A new report from Bloomberg has brought to light a mystery that has intrigued “Dandadan” fans: why has Crunchyroll practically ignored the anime, even though it was a huge success?
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The series, based on the manga by Yukinobu Tatsu , premiered this year and won over audiences on Netflix , becoming the second most-watched non-English series on the platform. With so much potential, it was expected that Crunchyroll—the anime giant—would capitalize on the hype. However, promotion was almost non-existent.
According to a leaked internal email, Markus Gerdemann , Crunchyroll's Senior Vice President, instructed his team not to pay too much attention to "Dandadan." The reason? "Ongoing acquisition discussions." What exactly does that mean? It's still unclear, but it appears there were behind-the-scenes negotiations that led Crunchyroll to not invest heavily in the series.
And what seems even stranger is that the platform stopped mentioning "Dandadan" starting in mid-October, shortly after its premiere. Throughout its run, there wasn't a single social media post—as if the anime simply didn't exist. The only mention came on December 21st, when the series concluded and a second season was announced.
Crunchyroll has made other mistakes before
If this were an isolated incident, perhaps no one would pay much attention. However, Crunchyroll has made similar mistakes before. One example was during San Diego Comic-Con, where they hosted a special "One Piece" concert. The idea was for the ship from the series to sail through San Diego Bay, something that sounded epic on paper. But in practice, the boat wasn't lit properly, and most people couldn't even see it.
But what really stands out is the speculation surrounding the "acquisition discussions." One strong theory is that Crunchyroll was in talks with Netflix. Perhaps they were seeking a partnership for "Dandadan" or had other licenses at stake. And since no deal was in place, they decided not to promote the series to avoid benefiting the competition.
The problem is that this strategy may have backfired. Netflix dominated the ratings with "Dandadan," while Crunchyroll was left with the impression of ignoring one of the year's most promising anime. With Disney and Netflix increasingly present in the anime world, many fans are beginning to question whether Crunchyroll is losing ground in the industry it helped globalize.
What do you think? Was it a risky strategy, a serious mistake, or is Crunchyroll losing its way? Leave your opinion in the comments and don't forget to follow AnimeNew for more news, updates, and curiosities about anime, manga, and otaku culture!
Source: Bloomberg
