Type of business | Division |
---|---|
Type of site | Video on demand |
Headquarters | United States |
Area served | United States |
Industry | Internet |
Parent | Amazon.com |
Website | amazon.com/animestrike |
Registration | Required |
Launched | January 12, 2017 |
Current status | Defunct |
Anime Strike was a subscription-based video on demand service for Amazon Channels, focused on anime series and movies from various anime distributors. The service launched on January 1, 2017 and was closed on January 5, 2018, after which its catalog was incorporated into the Amazon Prime subscription service.
On January 12, 2017, Amazon announced the launch of its first branded on-demand subscription service for Amazon Channels, Anime Strike, "offering more than 1,000 series episodes and movies ranging from classic titles to current shows broadcast on Japanese TV."[1] Anime Strike consisted of shows that were streaming exclusively on Amazon Video worldwide, as well as selected titles licensed by Sentai Filmworks.
On January 5, 2018, Amazon discontinued the channel, and most of its exclusive content became watchable with a Prime subscription.[2] Following Anime Strike's closure, several previously exclusive titles began streaming on HIDIVE, which also streams titles from Sentai Filmworks and Section23 Films.[3][4]
With the announcement and release of Amazon's Anime Strike, the service has been met with criticism from certain outlets and fans of the anime community. Some complaints include, but are not limited to: the double paywall, delays in releasing simulcasts, and troubles with the site interface.[5][6][unreliable source?]
On January 20, 2017, IGN released an article entitled, "Amazon and Netflix Don't Understand Anime Fans." The author, Miranda Sanchez, criticized that the service was very expensive when compared to services like Crunchyroll, Funimation, and even Netflix, and that it didn't offer a free option with ads, "If you don’t already own an Amazon Prime subscription, access to Anime Strike is pricy compared to its competitors and doesn’t offer a way to watch anime for free with ads. Even by subscribing to Amazon’s standalone Prime Video service with Anime Strike, you'd still end up paying for the most expensive plan."[7]
On May 15, 2017, Forbes submitted an article entitled, "Why Anime Fans Aren't Falling In Love With Anime Strike." The article discussed the negative reception Amazon's pricing model has seen from fans.[8]