One of the biggest quandaries for viewers, whether they’re looking for blockbuster movies, binge-worthy box sets, reality shows, documentaries, or everything and anything else that’s available in the inexhaustible array of streaming content up for grabs these days, is who’s got all the best content?
Best can often tie in with most, but that’s not always the ideal way to judge the contest.
Anime fans are spoilt with the amount of content now that the genre has become a worldwide marketplace. Streaming video online opened the floodgates to what was once a very niche geographical market—into a global one.
Crunchyroll has played a big part in spreading the magic of manga and anime around the globe. Its content is almost totally anime animation, so if you’re looking for a mix of that with more western-style cartoons, you’re probably better off looking elsewhere for now.
If, however, you’re a die-hard who loves, lives, and breathes shows such as Attack on Titan, Death Note, Hunter X Hunter, or One-Punch Man, then you know what we’re talking about. It’s Crunchyroll all the way, right?
If you’re new to anime, then one of the things you’ll have to come to terms with pretty quickly is that unless you’re fluent in the native broadcast language, you’ll soon develop a preference in how you want to understand what the characters are saying.
Your choices are watching shows dubbed into English or reading subtitles. Dubs or subs. It makes so much sense once you know, doesn’t it?
Crunchyroll concentrates primarily on shows with subtitles, but that’s not set in stone. As trends change, who knows what the split may be? But for now, there are relatively few dubbed titles on Crunchyroll. If you prefer your anime and manga dubbed, you might want to consider Funimation—they’re all about the dubs.
It all boils down to licensing. The content creators and distributors want to sell their shows' rights to those who’ll pay them the most for their efforts. Wherever multiple buyers have their eye on the same stuff, a bidding war begins (well, sort of).
However, the trouble with this system is that demand for particular programs can be much higher in specific locations, creating a different level of demand.
Here’s where the geographical bit comes into play. The distributor can sell its shows, movies, games/matches, or whatever else to one service in one country and to another in a different country. Whichever country holds the license to that show, then they own the exclusive rights.
It’s a strange setup, as some of the TV you can watch for free in your country will only be available to watch under subscription in other countries, and vice versa. That’s why using a geo-block workaround like StreamLocator is such a great tool for all of us. It delivers masses of free content from international services to us without the problem of subscriptions. It also provides access to the shows and channels with geographical blocks in place.
Anyway, let’s not get bogged down in the legal stuff and the science. We’re here to discuss who’s got the best anime and manga—the UK or the US.
So, let’s dive in—who’s got the best stuff and how do you get your hands on it?
Here’s our definitive way to check out which shows are available and where. It’s one of our favourite websites over here at StreamLocator; welcome to JustWatch.
JustWatch scans just about every streaming service catalogue you can think of over a wide range of countries and delivers the results directly to your desktop (or app or device) in seconds.
If you were wondering how accurate their listings are—worry no more! It updates its databases every single day.
Let's get to grips with who’s got what and who hasn’t in the Crunchyroll empire. You can check the following two links for a direct comparison between the US and the UK.
At the time of writing, we clocked 814 titles in the UK and 969 in the US. Ladies and gentlemen, we appear to have a winner. With an additional 102 shows available, the US has the mightier selection. But are those shows the quality content you’re looking for, or just ‘more’?
Only you can answer that question, as we believe it’s all down to taste. Admittedly, when it comes to popular and trending titles, that’s a great indicator of where a service might fall a bit flat, so without further ado, here’s how they stack up according to JustWatch.
Crunchyroll Top 20Trending in the UKTrending in the USA1Attack on TitanAttack on Titan2Cowboy BebopJujutsu Kaisen3Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no YaibaDemon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba4Hunter X HunterMy Hero Academia5My Hero AcademiaThe Gloaming6Tokyo GhoulFood Wars! Shokugeki no Soma7Digimon AdventureSteins;Gate8One Punch ManOne Punch Man9Dragon Ball SuperNaruto Shippuden10Naruto ShippudenBlack Clover11Haikyu!!Death Note12Yu-Gi-Oh!Hunter X Hunter13Cells at Work!Dr. Stone14Black CloverMazinger Impact Z!15Rurouni KenshinJoJo’s Bizarre Adventure16My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFUAnother17The Promised NeverlandRe:ZERO – Starting Life in Another World18Yu-Gi-Oh! GXFullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood19Jujutsu KaisenGhost Stories20Mob Psycho 100The Rising of the Shield Hero
JustWatch will let you filter your results in various ways: popularity, trending, alphabetical, release year, IMDB score, and The Movie Database score.
Given the list of filters and a search tool to locate any title across all of their selected streaming services, it makes it incredibly easy to find what you’re looking for. You’ll soon come to your own conclusions about the shows you should be watching and how to find them.
Given that Crunchyroll is based in the US, it makes sense that it’s going to work a little harder to achieve the best catalogue for its home audience. That said, the UK has a surprisingly better catalogue than many other Crunchyroll locations, so it’s still nothing to be sniffed at.
However, why settle for one or the other? Whether you live in the US or UK, or any other country, you can get access to Crunchyroll from both countries with StreamLocator —find out all about how on our Crunchyroll page.
