"Crunchyroll owes MHA everything" My Hero Academia fan's outrageous claim has anime community furious

My Hero Academia has been one of the biggest Shonen series to come out in the last generation. However, its popularity, coupled with the rise of anime distribution platforms like Crunchyroll and a considerable influx of new, younger fans, has created some tension within the anime fandom.

This tension became particularly evident after a recent tweet crediting Crunchyroll's success solely to My Hero Academia. This sparked a heated argument among older fans, highlighting a growing generational divide. While both sides celebrate the increased accessibility of anime, veteran fans argue for recognition of the rich history that paved the way for Crunchyroll's success.

Disclaimer: This article contains very minor spoilers for My Hero Academia.

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My Hero Academia and older anime fans enter heated arguments over Crunchyroll's success

The Naruto series has been the centerpiece of classic shonen anime since the early 2000s and has since claimed its title as one of the most famous and influential anime on the planet, alongside Dragon Ball and One Piece.

Although Naruto had its spotlight, the main wave that pushed anime to new heights of popularity came in the early 2010s, during which new shonen anime like Boku no Hero Academia became hugely popular. It became the new classic among newer fans of anime.

However, the entire dispute between the Naruto and My Hero Academia fandoms arose from a Boku no Hero Academia fan's statement. The X user (@Jussdin_) claimed that My Hero Academia was the biggest contributor to Crunchyroll's success as the most prominent anime streaming website.

In response, Naruto fans claimed this statement to be rather misleading, especially pointing out the statements made by Crunchyroll on their sites stating how Naruto was indeed the biggest contributor to their success. Naruto and Boku no Hero Academia have been titans of the shonen genre, with both of their fans vocal about their opinions about the series.

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How other anime fans reacted to the statements

Naruto as shown in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Naruto fans took the statement made by the My Hero Academia fan as an attempt at stealing credits from the influence of the Naruto series on the success of Crunchyroll. One fan pointed out Crunchyroll's statements about Naruto's influence.

"Crunchyroll is the house that Naruto built"

Fans went on to claim that Naruto, along with classics like Dragon Ball, were classics that pushed anime streaming and its demand to new heights. A few fans brought up and mentioned how Crunchyroll used to advertise their service by putting Naruto in their titles.

"Crunchyroll's app was, like, actually named "Crunchyroll – Watch Naruto FREE" on the App Store for years"

Kid Goku as shown in the anime (Image via Toei Animaton)

Many other fans brought up how series like Dragon Ball were one of the very first anime that had physical goods related to it being released overseas. Other fans added to this information by stating how Dragon Ball reached its level of influence without social media or other online distribution channels except for anime fan forums.

"They were selling Dragon Ball Z notebooks and folders at CVS in the 90s"

However, the consensus around the statements of MHA fans ended up converging on the fact that the newer generation of anime fans mainly started joining the anime fandom, with My Hero Academia being their first anime, which might've skewed their opinions.