The Crunchyroll Store has reportedly removed a significant portion of its physical media offerings, including manga, light novels, manhwa, and danmei, as of August 19. This move follows a July change that restricted store access to only Mega and Ultimate Fan tier subscribers of the anime streaming service.
Users took to social media to express frustration over the disappearance of these physical products. While the store still lists some DVD and Blu-ray releases under its "Home Entertainment" section, the total number of items available has drastically reduced. The store's current focus appears to be on merchandise and exclusive drops, aligning with a statement from July that emphasized "collectibles, curated drops, and limited-release products inspired by the anime series you love."
The policy changes have drawn comparisons to Sony's decision to end the production of physical video game versions. Crunchyroll, which was acquired by Sony in 2021 and later merged with Funimation, had previously acquired anime e-commerce retailer Right Stuf in 2022. Right Stuf was then merged into the Crunchyroll Store in 2023.
Despite the growth of digital services, physical media remains important within the anime fandom, particularly for comic formats like manga and manhwa. Digital manga are often scattered across publisher-specific platforms, such as Shueisha's Manga Plus or Kodansha's K-Manga, which frequently require subscriptions or in-app purchases. This has led many fans to continue preferring physical books for reading and collecting their favorite series.
Some fans suggest that Crunchyroll has been gradually dismantling the business model of Right Stuf over the past three years, making physical product purchases more difficult in an apparent effort to steer customers toward digital media and streaming. The Crunchyroll Store does continue to offer exclusive Home Entertainment items, such as a SteelBook edition of "The Apothecary Diaries Season 1" Blu-ray. Crunchyroll has not issued an official statement regarding the most recent changes, leaving open the possibility that these are transitional and that manga, manhwa, light novels, and danmei may become available again in the future.