As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, I listen to a lot of anime OPs and EDs, especially at work. Heretofore I’ve largely made my own playlists, trying to fit whatever mood I was in or wanted to be in.
Enter CR’s new 24/7 anime music streaming service. I’ve spent a couple of days now using it in lieu of my own lists. Is it a solid replacement for your own custom built music lists?
As will be evident, I’m largely a fan of the new service; but here I’ll aim to set out a relatively objective examination.
Price: Free. Can’t beat that, right? I mean, unless CR starts giving away wads of cash…
Oh, there’s no ads, either. Not even if you’re not a CR subscriber. And since it’s on Youtube, you don’t need to sign up for anything to use the service.
Selection: Watch or listen for any length of time, and you’ll notice some obvious patterns in the music. Many of the anime featured are from the last decade or less (roughly estimating). This means MHA, Berserk, Blend-S, and the like. As those examples show, there’s a generous sweep across genres.
Where the selection does reach back further, it’s typically from long-running, popular (or infamous) series: specifically, Naruto/Naruto Shippuden; Bleach; Hunter x Hunter; and Gintama. And since these shows have so many seasons to choose from, they tend to show up disproportionately compared to most series.
Interestingly, not included is another long-running hot show: One Piece is completely absent. Also absent are some shows that I would wholeheartedly want to see represented if possible: Cowboy Bebop. Samurai Champloo. Either Fullmetal Alchemist. All of these have rather iconic openings and/or endings; I’m mildly surprised not to find the latter showcased. So too there is no Pokemon, nothing from the Dragonball franchise.
Why these lacunae? I can only speculate: The most likely reason is probably licensing issues. Though I’d be pleasantly surprised if CR is just holding some music back so they’ll have something new to introduce later. Or it could be a decision based on the particular balance of genres (musical or anime) they’re aiming for, or the kind of audience they intend to cultivate.
Like any radio station, the mood and feel of the music is well-balanced, while tending towards the upbeat. Great for work, probably not so great for meditation or putting the baby to sleep.
Wishlist: As much as I like this stream, there are some things that I think could improve it even more. The names of the series, band, and song are all at the bottom left of the screen, in very tiny print. Why not make it a tad larger? I assume part of the reason for having the stream is to expose viewers to new shows to watch, and they’re more likely to do this if–and hear me out– they can actually read the show’s name.
It often happens that I’m listening to a song and know which show it’s from, but not which season or cour. A small nicety would be to indicate “Season 1, ending 2” and the like. For long series in particular, like Bleach, this would be neat.
“Cruel Angel’s Thesis.” Nuff said. Most song requests would be pretty subjective, but we can all agree that there are a handful of openings like this one which should be included.
Finally, balance the representation between long shows and short ones. I understand why Naruto shows up with more frequency than A Place Further Than the Universe, but unless your goal is to promote these longer series more than shorter ones, it doesn’t make good sense to leave things like this.
Conclusion: For me, this is like having a radio curated with a lot of my favorite music plus a lot of enjoyable new tunes. You may feel the same way, or find that it’s not quite your thing. That will depend on your taste in music, naturally.
Even if you don’t find you want to listen to the 24/7 stream literally 24/7, there are a couple of reasons you might want to check it out. One’s that it can be a trip down nostalgia lane, if one can have nostalgia for shows a year old (and one can). Conversely, you can also find some show you wouldn’t have that of, or didn’t even know about, which could pique your interest.
There is, finally, a sense of community derived from enjoying favorite music videos while watching or engaging the live chat. Even if chatting online isn’t your thing, the palpable sense of communion is pleasant.
I didn’t even KNOW there was a crunchyroll music stream. I’m gonna go off and listen to it now!
bows