The world's largest licensed anime library, Crunchyroll, is now accessible to Vietnamese audiences for the first time through a domestic over-the-top (OTT) platform. This exclusive partnership with Galaxy Play, beginning 1/5, promises a seamless viewing experience tailored for local users, bringing a vast collection of popular anime titles directly to Vietnamese fans, a Galaxy Play representative informed VnExpress.

Operating in over 200 countries, Crunchyroll offers a library exceeding 6,000 hours of licensed anime from Japan's top studios. Beyond new seasonal content, the platform includes many titles familiar to Vietnamese audiences, such as Jujutsu Kaisen, One Piece, Demon Slayer, Spy x Family, Naruto, Dragon Ball, and Hunter X Hunter. Integrated into Galaxy Play, Crunchyroll employs a simulcast release mechanism, allowing Vietnamese viewers to watch new episodes just hours after their Japanese broadcast. This enables the domestic anime fan community to keep pace with global trends and engage with international fans.

Galaxy Play is the exclusive distribution partner for Crunchyroll in Vietnam, providing local audiences direct access to the world's leading licensed anime library, synchronized with Japan's broadcast schedule. Photo: *Crunchyroll*

Brian McGarvey, Crunchyroll's Vice President of Global Business Development, remarked, "This partnership marks a significant step in expanding our reach in Vietnam. Through our local partner, we can offer fans a more tailored experience while broadening our licensed anime content in this market." Nguyen Ngoc Son, Chief Financial Officer of Galaxy Play, believes the platform is becoming a destination where audiences can discover all their favorite content, from Vietnamese and international films to Japanese anime. He added, "The Crunchyroll partnership demonstrates our commitment to bringing licensed, quality content even closer to Vietnamese users."

Galaxy Play is launching an anime catalog of approximately 500 titles and over 6,000 hours of content. This provides an ad-free, licensed viewing experience with Vietnamese subtitles and simultaneous updates with Japan. Users can access the content on multiple devices, including televisions, phones, and websites, with subscriptions starting from 45,000 VND per month.

Both companies anticipate this collaboration will boost Vietnam's licensed content market and enhance the entertainment experience for younger users, a demographic driving digital content consumption trends in the region.

Established in 2006, the Crunchyroll brand has brought anime closer to mainstream culture through its extensive specialized library. It has also developed an ecosystem encompassing events, theatrical films, games, merchandise, and news content. Users can access Crunchyroll across multiple devices, including mobile phones, game consoles, televisions, and personal computers.

Galaxy Play operates under Galaxy Entertainment & Education (GEE), alongside Galaxy Studio, which produces, distributes, and invests in numerous Vietnamese film projects. The platform provides diverse entertainment content, from international blockbusters to popular series. In recent years, films invested in and produced by GEE have achieved strong box office performance and garnered significant awards.

Dong Ve