Crunchyroll has 1,400+ titles, but most users watch the same simulcasts and churn. Anime Atlas turns the back catalog into structured discovery paths — building real genre expertise one show at a time.
Research, strategy, UX specifications & content curation methodology
Crunchyroll's catalog has tripled, but discovery hasn't kept pace. Users show up for new releases and then leave — there's a library full of shows they'd love, but no path to find them. Standard fixes (better algorithms, editorial lists, more filtering) help users who already know what they want. They don't help the mid-to-power user who's watched 20–200 shows and hit a wall.
So the design question became: how do you turn "I don't know what to watch" into confident exploration — without just throwing more recommendations at people?
Atlas connects shows through thematic relationships — tone, narrative style, character dynamics — so users build real genre literacy, not just a longer watch history.
Atlas maps about 107 shows per genre, but a new explorer starts with roughly 25. Scoping it down turns browsing into a guided journey — discovery that feels like exploration, not a catalog dump.
Pins, titles, and frames map to your exploration history — which genres you've gone deep in, which hidden gems you've found. Your collection tells people what kind of fan you are.
Each episode demonstrates a different stage of the discovery journey. Use the episode selector in the prototype to switch between them.
Sora — New user, no watch history
First encounter with Anime Atlas. The tutorial introduces the concept, then you browse shows on the Home screen, "watch" your first anime, and see the first discovery path unlock.
Ren — Returning fan, 19 shows already watched
Simulates the launch experience for an existing Crunchyroll subscriber. A batch claim ceremony lets you chart all previously-watched shows at once, instantly unlocking pins and exploration paths.
Ryuu — Power user, 107/108 Action shows charted
One show away from Action Legend status. Chart the final show to trigger the Legend completion ceremony — earning the Legend pin, frame, and background. Explore a fully-built profile and deep pin collection.