Sony has been making quite an effort to provide unique media services to its audience. Whether you prefer buying and renting new releases, watching live NHL, or you just want to watch the latest TV shows, the PlayStation 3 is easily the most accessible and versatile home console. Though services like Hulu Plus and Netflix have a decent selection of anime, fans of the animation have been seemingly left in the cold. That is, until now, with the release of the Crunchyroll streaming app for PlayStation 3.
Crunchyroll is arguably the best online anime streaming service available, and the move to PlayStation 3 is an excellent one. The app is much like you would expect, offering subscribers access to the entire online catalog of anime titles, as well as a large selection of live-action television drama. Of course, the free version of the app is very limited, and anime that is available to non-subscribers features ads in a similar manner to Hulu. Those willing to pay the $6.95 a month for either unlimited anime or unlimited drama, ($11.95 a month for both) will be treated to higher quality episodes, no ads, and new episodes of ongoing series only an hour after they air in Japan.
Anime fans will be glad to know that some of the more popular series such as Naruto Shippuden and Fairy Tail are available, but for anyone looking for something new to watch, there is plenty to choose from. Genres range from comedy and action all the way to psychological horror, with some great Mecha as well (including the always-excellent Gundam Wing). There is a little something for everyone, and with new series being added frequently, you’ll never be at a loss for something to watch. The service also has some anime news programs that air live, each of which is very entertaining and gives you in-depth previews of upcoming series, new toys, and behind-the-scenes information. The best part is that unlike Netflix, all of the anime is in the original Japanese audio with uncensored English subtitles.
In terms of usability and accessibility, the app is set-up in a similar manner to the Netflix app. Users are able to build and maintain a queue, and browse through anime filtered by genre or popularity. Everything is displayed with easy-to-read text and simple menus, making the experience very fluid and easy to use. One feature that I find particularly helpful is the manner in which episodes are displayed on your queue. Scrolling through the queue will show you all of the series you have added, but it also displays the episode that you are currently on, rather than having to search through the list of episodes.
When a new media app is launched, there are always some issues. While I have no problems with the set-up and features of the app, I encountered several stability and playback issues. When watching episodes, there is a tendency for the episode’s video to freeze while the audio continues, ultimately stopping altogether so the two can catch up. Unfortunately, it happens frequently enough to become a bit of a nuisance, though this should be fixed in a future update. Other times, after clicking on an episode to watch, the app crashes altogether, returning me to the XMB and in one case causing my system to actually shut off. Again, this will hopefully be fixed with an update, but until then expect some frustration..
Crunchyroll is an excellent service that is well worth the small monthly payment. Though the app has a few issues, they can, for the most part, be overlooked. It’s nice to finally have a reliable source of anime that can be played directly on the TV, so fans of anime should definitely look into signing up. Look for the Vita version of the app later this year.
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