Last updated on 2023-11-17, by Cassie

VRV: VRV vs. Crunchyroll & Alternatives to Watch Anime Online

“What’s happened to VRV? Is VRV shutting down? I used to watch anime online on VRV website a lot but recently when I tried to connect even though I had VRV subscription. Is VRV shutting down for everyone or just for me for my VRV subscription issue? Are there any VRV alternatives to watch anime online?”

VRV used to be an awesome service for fans of animation who want to keep up with the newest anime. However, you might now find that when you try to open VRV streaming service, it always shows in connection. What happened to VRV? Is VRV shutting down? On this page, we would like to provide the detailed information for you to help you watch anime freely.

Part 1: What is VRV? Is VRV Shutting Down?

What is VRV? Let’s firstly make a brief introduction to VRV anime streaming service. VRV, pronounced “verve”, is a standalone over-the-top streaming service that brings the best of anime, animation, gaming, comedy, fantasy, and technology to U.S. fans in one unified environment. VRV works a lot like other streaming services in that you sign up and have unlimited access to a “Premium” library. Stream whatever you want, whenever you want. You could get VRV subscription for free in various ways, including its free trial period.

Is VRV shutting down for everyone or just for me? VRV is currently not shutting down, but it has been gradually moved to Crunchyroll. VRV is not long for this world. Crunchyroll began folding both VRV and Funimation’s content libraries into its own service in 2022 and recommends that VRV subscribers switch over to Crunchyroll as soon as possible. There’s a good reason for this – VRV no longer carries new episodes of currently running anime. You can still technically subscribe to VRV, but a confounding pop-up on the site discourages you from doing so.

VRV users are able to continue their subscriptions on Crunchyroll while also connecting the accounts and backing up their watch history. Content from VRV Select and Mondo channels was no longer available. VRV subscriptions had been moved to Crunchyroll on April 3, 2023 and starting on May 3 the website and app were no longer accessible.

Part 2: VRV vs. Crunchyroll

Why is VRV shutting down? According to the website itself, “Our goal at VRV has always been to bring our fans NEXT LEVEL streaming content with access to the LARGEST anime library in the world. VRV merging with Crunchyroll enables us to continue to deliver on those goals.” Then, what are the differences between VRV vs. Crunchyroll? Here we would like to make a detailed comparison between VRV vs. Crunchyroll for you to let you learn better about these 2 anime streaming services.

Availability
Crunchyroll is a website that offers online anime and manga streaming and is accessible in more than 160 countries, while VRV streaming service is only available within the United States unless you have a VPN tool.

Subscription cost
VRV provides a 30-day free trial version if you sign up, and over 20,000 free titles for you to watch. To make full use of VRV, you have to upgrade to VRV Premium with a monthly subscription fee of $10.99. In contrast, as long as you have a free Crunchyroll account, you can view all anime shows for free with an ad-supported subscription. You can use Crunchyroll with its premium subscription as well. Adding Crunchyroll access will cost you an extra $8.99 (plus tax) each month.

Content
Crunchyroll, by itself, has a greater number of shows than VRV by itself. After it merges with Funimation, you will have access to more anime. However, by signing up for VRV with Crunchyroll added-on, you’ll have access to all of Crunchyroll’s content and VRV-exclusive content.

Supported platforms
Crunchyroll is available on more platforms than VRV. The table below compares the supported devices. Crunchyroll is available on Android, iOS, Windows, Wii U (PlayStation), Amazon Fire TV by Amazon, Chromecast, PS4, Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation, Roku, iTunes TV, and The Xbox One Vita. VRV is available on Amazon Fire TV by Amazon, iOS, Android, PS4, Android TV, Sony PlayStation, Chromecast, Apple TV, Roku, and Xbox One.

Subs or Dubs
Crunchyroll has chosen a strategy that focuses on subtitled anime. Translating the script into a dozen languages lets it get simulcasts posted quickly. On the other hand, Vrv offers both subbed and dubbed content to let the customers decide what’s best for them. This clearly solves the VRV vs. Crunchyroll debate in subs or dubs comparison.

Ads
Both offer free ad-supported content with the difference lying in the ad quantity and ad content. Crunchyroll sometimes shows 4 to 6 video ads of the same content during and before an episode. VRV also shows the same ads at 3 to 4 times per episode. Obviously, from user experience, this VRV vs. Crunchyroll battle winner goes to VRV. To watch ads-free content on Crunchyroll and VRV, you either upgrade to the Premium subscription plan, or make use of anime video downloaders to download anime videos for offline watching such as CleverGet Crunchyroll Downloader, a professional anime video downloader tool that is specifically designed for downloading Crunchyroll anime videos.

