. They also have multiple successful live-action manga adaptations like Alice in Borderland and Fullmetal Alchemist. Meanwhile, Disney+ has its first show officially bringing its massive sci-fi franchise into the world of Japanese animation with Star Wars Visions. Plus, it’s building a larger library of original content with shows like Summer Time Rendering and The Tatami Time Machine Blues.
All of these different platforms offering high-quality anime content can make it tough for fans out there. Crunchyroll may be winning in terms of sheer numbers, but the tides may be shifting as competition heats up. Disney is certainly a fierce competitor to be stepping into this competition. Where this war goes next will largely come down to who puts out the best material over the coming years.
What platform do you prefer? Let us know in the comments.