Crunchyroll Reveals UK Anime Fans Shun Cosplay in Favour of Books and Boardgames

Date: 2019 December 11 20:59

Posted by Joe

Anime streaming service Crunchyroll have sent us an interesting press release. They highlight that most UK anime fans would rather read a good book than cosplay. Surveying their premium UK members (who pay for the service to remove ads and get earlier access to titles) they discovered that less 7% are into cosplaying. In comparison 10% write or read fan fiction!

We could speculate as to why this is. Could it be that cosplayers would rather spend their disposable income on cosplaying? Instead using the free access areas of Crunchyroll? Does it reflect fandom in general, are less than 7% of anime fans involved in creating cosplay?

Full Story

Press release as follows:

UK anime fans would rather read a good book than cosplay

Contrary to popular belief, very few UK based anime fans are into cosplay - in fact, they would rather play a board game or read a book than dress up as one of their favourite comic characters.

Research conducted by Crunchyroll, revealed that less than 7% of Premium viewers in the UK (paid for subscription with no advertising) are into cosplaying. The least popular activity in the survey was starring in or going to the theatre, which is enjoyed by just under 7% of fans.

A massive 80% of the premium respondents play video games while they are not watching anime. Almost 50% read manga and 33% watch video game livestreams such as Twitch. 15% make or look at fan art while 21% collect figurines and 10% write or read fan fiction.

18% of UK anime fans read comic books and just under 10% play trading games.

Crunchyroll is one of the world's top SVOD platforms with 50 million registered users worldwide. It screens more than 850 anime series and in the UK, some of the most popular shows are:


Dr. STONE



In a dark future, the world has turned to stone, but two boys called Taiju and Senku wake up and make it their mission to save humanity with science. The great thing about this show is that is that the science element is real and you learn something new in every episode.


Gen:LOCK



UK actor David Tennant voices the character of Dr.Rufus Weller (pictured above), the inventor of gen:LOCK technology - giant weaponised robots known as mecha. The show is set in a time when earth is on the losing side of a universal war. The series debuted in January 2019.


JoJo's Bizarre Adventure



Based on a manga series that was created in 1986, this show is famed for its references to Western music and fashion. The series follows the adventures of the Joestar family across several generations.


Crunchyroll is one of the world's top SVOD platforms with 50 million registered users worldwide. It screens more than 850 anime series. With paid membership, users can stream new anime episodes within hours of their release in Japan with English subtitles. https://www.crunchyroll.com/