• 

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  – Enable users to download Crunchyroll anime videos to 1080P in MP4/MKV format.
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  – Download all or selected mul-language audio tracks and subtitles as will.

  DownloadVisit CleverGet

Final Thoughts on VRV vs. Crunchyroll
It’s actually totally up to your needs to decide which one is better since both streaming services have their own advantages and disadvantages. But the fact is that now VRV is moving to Crunchyroll. VRV has not been continued and updated for a time. By combining VRV and Funimation, Crunchyroll will include more and more anime shows for you. What’s more, the cost for Crunchyroll is lower.

Though Crunchyroll has several limitations such as its annoying ads, there are ways to fix this. You could make use of CleverGet Crunchyroll Downloader to batch download Crunchyroll anime shows for unlimited ads-free offline playback. The anime show watching experience will be greatly improved.

Part 3: VRV Alternatives to Watch Anime Online

Since the VRV is discontinued, you might want to learn some VRV alternatives to watch anime shows online besides Crunchyroll. Here we have collected several VRV alternatives for you.

Netflix

Netflix is probably one of the most popular streaming services in recent times. Not only do you get a diverse range of content pertaining to world television and movies, but it also offers a colorful collection of anime on its site. You can watch some of the well-known classics on Netflix as well as the latest releases. This streaming service like VRV also collaborates with Japanese creators to come out with their Netflix Original anime.

Amazon Prime Video

Amazon Prime is a decent anime-streaming platform although its scope is not very broad when it comes to anime. Sure, it has a fairly decent collection but falls behind when compared to the likes of Hulu or Netflix. You can use Amazon Prime Video to watch some of the popular anime in high-quality videos and English subbed and dubbed versions.

Hulu

Hulu’s library might not be as deep as some of the more specialized streaming services that we’re gonna get to, but it’s still got a surprising amount, especially after the deal they struck with Funimation. Now Hulu’s got its own anime section featuring big names like Naruto, My Hero Academia, and Bleach. It’s also the only place you’ll find the immensely popular Cowboy Bebop.

Funimation

Funimation is one of the top VRV alternatives where you can watch all your favorite anime in high-quality videos and English dubbed versions. And not just this, all the Simulcast videos are also available in English dubbed versions that you can watch at the same time as Japan on Funimation. You can also read manga, engage in discussion and buy jaw-dropping anime merchandise from this platform.

Part 4: FAQ

Since VRV has been moved to Crunchyroll, what should you know if you are a VRV subscriber? Here we have collected some FAQs for VRV moving to Crunchyroll for your reference.

1. What happened to my VRV credits?

All VRV credits are applied to your Crunchyroll Premium membership.

2. Will I still be billed by VRV?

Your VRV subscription was transitioned to a Crunchyroll subscription. Any future billing will be through Crunchyroll going forward.

3. What happened to my VRV gift card?

All redeemed gift card balances have been applied to your Crunchyroll Premium membership. After sunset, please use the customer service link below if you still have an unredeemed gift card.

4. What happened to VRV Select and Mondo channels?

Content from these channels will no longer be available.

5. Should I cancel my VRV account and open a Crunchyroll account?

With so many new shows coming to Crunchyroll, VRV users will want to move to a Crunchyroll account as soon as possible and watch on Crunchyroll.

6. Can I still watch my favorite anime series?

All Crunchyroll Channel content is now available at the same tier on Crunchyroll. All new series from the Spring 2023 Anime Season will stream exclusively on Crunchyroll.

7. Will my Watch History be available on Crunchyroll?

Yes. If you linked your Crunchyroll account, your VRV Watch History and Queue were transferred to the Crunchyroll platform.

8. How do I log in to Crunchyroll from VRV?

If you already have a Crunchyroll account linked to your VRV membership, just log in to Crunchyroll as usual. All of your Watch History and Queue was automatically transferred from VRV to Crunchyroll.

9. What if I don’t have a Crunchyroll account?

If you don’t have a Crunchyroll account, log into Crunchyroll using your VRV email and password and the platform will automatically create a Crunchyroll account using your VRV credentials. Once they create your new Crunchyroll account, you will be prompted to transfer your data.

Conclusion:

After VRV moves to Crunchyroll, you could still make use of your VRV subscription to watch anime shows on Crunchyroll, even if you don’t create a Crunchyroll account yourself. Meanwhile, you could also move to VRV alternatives such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Funimation, etc. You could even make use of CleverGet to download anime shows from Netflix, Amazon, Crunchyroll, Funimation, Hulu and other streaming services for unlimited ads-free offline watching.