A recent post from Anime Feminist — a publication focused on topics like feminism and minority representation in the realm of anime and Japanese pop culture — recently published an article titled “Crunchyroll Does Not Meet Industry Standards for Closed Captioning (CC).” The piece highlights several concerns about Crunchyroll, the largest anime-focused streaming service in North America. The author argues that most of the streaming platform’s English dubs do not have closed captions (despite the fact that most Funimation titles did have them before its merger with Crunchyroll), before revealing troubling testimony from a person who claims to be a former longtime Crunchyroll employee.

Speaking anonymously to Feminist Anime, the employee claimed that Crunchyroll routinely dismissed their concerns about accessibility, saying that doing so would set a precedent and require “a lot of work” to CC all of its other titles. While a Funimation customer representative and an anonymous employee suggested that licensing restrictions may prevent closed captioning of some anime, the employee says their concerns were again dismissed in the case of Onyx Equinox, which Crunchyroll produced on its own. As of May 20, 2024, the series apparently still lacked CC or even subtitles for multiple dubs. When the employee also alerted Crunchyroll about a possible failure to comply with a legal obligation to provide subtitles for the Spanish dub, they received the response “Only lawyers should worry about legal issues” from a then-vice president.

Related

Crunchyroll CEO Says AI-Generated Subtitles Are “Definitely an Area We’re Focused on”

Crunchyroll CEO Rahul Purini says AI-generated subtitles are a focused testing area for the streaming service, perhaps to the dismay of audiences.

Crunchyroll has previously stated that closed captions are a priority for its anime streams.

CBR reached out to Crunchyroll regarding the numerous findings and allegations, to which the platform responded, promising to get back to them with some answers. After no further response after the requested deadline and no response to a follow-up email in the interim, important questions aimed at understanding Crunchyroll's view on CC provisions remain unanswered. Many of Crunchyroll's domestic press releases are CC'd; CBR wanted to understand what percentage of these anime were not allowed on its online platform due to licensing restrictions, and what percentage of anime offered on its online platform generally lacked CC due to licensing restrictions. Given that Crunchyroll has previously stated that closed captions are a priorityThe questions also sought to understand the extent of restrictions on the porting of closed-captioned anime titles from Funimation.

Additionally, the questions sought to assess the success of Crunchyroll’s changes to its licensing negotiation strategy in recent years. This was done by understanding whether Crunchyroll licenses a higher proportion of anime with closed captions year over year. CBR also sought the percentage of anime with Crunchyroll’s soft captions (subtitles loaded via an external file) rather than hard captions (permanently burned into the video). The anonymous employee states that the majority of Crunchyroll’s titles are subtitled, making it easier to provide CC since staff can update this external file. Finally, Crunchyroll was also asked how licensing restrictions could prevent CC from being implemented online.

Closed captions are a necessity, not a luxury, for deaf and hard of hearing viewers

THE YouGov Survey says most American adults watch TV with subtitles, including 63% from Gen Z — among Crunchyroll’s most popular customer base. Subtitles are typically turned on due to convenience and industry changes in sound mixing. However, when combined with closed captions, they prove to be an indispensable tool not only for deaf anime fans, but also for those with hearing loss and auditory processing disorders. The purpose of subtitles is usually just to sync up with a notable character or an on-screen character’s lips as they move. Closed captions, meanwhile, go a step further, describing important information to provide a full spectrum of a scene. This includes off-screen speech from minor (and sometimes even major) characters, the tone of speech, translations of on-screen text, ambient sounds, music and its implications (e.g., “loud drums getting closer and closer”), and effects, making it not only convenient but necessary for many viewers.

Related

Crunchyroll Celebrates May 2024 Anniversary with Worldwide Releases for Solo Leveling, Jujutsu Kaisen, and More

Crunchyroll’s upcoming “Ani-May” event launches special merchandise and streaming deals for global hits like Solo Leveling, Chainsaw Man, and more.

Crunchyroll is the dominant force in North American and international anime streaming

Crunchyroll’s challenge in scaling its closed captions, despite the above point, proves to be concerning given its dominance in North America. This includes securing the licenses for some of the most popular anime titles of recent years, such as Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisenas well as titles with closed captions, such as Attack on Titan and My Hero Academia. Their expansion goals likely include converting recently sublicensed, Netflix-loyal major titles such as One piece, Haikyu!! and Black Clover for the platform. CEO Rahul Purini has previously stated that he expects Netflix users to switch to Crunchyroll “if they want to go further and deeper.”

Crunchyroll’s acumen in scaling to anime fans around the world was also on display. Recent moves include a full expansion into India, one of the world’s most populous regions. A recent Forbes interview highlights Crunchyroll's plans in the region and Southeast Asia more broadly. Meanwhile, Yomiuri recently documented the streaming platform's success in Mumbai at an anime event in April, drawing huge crowds with dragon ball figures, Gundam models and a speaking event with the cast of Demon Slayer. Crunchyroll reports that viewing time per member in India has doubled in the past six months alone.

Source: Feminist Anime