Crunchyroll is launching an entirely new design for Premium subscribers

Crunchyroll has completely redesigned the streaming experience on web browsers for Premium subscribers, and the new platform design is being launched in beta today for some customers.

Crunchyroll Beta adds some highly requested web browser features: an updated homepage with an easier-to-navigate layout, more intuitive search features, and a new tool called Crunchylists to create selected lists.

Qualifying Crunchyroll Premium subscribers can choose to click on a header image that appears at the top of the site. The beta version is currently only available to 20 percent of all Premium users in the United States, but will eventually be rolled out to all Premium and free subscribers. The company is planning to share more information when it becomes available.

Let’s start with the home page. The new home page looks much more similar to other streaming services in terms of layout and organization, with personalized recommendations. There are dynamic recommendations and selected recommendations.

They look similar, but they are different. Dynamic recommendations are specifically linked to someone’s watch history. For example, because you watched Dr. Stone, you might like Black clover or Shield Rise Hero. The selected recommendations are based on a theme. An example is “sports time, all the time” and includes programs like Hanebado, Eyeshield 21, and Iwatobi Swim Club.

Similar to other platforms, these recommendations appear in lines on the home page that people can browse. The layout is reminiscent of HBO Max, which includes lines based on popular series (“the Friends collection ”) or personal recommendations based on what someone watched.

The new home page also makes it easier to find watchlists in progress or specific program pages, all of which have been redesigned to make them easier to use. In an effort to make the new Crunchyroll more accessible to the user, changes to the search function – including simultaneous access, new anime and filtering through subtitled or dubbed options – are also being released with the beta.

All the new designs seem to be focused on making Crunchyroll more personal. Subscribers can now create their own unique usernames and choose from a variety of avatars and header images based on their favorite series – another pillar of streaming services like Netflix and Disney Plus.

Subscribers will also be able to use the new Crunchylist feature, which simply allows people to make their own curated lists. This allows you to choose any series or episode from a specific program from a list and organize it however you want. For example, if there is a definitive way of looking at the various Gundam series, this can be a way to turn this into a personalized and personal experience.

All the big media companies are trying to get into streaming, and all the popular streaming services – Crunchyroll has over 4 million paid subscribers – are trying to figure out how to stay on top. Making it easier to find something to watch and, hopefully, convincing people to spend more time on Crunchyroll, through product changes that make the overall experience better, is one way to achieve that goal.