Imagine binge-watching your favorite anime and immediately heading to the comments section to share your thoughts, only to find it’s gone.
Over the weekend, Crunchyroll fans experienced just that as the platform quietly disabled comments and reviews across its entire site.
The sudden decision sparked a wave of confusion and speculation, especially considering the timing coincided with controversial events surrounding two LGBT-focused series.
So, why did Crunchyroll get rid of comments and reviews?
The official statement from Crunchyroll cites the need to create a “safe and respectful community environment.” To maintain this standard, they’ve hidden all user-generated content, suggesting an effort to combat harmful content and misinformation.
In their official statement, Crunchyroll also said, “We prioritize creating a safe and respectful community environment. To maintain this standard, we are hiding all existing user-generated content, including comments, reviews, and news articles across all our platforms and experiences.” This move comes after a significant backlash regarding the review bombing of LGBT-focused series like “Twilight Out of Focus” and “Senpai is an Otokonoko.”
Handling Controversy and Backlash
The abrupt decision follows a series of controversies that seem to have intensified the platform’s efforts to control its community environment. It started with users’ review bombing the LGBT-centric series, expressing hateful and inappropriate comments. Rather than individually moderating these comments, Crunchyroll chose to eliminate the comment section entirely.
This decision also comes in the wake of criticisms surrounding the translation quality of “My Deer Friend Nokotan,” another highly anticipated series. Fans and even voice actors have accused Crunchyroll of using AI-generated subtitles, leading to poor-quality translations.
Although these subtitles were likely provided by a third party, the blame has still fallen on Crunchyroll, adding to the negative sentiment from users.
One viral post on Twitter (formerly X) brought attention to inappropriate comments on “Twilight Out of Focus,” while other posts criticized the “My Deer Friend Nokotan” translations. This led to speculation that Crunchyroll’s decision was a reaction to these criticisms, aiming to prevent further backlash.
Crunchyroll Support has emphasized that this measure aims to reduce harmful content and misinformation, ultimately improving the user experience. Despite this explanation, many fans feel this is a heavy-handed approach that undermines the community aspect that made the platform unique.
The removal of comments has left a significant void for many users who enjoyed engaging with fellow fans after watching episodes. “Watching an incredible episode and jumping down to the comments to see/share in the hype was the best,” one user lamented. “In removing the comments, they’ve removed the community—a damn shame.”
Another fan pointed out,
“I’ve always enjoyed reading the comments and leaving some of my own. I find it absolutely ridiculous that they won’t just properly moderate it instead of axing it entirely.”
Many others echo this sentiment, feeling the decision is an overreaction that penalizes all users for the actions of a few.
The deletion of reviews has also sparked frustration. Users relied on reviews to gauge the quality of series and episodes.
“Gee thanks, now let me watch five episodes of something and then find out the animation dropped off a cliff for episode 6+ which a review told us about beforehand but now is deleted,” one annoyed fan noted.
Don’t fight with the people paying you to run your business, Crunchyroll. Hire better moderators, period.
Averagebeing
Will fans migrate to other platforms that still allow community interaction, or will they adapt to the new norm on Crunchyroll? The platform has directed users to its social media channels to share comments and connect with other fans, but this solution doesn’t quite replicate the organic, in-episode discussions that many cherished.
Do you believe it’s an effective way to combat harmful content, or is it an overreaction that damages the community feel?
Share your thoughts and join the discussion!
