Crunchyroll Has Removed Its Comments Section From Its Platform, but Why?

It's no exaggeration to say that anime fans can be some of the most staunchly opinionated fandoms in pop culture. Folks butt heads over all sorts of opinions, whether they're reacting to the latest episode of the hottest series, arguing over which protagonist would win in a fight, or even proudly flaunting their waifus and husbandos on social media. And there are few better places to express these thoughts than the comments section on Crunchyroll.

The streaming service is home to some of the most popular anime to date including One Piece, Demon Slayer, and My Hero Academia, and it's adding new shows all the time. Not only that, but Crunchyroll is one of the only official streaming services with a comments section. Or at least, it was. As of early July 2024, the comments section has been formally axed from Crunchyroll. Here's what we know about its removal.

The official Support page on Crunchyroll addresses the removal directly.

The statement reads: "At Crunchyroll, we prioritize creating a safe and respectful community environment. To maintain this standard, we are removing all existing user-generated content, including comments, across all our platforms and experiences."

The user star ratings will still be implemented.

Fans and users aren't necessarily satisfied by the explanation, to say nothing of their negative reaction to the removal itself.

On a thread on the r/Crunchyroll subreddit, one person wrote, "I always look forward to reading comments after each episode I watch and see people relating to what I feel while watching any anime."

Another reacted, "I find it absolutely ridiculous that they won't just properly moderate it instead of axing it entirely."

Though Crunchyroll has issued their statement on the matter, fans have other theories. A couple of Redditors posited that comments were removed after one of their latest streaming series was review-bombed due to a perceived "drop in quality" in their English subtitle translations. Others even accused translators of using AI-generated translations for subtitles, leading to awkward English dialogue.

One would think that the removal of any comments section would be celebrated, considering how these sections can often foster online toxicity and cyberbullying. However, most Crunchyroll users have lamented the loss of the comments section. Many viewed it as a gateway to a shared community that celebrates their favorite anime. Some have even contacted Crunchyroll on their public channels to rally for restoring the comments section.

While people can still use other forms of social media to talk about anime, the removal of Crunchyroll's comments section may be doing more harm than good to the anime community.