Crunchyroll Has Found a New Way to Insult Anime Fans

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In recent years, Crunchyroll has become the leading service for watching anime online. However, the platform has also faced several issues, many of which involve its subtitles. From initially suggesting they would try using artificial intelligence to create subtitles faster, to being discovered using ChatGPT to do so, and even overlooking the requirements of viewers who need Closed Captioning or subtitles in certain languages, Crunchyroll has made several errors that have upset many fans.

Over the last year, the quality of subtitles on Crunchyroll has been getting worse, and unfortunately, it’s expected to decline further. A user on Reddit, mudda-hello, recently found out that Crunchyroll has lowered the quality of its subtitles for the Fall 2025 anime season – a move many fans see as particularly disappointing. The platform has largely stopped using typesetting in its subtitles, which makes them harder to read and diminishes the overall viewing experience. It appears the change is simply to cut costs, as better-formatted subtitles are more expensive to produce.

Multiple Controversies Have Surrounded Crunchyroll’s Subtitles Over the Past Two Years

A key factor in Crunchyroll’s success – its transformation from an anime piracy website to a popular streaming service – was the quality of its subtitles. Previously, fans who didn’t speak Japanese had to rely on fan-made subtitles that weren’t always accurate or available in many languages. Crunchyroll changed this by offering precise translations in a wide range of languages, along with subtitles and Closed Captioning that were easy to read and well-formatted. However, over the last two years, Crunchyroll has been experiencing issues in these areas, and fans are increasingly dissatisfied with the service. This decline is a significant concern for many viewers.

In early 2024, Crunchyroll CEO Rahul Purini revealed the company’s plans to integrate A.I. into its operations. “A.I. is definitely something we think about at a lot of different workflows in the organization,” he explained. Currently, their primary focus is on using A.I. to enhance subtitling and closed captioning – specifically, converting spoken dialogue into text. Purini stated, “How do we improve and optimize our processes where we can get the subtitles done in various languages across the world faster so that we can launch as close to the Japanese release as possible?” This area is a key priority for the company.

Reflecting on 2024, Crunchyroll faced criticism again, this time regarding the quality of its English Dubs. Closed Captioning is essential for deaf and hard-of-hearing fans, but an anonymous Crunchyroll employee stated the company didn’t seem to prioritize it. Despite their concerns being voiced, management dismissed them, believing that adding Closed Captioning to all series would create a bad example and was simply “too much work.” The situation was made worse by the fact that many English Dubs from Funimation – before its merger with Crunchyroll – *did* have Closed Captioning, but no longer do, leading to questions about the licensing agreements between the two companies and Crunchyroll’s growing habit of omitting subtitles entirely for some anime in certain languages. When this staff member pointed out that failing to provide subtitles for the Spanish Dub of Onyx Equinox could be a legal issue, they were told, “Only lawyers should worry about legal concerns.”

Crunchyroll is Downgrading the Quality of Their Subtitles’ Typesetting For the Fall 2025 Anime Season

The Fall 2025 anime season is underway, and while the new shows look promising, there are concerns about Crunchyroll. Specifically, the quality of subtitles and typesetting for their streamed anime has been declining. Crunchyroll has been gradually reducing the quality of its typesetting for years, but as highlighted in a recent discussion, the situation has worsened significantly.

It’s been found that most subtitles released across different languages currently lack proper formatting. The subtitles available to fans are very basic and simple. They don’t have the creative visual presentation that Crunchyroll used to be known for, making them difficult to read. In a recent post, mudda-hello points out several examples where these new subtitles aren’t just annoying, but actually unreadable. They state, “But now what if there’s any on-screen text? Well now they appear very simply directly on top of dialogue with zero typesetting at all.” They jokingly add, “I’m sure this’ll make watching isekais with UI prompts fun to watch.”

Mudda-hello went on to ask, “What about important story details delivered through text messages? You’ll likely need to use Google Lens on your phone to read them, as you might only get one line at a time, or have to repeatedly pause the screen if they appear slowly. Forget being able to see entire translated message threads at once. And with multiple characters speaking or background noise? Expect the subtitles to overlap, just like on other streaming platforms.”

Previously, Crunchyroll was the best choice for anime fans who preferred watching subtitled anime instead of fan-made versions. However, many now feel that Crunchyroll’s presentation quality has dropped so much that fansubs are now more attractive. This is especially ironic considering Crunchyroll is actively trying to stop anime piracy. In updates to their original post, mudda-hello points out that, as of Fall 2025, only the German and Spanish subtitles for Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast For Spirits have been typeset, and only the German version maintains the stylish look Crunchyroll used to be known for. Mudda-hello also explains that this trend started during the Summer 2025 anime season, but is only getting noticed now because it’s now impacting English subtitles.

Crunchyroll is Creating a Worse Experience For Fans & Showing a Lack of Care For Those Who Require Quality Subtitles

Removing the special text styling (typesetting) from Crunchyroll’s subtitles is more than just annoying; it could be considered discriminatory. Similar to the problem with missing Closed Captioning, the absence of typesetting makes it much harder for deaf and hard-of-hearing fans to enjoy the shows and movies they love. It also unfairly disadvantages fans with visual impairments. By doing this, Crunchyroll is showing a lack of consideration for fans with disabilities, including many who are likely paying Premium members. This makes accessing content unnecessarily difficult for these viewers, and is a frustrating issue for the community.

It appears Crunchyroll is trying to save money by offering the most basic service possible, and is hoping fans will accept it because they currently lead the anime streaming market. However, this approach could fail. Crunchyroll Premium subscribers have the ability to show their dissatisfaction by canceling their subscriptions. If a significant number of fans find their favorite shows nearly impossible to enjoy due to poor subtitle typesetting, are unable to watch because of accessibility issues, or support fans with disabilities and cancel as a result, Crunchyroll would have to pay attention.

Crunchyroll is doing better than ever, thanks to its established history and hit anime series like Solo Leveling, which they’re helping to create. Because of this success, there’s no reason for the streaming service to make things harder for its users. To maintain the high quality of their subtitled anime, and to satisfy fans who rely on proper typesetting for the best viewing experience, Crunchyroll needs to improve its subtitles – the same well-made subtitles that made them the leading anime streaming platform – and show respect for their audience.

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2025-10-03 22:20