Crunchyroll officially launched its dedicated Crunchyroll Manga app on October 9 in the United States and Canada, bringing a vast library of digital manga to iOS and Android devices. A web browser version of the service followed on October 15. The new standalone application aims to expand the ultimate anime lifestyle experience by uniting popular stories from both screen and page, making manga more accessible than ever before.
A New Digital Gateway for Manga Enthusiasts
The Crunchyroll Manga app, powered by Japanese digital manga service developer Link-U Group, offers an ad-free reading experience for hundreds of titles from major publishers. This launch marks a significant step for Crunchyroll, aiming to deepen its connection with fans by providing direct access to the source material behind many beloved anime series.
Extensive Launch Library and Publishers
Upon launch, the app featured a robust catalog, including fan-favorite series such as One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen, My Dress-Up Darling, Delicious in Dungeon, and The Summer Hikaru Died. Initial publishing partners include AlphaPolis, COMPASS, Square Enix, VIZ Media, and Yen Press, with additional partners like Shueisha and J-Novel Club slated to join in the future. This diverse offering spans multiple genres, ensuring a wide array of content for various tastes. Some titles available through the app have never before been published digitally.
Key Features for an Enhanced Reading Experience
Designed to complement the existing Crunchyroll streaming service, the manga app boasts several user-friendly features. Readers can enjoy unlimited, ad-free access, download chapters for offline viewing, and choose between light and dark reading modes. The app also supports full-page spreads and allows users to build personalized reading lists with curated recommendations. A unique integration allows users to seamlessly switch between reading manga and watching its anime adaptation on the Crunchyroll streaming app, and vice-versa.
Subscription Tiers and Accessibility
Access to the Crunchyroll Manga app is integrated into existing Crunchyroll membership plans, with varying costs depending on the tier. Crunchyroll Ultimate Fan subscribers ($15.99/month) receive access to the manga service at no additional cost.
For other tiers, Crunchyroll Manga is available as a premium add-on:
- Crunchyroll Fan + Manga: US$11.99 / CA$15.49 per month (includes a US$4.00 / CA$5.50 manga add-on).
- Crunchyroll Mega Fan + Manga: US$15.49 / CA$17.49 per month (includes a US$3.50 / CA$5.00 manga add-on).
While the service is primarily premium, some chapters may be available for free.
Strategic Vision and Combating Piracy
Crunchyroll’s Chief Content Officer, Asa Suehira, highlighted the app’s role in “expanding the ultimate anime lifestyle experience,” emphasizing the natural synergy between anime and manga. The company has noted that digital manga was the most desired feature among its users in recent surveys.
Beyond enhancing the fan experience, the launch also serves as a strategic move against content piracy. Research indicates that manga constitutes approximately 70% of global publishing piracy. Crunchyroll aims for the new app to be a legitimate solution, contributing to the Japanese publishing ecosystem and offering features to prevent unauthorized sharing, such as screenshot and screen recording blocking. The service also plans to include manga for series exclusively streaming on other platforms, like Delicious in Dungeon and The Summer Hikaru Died (which are exclusively distributed by Netflix), encouraging fans to subscribe to Crunchyroll for the manga source material.
Looking Back and Ahead
This isn’t Crunchyroll’s first venture into digital manga. The company previously offered a Crunchyroll Manga service starting in October 2013, which simulpublished titles from Kodansha USA Publishing but was eventually shut down in December 2023. The new Crunchyroll Manga app, announced at CES 2025, represents a fresh start with an expanded vision and a broader range of publishing partners.
The launch of the Crunchyroll Manga app signals Crunchyroll’s commitment to becoming a comprehensive hub for Japanese pop culture, offering fans a unified platform for both anime and its foundational manga. Initial language support is in English, with plans for additional language options in the future, mirroring the expansion strategy of its streaming service.
