Crunchyroll's Most Serious Anime Competition Can't Stop Shooting Themselves In The Foot
By Published Apr 18, 2026, 9:31 PM EDT Branson is a Senior Writer for ScreenRant. Anime has been a major part of his life since he was able to raise his hands in the air for a Spirit Bomb. As a journalist, Branson focuses heavily on listicles and op-eds detailing the industry's greatest shonen series. Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap
There's no debating status as the king of anime in the West, and frankly, they don't have much in terms of competition. A decade ago, they were the only platform streaming quality anime series, but a lot has changed since then.
Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime, and more not only have their own catalogs of anime, they each have anime series exclusive to their respective platforms, giving fans a legitimate reason to consider subscribing.
Out of all of Crunchyroll's competition, is the closest to taking their crown, and even then, they're far from it. Netflix's recent botched attempt at releasing one of the biggest anime franchises of all time shows that they're still nowhere near Crunchyroll in terms of being a legitimate player in the anime streaming game.
Crunchyroll Is the King of Anime Streaming
Crunchyroll is the current king of anime streaming in the West, full stop. There isn't a streaming service that can compare for a number of reasons. Crunchyroll has some, if not all, of readily available. It also has plenty of the latest and greatest series around, including Jujutsu Kaisen, Solo Leveling, The Apothecary Diaries, and more.
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Jujutsu Kaisen's third season has cemented the series as incredible, and Crunchyroll has just released a new series that might match its energy.
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Crunchyroll has a ton of modern greats, and they also have anime classics like Cowboy Bebop and every season of One Piece. It has a catalog no other streaming service can compare to, and that catalog is only getting bigger and better.
Crunchyroll also does a few things right that most of the other major streaming services don't. The subtitling on Crunchyroll, an essential aspect of watching a series in a foreign language, is superb. It seems like an aspect that should be an industry standard, but when taking a look at the competition, it's clear that Crunchyroll is in a league of its own in this area.
Netflix Has a Ton of Great Exclusives
While Crunchyroll is certainly king, there's no denying Netflix's ambition. Netflix has rights to tons of anime that can only be streamed on their platform, and some of their exclusives are nothing short of top-tier. The Baki franchise, Sakamoto Days, and The Summer Hikaru Died are some of the latest series to be brought to Netflix, and that's just counting a few.
When it comes to , Netflix reigns supreme. Blue Box, The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity, and Love Through a Prism are Netflix's own, and they're series so good that they show Netflix's devotion to the anime game. Out of all of these series, however, there might not be a franchise more sought after than JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure holds a special place in manga and anime canon. Bizarre is a perfect word for this series, as there's no easy way to describe it. It's over the top, exuberantly flamboyant, and exists with a style and panache no other series can truly match.
When Netflix decided to buy the rights to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part Six: Stone Ocean, fans were excited, but wary. Stone Ocean deserved a high budget, but Netflix doesn't have a great track record with major franchises. Unfortunately, Netflix releasing Stone Ocean in batches killed the hype for the series, and it looks like we'll have a new set of problems with Steel Ball Run.
Netflix Butchered JoJo's Bizarre Adventures' Release
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part Seven: Steel Ball Run is widely regarded as a high point in the franchise, and arguably, . Steel Ball Run takes place in a new continuity and stars Johnny Joestar as a fallen horse jockey looking to reclaim his ability to walk through the titular Steel Ball Run.
It's mysterious, adventurous, and glamorous like JoJo's Bizarre Adventure should be. The first episode looks magnificent, and fans couldn't wait to see more after the premiere on March 19. Unfortunately, that was all the Steel Ball Run anybody was going to get for some time.
Most peoples' biggest gripe with Stone Ocean was the fact that it wasn't released weekly but in three batches. Weekly anime creates hype from week to week and allows fans to get together and talk about what they think will be coming up next. Luckily, Netflix heard these complaints and decided to give Steel Ball Run a weekly release schedule, but they created a different issue in the process.
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After conquering fans around the world as Netflix's number 1 anime, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run has bad news about its next episode.
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For whatever reason, Netflix released the first episode of Steel Ball Run in mid-March and went radio silent as to when the next episode would appear. It's a baffling decision that shows how far the streaming giant is from understanding its fan base, and even worse, when they finally did decide to announce episode two's release, they moved it all the way to Fall 2026.
People hated Stone Ocean's release schedule because it killed all the hype for the series, so what did Netflix do? They killed the hype even more. Crunchyroll is the king of anime, and if Netflix keeps butchering the release of major series like JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Crunchyroll has nothing to worry about.
When Will Netflix, a Multi-Billion Dollar Company, Get Out of Its Own Way?
Netflix isn't a mom-and-pop-shop: it's a multi-billion dollar company, so when will it get out of its own way? Nobody is sabotaging it, and it has the funds to buy the rights to some of the biggest anime ever, so what's the excuse?
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Fans have been explicit in their requests, and Netflix still doesn't take them into consideration. Poor release schedules, coupled with , create an environment where anime series don't go to thrive: they go to die.
These days, it seems like there's nothing worse than seeing your favorite anime or manga series get picked up by Netflix. They have more than enough resources to correct these galling issues, and hopefully, they will before we have to wait another six months to see Steel Ball Run's third episode.
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Netflix is a global streaming service offering on-demand access to movies, TV shows, documentaries, and original content. Founded in 1997 as a DVD rental service, it transitioned to streaming in 2007 and now operates in over 190 countries.
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Crunchyroll is a North American-based streaming service owned by Sony that focuses largely on Japanese anime but also covers several East Asian drama series. The service is available in several countries and has a small catalog of self-created and published series, with most of its content licensed with partners overseas.
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