Crunchyroll's streaming service may have made it a central figure to anime fans, but it wants to expand beyond that with a new studio producing original animated content.
The announcement of Crunchyroll's and Ellation Studios' first original anime effort, High Guardian Spice, has sparked debate among fans about the streaming service and their projects, but the majority of fans are in full support of Crunchyroll's new endeavor.
Crunchyroll announced that its new studio would be producing a new animated, anime-inspired series with a diverse cast and crew involved. The first trailer sparked many negative reviews online for this very reason as several wondered if this new series meant that Crunchyroll was not spending the proper money to license more anime series instead.
This isn't the case as demonstrated by Crunchyroll's previous efforts for original content, and many fans have come to Crunchyroll's support as a response to this backlash. Fans see the series as a cute initial effort for the new Crunchyroll Originals' label and see it as an extension of the widening of the company's efforts over the last few years.
With anime as popular now as it ever was, Crunchyroll has expanded beyond an anime streaming destination into a company with its own fan conventions, award ceremonies, and many original efforts such as the incredibly popular Anime Crimes Division.
Whether it was due to the content of High Guardian Spice, or the initial trailer boasting its diverse cast, something about the initial announcement rubbed a minority the wrong way. But thankfully, the majority is supportive.
Is High Guardian Spice a purported "nail in the coffin" for the service? Did it make you end your subscription? Did you start a subscription because of it? Most importantly, will you be watching this new series when it launches? Read on to see what fans are saying about Crunchyroll's new project, and let us know your thoughts in the comments!
The new Crunchyroll Originals project, High Guardian Spice, will be releasing some time in 2019. The synopsis for the series is as follows:
"In High Guardian Spice, the lives of four fierce girls, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme and Parsley, converge at High Guardian Academy, the one place where they can stumble towards adulthood while becoming the heroes they've always admired. As they master the ways of battle and sorcery, our foursome form allegiances and comical kinships, uncover legacies and betrayals, and discover their true identities while preparing to protect the world from an ominous unknown threat."