This is the gifting streaming service for those who really love anime

We consume a fair amount of anime in my house – not enough to keep a single streaming service running on its own – but it’s enough. I have a child who can’t miss an episode of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, and when Attack on Titan was still airing, it was on appointment TV in my house. I have to rotate several anime streamers, but Crunchyroll is one I’m happy to pay for and it’s not expensive.

It’s true that you can watch some things for free, but the $8 per month basic subscription opens the door to Crunchyroll’s simulcasts. You can watch new episodes the same day they air in Japan, instead of having to wait days or months. I’m watching Dandadan this season and prefer to stream on my TV, but my kids often use their phones to stream and watch way more than one season of each series each week. For more information, here’s how to get the Hulu streaming deal for $1 per month and the Peacock streaming deal.

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Simulcasts help you plan your television program

Good thing there’s a simulcast calendar that lets you know when each title will air. You can search for broadcast times – be it the popular Japanese version with subtitles or a dubbed release in another language. This comes in handy if you want to keep up with the latest shows like Dan Da Dan (I’ll keep mentioning this show) or Re:Zero, or other favorites like Jujutsu Kaisen, Solo Leveling, and Demon Slayer.

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Simulcasts are its forte, and that’s partly due to Crunchyroll’s mega-library. When it merged with Funimation two years ago, their catalogs were merged, offering viewers tens of thousands of new and old anime series and films. Is there every single anime title there is? No. I need to contact Hulu and HiDive about a few things. But there’s plenty to see, including Crunchyroll originals and adaptations of well-known manga like Chainsaw Man, Dragon Ball and My Hero Academia. In addition to anime, Sony’s own app also offers music content that you can stream.

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Until this year, one of Crunchyroll’s drawbacks was that it only offered a single profile for your account. If three or more people in your family use the app, things can get difficult. Last April, the streamer introduced the ability to create up to five profiles for premium subscribers (including avatars), allowing viewers to keep their watchlists and ongoing shows separate from anyone else who might share the account.

Why is Crunchyroll a great gift?

The service is available in more than 200 countries and offers access to more than 1,600 hours of classic and new anime from around the world. The $8 per month subscription is perfect for any anime lover, and upgrading to the Mega Fan plan at $10 per month or the Ultimate Fan plan at $15 grants more perks. In addition to watching anime, each of these plans offers access to the Crunchyroll Game Vault and discounts in the Crunchyroll merch store, which is also currently offering a holiday gift guide that’s worth checking out.

If you need more gift ideas for the people in your life, here are 52 of our favorite gifts right now.