Crunchyroll Disables Comments Due To Safety and Toxicity Concerns

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Summary Crunchyroll disabled comments under the episodes on its platform to maintain a safe, respectful environment.

Users can still provide star ratings but cannot comment on episodes.

The decision may be linked to toxicity issues, including review-bombing and hate speech.

Crunchyroll is the most popular anime streaming service available, giving viewers worldwide access to a vast series library. Yet, it has taken a surprising turn by disabling comments on its videos. The Crunchyroll streaming service just removed all user-generated content, including comments, across all platforms, but users can still issue star ratings.

The official Crunchyroll Help portal confirms that the decision was taken due to concerns about retaining a safe and respectful community environment without detailing specifically what caused this change. This means users can't comment on any episodes of their favorite anime series, at least for now, but they can still issue ratings to express their approval of Crunchyroll's programming. Still, it is a change quickly noted by the community, with underlying causes possibly being identified.

Despite a Massive Slate of New Series, Viewers Can No Longer Express Opinions on the Platform

While the underlying cause of Crunchyroll's decision to remove comments on their platform is not officially recognized, users are speculating this is due to hateful conduct and recent review-bombing of targeted series. One particular LGBT anime series, Twilight Out of Focus, was released on July 4, 2024, to a flurry of hateful and toxic comments criticizing it as a BL series promoted in the Crunchyroll library.

While this is not officially recognized as the underlying cause, it's still a symptom of the problem Crunchyroll is trying to alleviate.

Sources: Crunchyroll Help; @AniNewsAndFacts; @GoffThew