Three years have passed since Sony acquired Crunchyroll for a hefty sum of over $1 billion. Now, it seems that the tech giant is ready to shake things up and make some changes that are not sitting well with anime enthusiasts. One Piece fans, in particular, are in for a disappointment, as Sony gears up to gatekeep the beloved series behind a paywall, much to the dismay of free users.
The move by Sony to lock out free users of Crunchyroll from accessing anything beyond the first 206 episodes of One Piece has sparked outrage and generated a couple of pirate-themed jokes (Yo ho!). Here’s how the subscription rollout will unfold:
- Starting on December 23, the Water 7 to Fishman Island story arcs will be exclusively available for paid subscribers.
- Fast forward to January 20, and Punk Hazard to Whole Cake Island, along with six special episodes, will join the paywalled content.
- By February 17, Reverie and Wano Kuni to Egghead Island will also require a subscription to access.
Prior to the implementation of Sony’s subscription model, free users could enjoy the full series with ads, as well as some snippets on Hulu and Netflix. However, Hulu’s library only covers episodes up to 384, while Netflix falls short at episode 238. With One Piece boasting over 1,100 episodes, fans are left wondering how they will continue their journey with the Straw Hat Pirates.
In a related development, Sony is making moves to acquire Japanese publisher Kadokawa, known for producing popular anime titles like Overlord and The Rising of the Shield Hero, alongside hit games such as Elden Ring and Dark Souls. This acquisition signals that Sony’s influence in the realm of anime and entertainment could soon extend even further, potentially impacting Western viewership of anime not under Sony’s umbrella.
As the landscape of anime streaming continues to evolve, fans may find themselves in a digital tug-of-war, navigating between different platforms to access their favorite series. Whether this shift will ultimately benefit or hinder the anime community remains to be seen, but for now, the future of streaming anime seems to be sailing towards uncharted waters.
Leave feedback about this