MUBI

By Louise Marmie

Faced with the scandal caused by the Netflix release of the film 365 days, accused of glorifying rape, human trafficking and Stockholm syndrome, the SVOD giant simply replied that “Netflix is an on-demand company, and viewers may choose what to watch”. In other words, it would seem that love of cinema is not what guides the editorial line of giants like Netflix, but rather opportunistic and profit-driven calculations. 

But other platforms, perhaps more confidential, offer rare and high quality films, for all film lovers. Mubi, for example, intends to give priority to quality over quantity, offering thirty films per month to its subscribers (each day a new one is added, another removed), from great must-see classics to small gems that have only been shown, up to now, in international film festivals.

Mubi is therefore fully integrated in a logic of ‘slow entertainment‘ where each film is carefully selected, allowing art-house cinema, independent cinema, and non-English-speaking cinema to make their entrance on our screens at home, broadening our horizons. This alternative platform showcases films that might be difficult to find elsewhere and that sometimes only “insiders” would have heard of.

The programming is highly editorialised, often with thematic content (for example a focus on new Brazilian cinema or on French New Wave) allowing you to discover films from all over the world, and from all eras. Finally, the platform is undeniably interactive, offering users the opportunity to debate and exchange opinions and reviews, through enthusiasts’ forums. Mubi is therefore aimed at cinephiles, who will have to pay ┬ú9.99 per month to use the service, compared to ┬ú8.99 for a standard Netflix offer.

Crunchyroll

By Alex Daud Briggs

The temptation of piracy is a constant shadow over the average anime fan. ItÔÇÖs just too convenient, especially for those that donÔÇÖt want to wait up to a year for an authentic DVD release with English subtitles. ThatÔÇÖs where Crunchyroll comes in. 

The platform not only hosts over  200 anime from across the mediumÔÇÖs vast history, but it has promoted what is known as ÔÇÿsimulcastingÔÇÖ. It streams brand new episodes of currently airing anime within hours of their original Japanese broadcast and does all of this while also being completely legal for a low price of ┬ú7 a month. As for all their catalogue thatÔÇÖs not currently airing, itÔÇÖs completely free, as long as youÔÇÖre willing to put up with ads during the stream. ThatÔÇÖs a lot of anime for a low price.

Crunchyroll has admittedly been plagued by issues in the past. Their player used to be terrible and prone to crashing during ads but thankfully this has been changed to a HTML player that has worked far better. CrunchyrollÔÇÖs team has been good at taking feedback from their user base and making changes where necessary. 

TheyÔÇÖve even recently started to work specifically with Japanese studios in Japan to produce original anime exclusively for their service based not only on Japanese creations but even on Korean manhwa adaptations. While these have been kind of hit or miss (Tower of God was good but The God of High School was meh), I think it has potential to bring a new dimension to anime as a whole.

If you like anime, youÔÇÖll probably like Crunchyroll, try it out.