Interview with Patrick Macias of Crunchyroll Comics

Crunchyroll, founded in 2006, is a content streaming website that carries many of the most popular Animes and Korean dramas. Some of the content is available for free, there are also premium memberships that open up even more great shows, plus you can stream in higher definitions and without ads

Crunchyroll recently launched Crunchyroll Comics, a place where users can submit their own content to make it available for anyone to read on the site. I was fortunate enough to have a chat with Patrick Macias, about Crunchyroll, and Crunchyroll Comics.

Den of Geek [DOG]: For our readers, could you tell us who you are and what you do?

Patrick [PM]- I’m Patrick Macias. I’m the Editor in Chief of Crunchyroll news and I do other things behind the scenes of Crunchyroll, such as helping out with the launch of Crunchyroll Comics. 

DOG – Can you please explain Crunchyroll to our readers?

PM – Crunchyroll is a streaming media portal site that specializes in anime and Asian (Korean and Japanese) drama. Everything on the site is 100 percent legal and officially licensed.

DOG – Anime/Manga sites have been very popular on the Internet for some time now. Without naming alternatives, it’s safe to say that many fans have seen or visited these sites. What makes Crunchyroll (premium) stand out against free or rival sites?

PM – I think it’s the global reach of Crunchyroll. Viewers can access our content and site from over 216 countries. And I think it’s also the quality of service. Crunchyroll is kind of special in that everything is developed in-house, we don’t use any 3rd party people do develop our projects. And I have to say, out of every company that I have ever worked for; Crunchyroll has extraordinarily strong IT kung-fu. So they are generally able to get things done really fast if ever there’s a problem on anyone’s end and they are really good and responsive with customer service.

DOG – With an app on PS3 and coming to the 360, can we hope to see one on the WiiU?

PM – I can’t say for sure. I’m not aware of anything, nor could I comment on that even if I were aware. But the devs here are always developing new apps, so it’s possible, it’s entirely possible that its going on, but I can’t say for sure!

DOG -With Crunchyroll arriving to consoles, is there any interest in bringing over the growing list of Japanese video game based films? For example: Phoenix Wright / Onechanbara?

PM -Crunchyroll doesn’t really focus much on feature film acquisition; we mostly focus on television programs — anime and drama — and shorts. So this is not really our field of expertise. But it’s entirely possible that it could happen at some point. 

DOG -Do you find that fans prefer dubbed or subbed Anime?

PM – Our users prefer subbed anime, because that’s what we offer, but we do get a lot of inquiries from people who want dubbed Anime. I don’t know what the actual percentage is for dubbed/subbed preference, but our users tend to like subtitled. 

DOG -Where did the idea for Crunchyroll Comics come from?

PM – Crunchyroll developed a manga reader for another application and a different product out there and the reader itself was really good. People at Crunchyroll were wondering what to do next with it and that turned into a new site where people could upload their own comics and share them. So that’s basically where the idea came from and how it evolved.

DOG -Could you explain how the submission process works for Crunchyroll Comics?

PM – Right now, people are being asked to submit their information and some artwork samples and then several people on staff at Crunchyroll are reviewing the applications. And, if we think they are suitable for the site, the artist is given a publisher account which allows them to then start posting their work. The site just launched two weeks ago, so the process is very hands on now, but eventually there will be more features added and the applications and submissions process will be more automated.

DOG -How have fans responded to Crunchyroll Comics? Are you seeing visitors to your site that you would not have otherwise seen?

PM -So far the response has been good, but again, we are only at the beginning of this journey. I think the big change in audience is we have been getting the attention of web comics people, who weren’t necessarily people that would come to the site, since we cater more to anime, otaku and drama fans. So I think it is fair to say that we’re courting a new audience now.

DOG -Would there be any chance of Crunchyroll publishing the submitted comics in paperback or form? (Under a Crunchyroll label?) What about a smartphone app where people can enjoy Crunchyroll Comics without having to navigate to the site (i.e., a comic reader)?

PM – We haven’t specifically talked about these ideas, although we are always looking for new things to explore. So I will mention it to the staff to consider.

DOG – And now for a few fun personal questions:

DOG -Personal Favorite Anime?

PM – Space Battleship Yamato, also known as Star Blazers in the USA. If there was only one anime that I had to take with me to a desert island, that would be it.

DOG -Have you ever played True Love and if so, which character did you wind up with at the end?

PM – I haven’t played True Love, I pretty much only play violent first person shooters on the Xbox. I’ve never even heard of True Love. I’m strictly a Call of Duty / FarCry kind of guy. My bad.

DOG – During the zombie apocalypse, what would be your weapon of choice?

PM – I think a sniper rifle would be good for picking zombies off from afar without alerting them to where I was positioned and then I could use C4 and a remote detonated explosive to take lots of them out at once

DOG -Finally, is there anything you wish to tell our readers?

PM – Please check out Crunchyroll Comics and if you are an artist please submit your work! It’s free to use and the copyright is all yours. We do not claim anything on it. And we are looking to feature all kinds of comics. Even though we are a site that most people associate with anime, we aren’t just looking for works in the manga style. We are looking for anything with sequential storytelling. So come check us out!

http://www.crunchyroll.com/comics

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