Crunchyroll’s #1 Show of 2026 Is Facing a Major Problem
Crunchyroll is a modern anime institution, so it's unsurprising that Jujutsu Kaisen's season 3 return is already an impressive presence as it climbs the popularity charts once more, dominating among newly-added episodes. After all, its big premiere generated an anime-original meme goldmine featuring Naoya Zenin, so the anime's virality isn't an issue. What is concerning, though, is for the select regions where Crunchyroll isn't available, it's causing an impressive influx of viewership traffic. Netflix's Top 10 reporting for the week of January 5-January 11, 2026, in which Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 released its first two episodes in select Asian territories places it at #2 in Non-English shows worldwide.
Jujutsu Kaisen Has Far Greater Potential Than Crunchyroll Allows
Regional availability is a headache for any online distributor, and Crunchyroll is certainly no exception. But yet, despite not even being a Netflix original anime, Jujutsu Kaisen managed 3.1 million views assessed in the mere three days since its release of episodes #1 and #2. Its only other competition, Netflix-exclusive Land of Sin only exceeded this by approximately 100,000 views. While Crunchyroll doesn't show fully transparent viewership statistics on its Popular tab, it's still fair to assume their numbers exceed even that for the same release period. But as shown by Dandadan, having availability on multiple streaming services helps boost broader accessibility. While there are known problems with non-exclusive Netflix series bitrates, these concerns are lost on the average viewer. There are multiple issues driving users away from considering Crunchyroll among their streaming subscriptions. Crunchyroll has come under fire for recent controversies related to its subtitling software, and frequently encounters server issues almost to a predictable degree when anime like Jujutsu Kaisen air new seasons. While Netflix hasn't avoided this issue as seen with Stranger Things fans crashing their servers as reported by Variety, the solution shouldn't then be to keep availability limited. But, much like the long-running Netflix-exclusive, there's plenty of reason to expect Crunchyroll not to budge regarding even timed exclusivity like this.
Love It or Not, Jujutsu Kaisen's Home Is Crunchyroll
While audiences are free to enjoy previous seasons of Jujutsu Kaisen on streaming services like Netflix or Hulu, season 3 is still largely only on Crunchyroll. This includes coverage across North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East, CIS, India and Southeast Asia.
Furthermore, Jujutsu Kaisen is commonly cited alongside exclusives like Solo Leveling as the streamer's greatest properties. Losing exclusivity when the newest seasons are especially hot may be seen as de-incentivizing subscribers to stay on the platform. After all, Oshi no Ko season 3 went to Crunchyroll after years of HIDIVE exclusivity, and it's not exactly seen as a HIDIVE win. But Jujutsu Kaisen is undeniably on-brand for the hype that often fuels Crunchyroll's viewership each season. It's also the first series to win two top prizes at Crunchyroll's Anime Awards, Anime of the Year for both season 1 and season 2. While broader availability would be nice for the average viewer, streaming rights aren't altered by mere demand.
Release Date
October 3, 2020
Network
TBS, MBS, CBC, Tulip Television, BSN, tys, NBC, HBC, RKK, i-Television, SBS, IBC, BSS, MRO, OBS, TUF, RSK, TUY, tbc, RKB, SBC, KUTV, RBC, UTY, RCC, MRT, atv, MBC
Directors
Ryohei Takeshita, Masataka Akai, Chie Nishizawa, Daisuke Tsukushi, Tomomi Kamiya, Kakushi Ifuku, Ken Takahashi
Writers
Hiroshi Seko
Yuichi Nakamura
Satoru Gojo
