Launched in 2017, Crunchyroll has climbed through the ranks to become the biggest global streaming platform for anime. Naturally, this means that a large number of anime series and films can be found on the website, including new ones that are being released every week. Each anime season, the streaming service releases a new list of anime line-ups and shares the release dates of its subbed and dubbed versions, if there are any. Since many anime end up on this platform, fans mostly rely on it to watch most shows. However, the platform is far from perfect, and it doesn’t have all the anime series one could ask for. Not to mention that it’s not unheard of for even critically acclaimed series to be removed from the platform.
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Last year, series such as Claymore and Death Parade were removed without any announcement, and fans can’t watch them legally anywhere. July 2026 is turning out to be the most disappointing month for the platform, which quietly removed three incredible anime series without any announcement, as usual. Just this week, the sudden removal of Black Lagoon sparked widespread controversy on social media since it was the only platform where fans could watch it. Black Lagoon is one of the most acclaimed classics without even having a sequel series. However, Crunchyroll didn’t stop there and removed two more series from the U.S. library.
Two More Acclaimed Series Can’t Be Streamed Anywhere After Crunchyroll Removal
Fans were already dealing with the shock of losing Black Lagoon, a classic anime whose manga just returned from an indefinite hiatus this year. After eight years, the manga resumed serialization and finally gave hope to fans for another sequel or even a reboot. However, following the removal of Black Lagoon, the platform also removed Blood Blockade Battlefront and Grimgar, Ashes, and Illusions from the U.S. library. These anime are also unavailable in select regions.
Blood Blockade Battlefront is an acclaimed action series that debuted in 2015 and released a second season in 2017. Additionally, Grimgar, Ashes, and Illusions is one of the most underrated isekai series of all time, which only has one season. Both series were only available on Crunchyroll in the USA.
Will These Anime Return on Crunchyroll Again?
There’s always a chance of removed anime series and films returning to the platform again. However, since Crunchyroll usually doesn’t announce such updates, there’s no way of knowing if these anime will ever return. While the main reason series end up leaving the platform is never officially stated by Crunchyroll, it is mostly due to the expiration of the licensing deals.
Additionally, the platform often wants to cut costs and remove less-popular titles to manage costs, which also helps them maintain the library size. While these two series are critically-acclaimed, they lost their popularity over the years, which is why their return in the future may not happen anytime soon.
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