Anime has become more than entertainment for its millions of fans worldwide: it is an entire lifestyle that can include cosplay, conventions, fan art, merchandise, and content that spans every platform. Crunchyroll, a joint venture between US and Japanese arms of the Sony Group, has long been a key driver of anime content to global audiences and continues moves to position itself at the center of this trend. Next month, they are kicking off their “Ani-May” celebration that includes new partnerships, product integrations, discounts, content drops, activations and the annual Crunchyroll anime awards show.
“Ani-May is a wonderful month,” said Gita Rebbapragada, Chief Operating Officer for Crunchyroll, in a phone interview earlier this week. “We have things going on every single day. We have a number of really amazing voices from RZA to some really great anime influencers.”
According to an announcement by the company, Ani-May kicks off with Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, which scored big at the box office this past winter, debuting exclusively on Crunchyroll April 30. That will be followed immediately by the theatrical release of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Tears of the Azure Sea on May 1.
Crunchyroll is also announcing a new partnership with Forza Horizon, the popular open world racing game. Forza Horizon 6 launches May 19 on Xbox, with early access beginning May 15 for Premium Edition players. Crunchyroll is offering an exclusive in-game reward for Crunchyroll subscribers available only during Ani- May: a Car Voucher exchangeable for any car available at the Autoshow to help them build their dream garage.
Beyond the partnerships and the content, cross-platform promotion is a big part of the Ani-May festivities. Crunchyroll is hosting weekly watch parties on YouTube, and the company’s first-ever 7-day anime marathon on Twitch in the #special-events category.
Rebbapragada says to expect creator streams, and fan-driven content and anime showing up all over the internet all month long. Brand ambassadors including REI AMI, Big Sean, Noah Lyles, and others will bring Ani-May to life through cosplay, curated Spotify playlists, and behind-the-scenes anime moments.
The tenth annual Crunchyroll Anime Awards, which have been a much discussed event among fans, will air on TikTok (a huge vector of anime fandom) featuring The Weeknd, Winston Duke, RZA, and more. “The awards are meant to be a celebration of fans voices and of the creators,” she said.
On the merchandise front, during Ani-May, Crunchyroll will be offering a limited-time discount on Fan and Mega-Fan memberships, early access to exclusives and savings in the Crunchyroll store, and new product releases including JUJUTSU KAISEN, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, and Solo Levelling soccer jerseys and the JUJUTSU KAISEN exclusive manga cover.
The size and scope of Ani-May and the eagerness of partners to get in on the action suggests the global anime boom that has powered, and been powered by, Crunchyroll’s rise, shows no signs of abating. Rebbapragada says the company has seen robust growth in new global markets and a lot of uptake for the company’s recently launched digital manga service.
“Crunchyroll is just a reflection of what the fans want and how they engage with anime,” she said. “It’s not limited to a show that they watch in their living room. They’re playing games, they’re going to films, they’re wearing it, they’re collecting it, they’re putting it on their shelves. And of course they’re reading the manga, which is the source material. We’re just trying to give fans what they want, and that has led us into offering many, many different things.”
Catering to such an engaged global fanbase can sometimes be a two-edged sword. Rebbapragada knows that the company’s practices are under constant scrutiny from fans who take proprietary interest in both the content and the creative and technical decisions behind delivering it.
For the company, that means balancing the implementation of new technologies like AI translation with respect for intention of the original creators and the sentiment of fans, taking issues of data security extremely seriously, finding new ways to bring in customers after pivoting away from its free ad-supported tier, and constantly listening to feedback from the community. Events like Ani-May, which emphasize the fun, engaging, broad-based nature of the anime community, offer fans a more positive experience of the Crunchyroll brand.
“The fans have a right to hold us to a very high standard,” she said. “They deserve it. The art form deserves it. That’s where their feedback is very important.”
Maintaining that close connection with the fan base is crucial for a company so deeply tied to the anime/manga lifestyle. For Rebbapragada, that connection isn’t just her job; it’s her personal passion.
“I’ve been reading manga since I was very little. So for me, it was like a full circle moment personally [to be able to offer manga on the Crunchyroll platform]. But what’s so cool is to see is that there a lot of connectivity between the anime app and the manga app where you can toggle between the two and also see the art and how it transforms into the series so seamlessly. I think that is a really cool innovation. And I’m proud to see us add more titles to that service. The response to that has been really gratifying.”
With Ani-May, the company is giving anime fans past, present and future new ways to engage with the content they love and more fuel for the global manga/anime explosion.
