The Subscribers of Crunchyroll are dissatisfied because the streaming platform has changed its subtitle formatting with a large part of the new additions to the autumn season 2025. We summarize the details below.
New subtitle format
For more than ten years, Crunchyroll rely on the ASS subtitle format (Advanced Substation Alpha). This is particularly popular with anime fans, since it allows precise placement of the texts and the use of your own fonts, colors and styles, for example, to present translated episode titles and signs true to the original-a feature that took the streaming service from the competition.
But that’s probably over, because for a few days now the subtitles of most new anime episodes have only appeared as an unformatted text. Regardless of what happens on the screen or how many different people speak – this is simply stacked on top of each other every now and then.
Of course, some disappointed subscribers have already dug deeper and found a reference to the “Closed Caption Converter” software in the new subtitle files, with which subtitles can be converted and processed – in contrast to ASA, fully automatic and without human intervention.
What crunchyroll has moved to this decision can currently only be assumed, as there is still no official statement despite strong criticism. Possible reasons could be both financial savings and a easier transfer of the subtitles to other platforms in the event of a sublicense.
Just a few months ago, the VoD provider had expressly spoken out against the use of AI-prepared subtitles. In the German versions, human participants are still being listed in the credits.
More on the topic:
Previously:
Afterward:
* This example shows the change in the episode titles of »Kaiju No. 8 «With the following language option: Japanese with German subtitles.
Via Reddit, Anime By The Numbers
© Crunchyroll, LLC; © Naoya Matsumoto / Shueisha, Kaiju No. 8 Production Committee
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