It all began with an innocuous tweet from Crunchyroll’s official twitter account, thanking Premium members for their “role in supporting the anime industry.” This shocking realization sent waves throughout the anime community. Within hours, the news spread that the anime industry is benefiting more from online streaming than ever before.

David Rosman has been a Crunchyroll Premium member for the last two years. Only now has he discovered that he has been supporting the anime industry all along.

“I got a Premium account so I wouldn’t have ads, and it’s more convenient than downloading torrents every week,” Rosman tells to Anime Maru. “But I never knew… Oh God, does this mean I’m partially responsible for Golden Time?”

In fact, Crunchyroll subscribers have been culpable for dozens if not hundreds of shit anime over the past several years. According to an article from Otaku Journalist, a good portion of Crunchyroll’s revenue is fed directly back to the anime industry, much to the horror of subscribers around the world.

“To think they are taking my money and giving it to Silver Link or PA Works makes me sick,” Rosman added.

Even users without subscriptions end up contributing to the anime industry via ad revenue from Crunchyroll, according to sources. This leaves people like Rosman in a difficult ethical conundrum.

“I can’t escape. I can’t stop supporting the people who give us Angel Beats,” Rosman mutters. “Maybe I’ll start watching anime on Funimation.”

Share this: Facebook

Reddit

Twitter

Email

