Fatal miscalculations in Crunchy RollThe licensing war arose after recent revelations about the streaming platform's treatment Dandadan. The series probably needs no introduction, skyrocketing to become one of the top anime of 2024. For the uninitiated, Dandadan is a series centered on Momo Ayase, granddaughter of a spirit medium and non-believer in aliens, paired with Okarun, a non-believer in ghosts. After they both encounter entities they didn't believe in, they come together – Okarun now the receptacle of a ghost's power and Ayase the possessor of new psychic abilities – in a grand adventure full of laughter and romance.
Host a fairly simple premise, Dandadan It has an obvious charm that made all anime fans fall in love with it. Dandadanwhich is licensed for streaming on multiple platforms, also serves as a critical front in an ongoing licensing war between streaming platforms. Beneath the unimposing anime is a shifting story of mismanagement and deceit that fans have only recently become aware of. Complete information about Crunchyroll's mismanagement is available in Bloomberg's recent reportBut here are the most interesting details – which suggest a difficult future for the streaming giant.
Dandadan has a strange position in the anime world
Unorthodox licensing choices turn the year's most popular anime into a battleground
By 2024, it's typical for anime to have a primary streaming partner playing a significant supporting role in its production, marketing, and management. Others may play a role or claim basic streaming rights, but for the most part, major franchises are expected to delegate responsibilities to a critical business partner. In this regard, Dandadan is an exception: physical releases are distributed by GKIDS in North America (Muse Communication in Southeast Asia), while the series is available for streaming on Crunchyroll, Netflix and Hulu.
Dandadan is produced by Science Saru, a subsidiary of Toho International in May 2024. Toho is a large conglomerate, best known for being the pioneer behind the Godzilla franchise, and they also acquired GKIDS in October 2024. Science Saru is increasingly gaining notoriety in the anime world thanks to his work on Ping Pong: the animation, Dandy Spaceand the acclaimed Scott Peregrino anime.
A large company like Toho is interested in working with distributors who will share their work with the general public. For streaming services like Crunchyroll and Netflix, they rely heavily on these brands' ability to market their own work. Netflix's tireless work in marketing Dandadan is a notable example of this: in it, Dandadan debuted as the second most-watched non-English release. According to the same Bloomberg report, however, Crunchyroll had very specific reasons for not giving Dandadan similar treatment– and it doesn’t look good.
General Gerdemann reportedly loses ground in critical anime streaming battle
Crunchyroll's senior management played a major role in the failure to promote the biggest anime of 2024
It's a war, then: as anime gains popularity, more streaming competitors – backed by big money – want a piece of the pie. Crunchyroll's position has proven to be incredibly arduous following Sony's $1.2 billion acquisition of Crunchyroll in 2021. Despite seemingly being the premium global destination for anime streaming across the world, the platform is not without its problems.
Crunchyroll's merger with Funimation was complicated. One result of this merger is that Markus Gerdemann, originally brought to Funimation due to his luck while marketing at Netflix despite his lack of familiarity with anime, is now the senior vice president of creative marketing at Crunchyroll. To get an overview of this change, the Bloomberg report provides an interesting “by the numbers” view of Gerdemann’s impact:
- 18 former/current Crunchyroll employees provided interviews for the Bloomberg report.
- 7 of these employees reported that Gerdemann does not have the experience necessary for his role, “overseeing changes in strategy that cost the company money.”
- 7 of these employees reported that Gerdemann negatively impacted employee morale.
- At least 2 employees they had filed complaints against Gerdemann: one for sexism, another for creating a hostile work environment.
Although Sony investigated and cleared Gerdemann of the above allegations, it does not bode well that Gerdemann “brought in a group of former ad agency colleagues whom Crunchyroll employees came to refer to as the 'boys' club,'” according to the Bloomberg report. . Gerdemann's position, despite employees' apparent feelings to the contrary, could have been protected by his seniority and corporate practices.
Either way, it's a war then, and due to “ongoing acquisition discussions,” Gerdemann wrote in an email to Crunchyroll staff reported by Bloomberg, Crunchyroll “has decided not to engage in the promotion of Dandadan.” At this point, it's only speculative to say exactly what these acquisition issues were, but it's likely related to the fact that Crunchyroll was unable to obtain an exclusive license to simulcast the anime. It could, however, also indicate ongoing tension between Toho and Crunchyroll.
Typically, Crunchyroll runs the Crunchyroll Store, occasionally accused of releasing unauthorized merchandise; Meanwhile, Toho recently opened the iiZO store, a direct challenge to Crunchyroll's merchandising territory. Furthermore, after Crunchyroll held the distribution rights My Hero Academyof the first two films, Toho secured them for the most recent film, My Hero Academia: You're Next. Apparently, this conflict is not within the realm of speculation – Bloomberg reports that Gerdemann “annoyed both Toei and Toho” according to current and former employees, citing a Crunchyroll show where Crunchyroll failed to meet customers' expectations. Toei representatives in representing One piece.
Making it difficult DandadanCrunchyroll's promotion appears to be the latest in a series of calculated moves designed to exercise and express Crunchyroll's dominance over a market that is becoming increasingly competitive, as largely Japanese entities like Toho attempt to expand their operations to other territories. The value of Gerdemann's tactics then becomes the subject of discussion. Gerdemann's decision, while motivated by spite and inexperience, as interviewed employees seem to suggest, is indicative of a general downward trajectory for Crunchyroll, whose strategy since its acquisition has been described as “confusing” by current and former employees.
Dandadan's Alleged Disaster Highlights Crunchyroll's Recent Troubles
The streaming platform made a chain of questionable decisions
On the merchandising front, Crunchyroll has disrupted countless companies; however, growing discontent with corporate management has changed the company culture at the streaming platform's headquarters. After three rounds of layoffs, Crunchyroll's hiring goals are as murky and mysteriously opaque as its consumer growth goals. The company had to delay its growth targets for the anime streaming market until the end of the year 2025 as it reports that 8.5% of customers abandon the service (its target, for the record, is 5%).
Crunchyroll is in trouble and hemorrhaging subscribers as its niche base doesn't adequately serve the growing segment of casual anime fans. According to Bloomberg, “current and former employees are concerned that mainstream streamers are moving into Crunchyroll’s territory,” a trend that clearly began with Netflix’s licensing of services. JoJo's Bizarre Adventurea former Crunchyroll exclusive and a cash cow, and one that Netflix has only continued since.
With the growing presence of competitors – Bloomberg cites a Polygon survey where 76% of Gen Z anime fans reported watching anime on Netflix compared to just 58% on Crunchyroll – decisions like Gerdemann's hasty dismissal of Dandadanan anime that would become one of the biggest of 2024, tells of a huge web of circumstances that seem to uselessly motivate the anime-focused platform.
It's also worth mentioning that dissatisfied employees don't bode well for a company's future, and those who spoke to Bloomberg are not isolated cases. Popular voice actor David Wald recently left Crunchyroll after discovering that fan mail addressed to him was regularly intercepted, opened, and redistributed among Crunchyroll employees, a practice that apparently lasted five years. Overall, this news is certainly hurting Crunchyroll's rankings, which could lead to more user losses.
While it's easy to assign blame and say that major corporate competitors aimed at the general public are the reason for Crunchyroll's dismal market dominance, its repeated disenfranchisement of industry giants and questionable decision-making are more indicative. Gerdemann is just one figure in a corporate subsidiary whose culture has changed drastically and whose marketing tactics are clearly not reaching current audiences, as proven by Crunchy Rollsabotage of Dandadan.
Source: Bloomberg