Crunchyroll has joined the growing list of entertainment giants that no longer allow users to share opinions directly on their platform.
On July 8, numerous Crunchyroll users reported being unable to comment or view previously written comments in both the episode and news article sections of the platform.
After contacting support, many users shared screenshots of their conversations, revealing that Crunchyroll had decided to disable and remove previous comments “to maintain a safe, respectful, and high-quality environment” for their community.
In Crunchyroll’s FAQ section, they address the question “Why is Crunchyroll Disabling Comments?” with the following statement:
“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 ratings system will, however, remain, allowing you to express your opinions through star ratings.”
Also Read: Crunchyroll’s Journey: From Pirate Site to Anime Streaming Giant
Why Did Crunchyroll Remove the Ability to Comment?
While Crunchyroll cites maintaining a safe and respectful environment as the official reason, two major factors appear to have influenced this decision:
Criticism of a Recently Released BL Anime: Crunchyroll recently added the Boys Love anime “Twilight Out of Focus” to their Summer 2024 lineup. However, the comments on the episodes were largely negative.
Many viewers criticized the inclusion of BL content in their feed and demanded an option to opt out of these genres. Some users even encouraged others to rate the anime poorly to make it the lowest-rated show on Crunchyroll.
This incident quickly gained attention on social media platforms. The Anime Basement, a popular anime YouTuber, shared screenshots of the negative comments on X (formerly Twitter), further amplifying the controversy.
Lot of deeply pathetic people review-bombing the new BL anime “Twilight out of Focus,” claiming “this isn’t about homophobia” from their profiles with single-digit review counts.
— Geoff Thew (@G0ffThew) July 6, 2024
They’re really going out of their way to claim crunchyroll is “shoving it in their face” pic.twitter.com/xqFup8ZwSZ
Accusations of AI-Generated Subtitles: On Crunchyroll’s subreddit, users reported issues with subtitles for the anime “My Deer Friend Nokotan.” One user claimed that the German subtitles appeared to be of poor quality and potentially AI-generated.
Another user commented that the French subtitles were similarly subpar, fueling speculation about Crunchyroll’s localization practices.
These two incidents, occurring in close succession, likely contributed to Crunchyroll’s decision to remove the comment section entirely, opting for a more controlled user experience moving forward.
