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The world’s appetite for anime is growing, and Crunchyroll wants to be the one to satisfy its hunger. This week, the streamer announced that it would be pushing further into Asian markets later this year. Both Taiwan and South Korea are areas that Sony and Crunchyroll see as their next stops toward global anime domination.

At a recent conference, Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini revealed Crunchyroll’s plans for a greater share of the Asian streaming market. The company plans to roll out fully localized versions of the Crunchyroll platform to Taiwan this summer and South Korea by the end of 2026. “Asia is a priority for Crunchyroll because it’s home to some of the world’s most passionate anime communities,” Purini said during a fireside chat. He emphasized that this was to work toward the company’s mission to be “the best place for fans to experience anime, wherever they are.”

This lines up with both Crunchyroll’s belief that fully localized platforms, with languages and interfaces that are familiar to users wherever they are in the world, are the key to getting fans engaged. Earlier this year, they extended their services to Thailand as well. Despite its origins as a pirate anime website, Crunchyroll has become a global leader in legitimate anime distribution. They make up an oversized portion of parent company Sony’s profit projections because of the expectation that the anime industry will continue to grow over the next few years.

Crunchyroll plans to add two new Asian markets before the end of the year, rolling out localized platforms in Taiwan by summer 2026 and South Korea in the following months. 

Each week, Popverse's resident anime expert Trent Cannon runs down the latest and, dare we say "greatest," in anime and manga in Popverse Jump. Some recent columns have included... 

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