Crunchyroll has faced backlash after voice actor David Wald revealed the company has been illegally opening and distributing his fan mail for the past five years, violating U.S. federal law regarding obstruction of correspondence. This revelation sparked widespread outrage, highlighting Crunchyroll’s questionable practices, including its monopoly over anime distribution in the West following its acquisition by Sony. Critics argue that Crunchyroll has become complacent, exemplified by the failure of its original content and a significant price increase for subscriptions. Furthermore, Wald’s situation underscores broader issues within the company, such as alleged discrimination against voice actors and a toxic work environment. Crunchyroll’s response has been inadequate, stating they are investigating the matter but failing to acknowledge their responsibility. This incident adds to the growing list of grievances against Crunchyroll, raising concerns about the treatment of voice actors and the future of anime distribution.

  • Mossy Feathers (She/They)English
    15·
    24 days ago

    I don’t have much to add; I don’t watch a lot of anime and when I do it tends to be pirated downloaded. However,

    High Guardian Spice is the biggest piece of trash to come out of anime in the last 10 years. It was marketed as anime for diverse groups, most notably highlighting their LGBTQ+ representation. Well, you know you messed up when even people in the LGBTQ+ community hate this show to death—like, no one likes this; this is terrible.

    I looked it up and damn. Yeah. I don’t even need to watch an episode, the art style has the “we’re trying to pander as hard as we can” look to it. I dunno if it’s just that it looks like Steven Universe (which I’ve heard is a good show about inclusivity, albeit with a shitty fandom) or something else; but something about it screams “look at how gay and diverse we are! Give us money!”