Crunchyroll Presents: The Anime Effect is the premiere roundtable podcast highlighting anime’s influence on the broader cultural zeitgeist. A collaboration between Crunchyroll and Sony Music Entertainment, The Anime Effect is a 60 min weekly roundtable news and discussion podcast with Crunchyroll hosts and special guests that spotlight anime's influence in the broader cultural landscape. The show provides a gateway for the anime curious to enter the wide world of the medium. It shows that anime is already a part of their lives, even if they haven't realized it.
Twice a week, Crunchyroll Presents: The Anime Effect, engages with its audience of anime fans by doing exactly what they love to do: talk about anime.
On the first episode of the week, hosts Nicholas Friedman, LeAlec Murray, and Leah President come together to talk about the anime news of the week, bringing their unique takes, expertise on the subjects, and personable flair to the conversation. Whether it’s Nicholas’ deep knowledge about anime itself, LeAlec’s love of professional wrestling, or Leah’s mastery of music and pop culture, the trio is able to bring fresh perspectives and unique takes to the world of anime news.
The second episode every week features an interview with a special guest, ranging from voice actors to producers to musicians to professional athletes. Bringing in high-profile guests like NFL player Jamaal Williams, rap duo EARTHGANG, Baldur’s Gate 3 voice actors Neil Newbon and Devora Wild, and even international singing sensation LiSA, the show aims to be a place where those across any walk of life can come together to talk about their love of the medium of anime.
The goal of The Anime Effect, which is a co-production with Sony Music, isn’t simply to highlight anime on Crunchyroll’s owned platforms, but to discuss anime as a whole. The team discusses great anime as a whole, whether that show appears on Crunchyroll or anywhere else.
The show is all about how anime has affected the broader cultural landscape, and bringing together all shows across all platforms allows it to do just that.
Combined with a robust social media strategy that brings highlights of the interviews to a wide variety of audiences across a multitude of platforms, The Anime Effect is able to provide the premiere anime podcast experience to a variety of audiences across a variety of platforms.
When Crunchyroll Presents: The Anime Effect launched in February 2024, it was an immediate success, shooting to the No. 1 slot of the US Animation Charts in its first week.
Since then, the show has only grown in listenership and reputation. Garnering hundreds of thousands of listens and downloads across podcast platforms and YouTube, the show has garnered both a loyal following thanks to its unique take on discussing the anime world.
The success of the show has resulted in outreach from a variety of celebrity guests, including upcoming episodes featuring WWE wrestler Zelina Vega, actress Kimiko Glenn, and many more.
