Crunchyroll Officially Set to Beat Netflix’s Anime Monopoly With New Sony Deal

Anime has spent years conquering streaming, but the next battlefield may be much harder to animate: live action. Netflix has become one of the most visible players in bringing anime and manga properties to live-action screens, with One Piece proving that the right combination of source-material respect, creative oversight, and blockbuster production can turn a risky adaptation into a global hit.

Now, Sony and Crunchyroll are stepping directly into that territory with Crunchyroll StoryWorks, a new division designed to develop anime and live-action adaptations with Japanese creators (via Variety). Sony wants Crunchyroll to become much more than a place where fans watch anime. With this, the company is officially set to break Netflix’s monopoly in live-action anime adaptations.

Crunchyroll’s Sony Deal Aims at Netflix’s Live-Action Anime Empire

Sony Group’s anime business with Aniplex and Crunchyroll. [Credit: SONY]

Announced by Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman and CEO Ravi Ahuja at Crunchyroll’s inaugural Anime Future Forum in New York, Crunchyroll StoryWorks will operate within Crunchyroll’s content group and focus on developing adaptations in both directions: bringing stories from around the world into anime while taking Japanese anime into live action. CEO Ravi Ahuja said (via Variety):

Anime has become a global cultural force because it has been shaped over decades by the creators, studios and publishers who have nurtured and developed its distinctive storytelling and unforgettable characters.

Likewise, Crunchyroll’s chief content officer, Asa Suehira, said:

Storyworks will build a creative bridge between Japan and storytellers around the world — one that protects what makes these stories distinctive while creating new possibilities for creators and new ways for fans to experience the stories they love.

The division will be led by Sony executive Tohru Iokibe, who previously worked on intellectual-property acceleration initiatives connecting Sony Pictures Entertainment with PlayStation Productions. He will report to Asa Suehira.

The initiative will connect Crunchyroll, Aniplex, Sony Pictures and Japanese creative partners, with StoryWorks developing projects that can potentially feed into HAYATE, the anime production company jointly established by Crunchyroll and Aniplex in 2025. HAYATE was created to strengthen Sony’s ability to plan and produce anime for global audiences.

Sony has been unusually clear about wanting anime to become a larger cross-company business. Its own corporate strategy identifies anime as a significant growth driver and highlights the combination of Aniplex’s production expertise and Crunchyroll’s international reach. Crunchyroll had more than 21 million paid subscribers across more than 200 countries and territories as of March 31, 2026, giving Sony an enormous built-in global anime audience.

Sony’s New Anime Push Could Finally Fix Live-Action Adaptations

Netflix has already shown the commercial potential of live-action anime adaptations with One Piece. Its series, produced with Tomorrow Studios and Shueisha, became a global hit, and Netflix has continued expanding the franchise, with Season 3 confirmed for 2027.

But Netflix’s history also illustrates why this territory is dangerous. Its 2017 Death Note film currently sits at a 36% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, while its 2021 Cowboy Bebop series holds a 45% critics score (figures as of October 8, 2026). Neither represents the total history of Netflix’s adaptations, and One Piece proves the platform can get the formula right. Still, those earlier reactions prove the enormous gap between making an adaptation that is merely recognizable and making one that actually feels right.

The biggest advantage StoryWorks has is proximity to the anime industry itself. Sony’s corporate structure already puts Aniplex and Crunchyroll unusually close together. Aniplex brings Japanese production, planning, and IP expertise, while Crunchyroll has spent years building relationships with international anime fans and distributing Japanese animation around the world.

Now, live-action anime adaptations have a particularly nasty problem: the source material is already visual perfection in the minds of its fans. A live-action production cannot simply reproduce every exaggerated expression, impossible movement, or fantastical setting. It has to translate them without stripping away what made the original special.

Netflix’s One Piece production involved Shueisha and creator Eiichiro Oda. The result became one of the platform’s major global successes. Sony now appears interested in turning that lesson into an entire strategy rather than leaving it to individual productions.

Do you think Crunchyroll and Sony can finally get live-action anime right? Share your take in the comments.