Crunchyroll free trial - How to watch anime on Crunchyroll for free (2024)

Crunchyroll has fast become the home of anime for fans outside of Japan – and for a good reason.

The best streaming service for anime is a one-stop shop for the biggest shows in the medium, from the latest megahits like Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen, to classics like Mobile Suit Gundam and Cowboy Bebop. Crunchyroll will also be the home of Solo Leveling season 2, when it finally returns.

The platform also hosts new shows as they air on Japanese TV, simulcasting them for an international audience, and has a massive library of older shows stretching back into the medium's earliest days. With that in mind, Crunchyroll is a great way to keep up with the very latest releases – so if you're an anime fan, there really is only one place to be.

But how does it work? And can you get access to all that sweet Crunchyroll content for free? Digital Spy has got all the answers you need and more – so here is everything you should know about Crunchyroll membership, from the free trial to subscription options.

A basic Crunchyroll membership is free, and gives you limited access to its library of shows with adverts. For more on its premium tiers, and free trial policies for those, keep reading.

If you've signed up for a free Crunchyroll account and are looking for some suggestions of where to start, here's our pick of shows you can watch with ads.

If we could be so bold as to make specific suggestions, we'd highly recommend Bocchi the Rock! if you're after something comedic and off-the-wall, Chainsaw Man if you want something full of violent action, and Vinland Saga if you're after pure quality.

• Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
• One Piece
• Blue Lock
• Bocchi the Rock!
• Bungo Stray Dogs
• Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill
• Chainsaw Man
• Cowboy Bebop
• The Daily Life of the Immortal King
• Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro
• Golden Kamuy
• Lycoris Recoil
• Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury
• My Dress-up Darling
• Ranking of Kings
• The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World
• Spy x Family
• Vinland Saga
• Yona of the Dawn

One of the best things about Crunchyroll is the access you get to new and returning series straight out of Japan. So once you've made your way through some of the classics (or those new shows you've missed) make sure you check out what shows are dropping regularly.

Anime tends to be released in four waves throughout the year and so you can always expect something interesting on the platform at the start of spring, summer, winter and autumn.

In 2024, we've got some major shows to look forward to, including the return of global megahits like Demon Slayer, Blue Lock and My Hero Academia. We're also in the middle of a golden age of anime reboots, with mid-noughties shows like Fairy Tail, Blue Exorcist and Black Butler all returning for new seasons after years of being off the air.

If that doesn't sate your anime appetite, or you just can't bear those ads, Crunchyroll's entire library is available for paying subscribers.

Crunchyroll's premium tiers include £4.99 per month (UK)/$7.99 per month (US) for the 'Fan' tier, which lets you watch new shows without adverts just an hour after they air in Japan.

There's also the 'Mega Fan' tier for £5.99 per month (UK)/$9.99 per month (US), which lets you download shows for offline viewing and allows streaming on up to four devices at the same time.

These are the tiers you want if you're interested in the biggest new shows – especially if they're currently airing. Of those new shows we'd highly recommend checking out fantasy adventure series Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. This gorgeous series is full of memorable characters, beautiful animation, and high-stakes action – with themes of time, ageing, and grief underpinning all 28 episodes.

There are savings to be had, too! Subscribers can save 16% by paying upfront for a 12-month subscription to Crunchyroll's Mega Fan tier for £59.99.

If all of that sounds good, but you're not sure about committing, you're in luck.

Crunchyroll free trials are available for new paying members and existing members on the free tier. That means you can get free access to the premium perks for 14 days, whether you choose the Fan or Mega Fan tier.

There are other options for the Crunchyroll-curious, too. If you want to stream the library of anime on your TV but aren't sure how, you can now subscribe to the service via Amazon's Prime Video Channels.

Note that you'll need to be a Prime member already to take up a subscription this way. Amazon's Prime membership is priced at £8.99 per month in the UK, or £95 per year, and comes with other perks including premium delivery options and access to Amazon's own library of Prime Video content.

New and eligible returning customers can take up to a 30-day free trial of Prime.