End Slate Recommendations

Deployed across 8 platforms spanning TV, consoles, streaming devices, mobile, and web, End Slate Recommendations now drive 590K+ monthly users into new content discovery, helping close a critical competitive gap against Netflix, Disney+, and Hulu.

The Problem: a large percentage of users cancelled their Crunchyroll subscriptions due to the statement: ‘I have nothing left to watch.’

A consistent pattern we observed was that anime fans would subscribe when new seasons release, watch their show, then cancel. Data showed a retention cliff: users who watched fewer series churned at significantly higher rates. After the last episode, users saw nothing. A blank screen at the exact moment they’re deciding ‘what next?’ while still emotionally connected.

Our solution: Full-bleed hero art catching fans at the moment they’re most engaged. Sparkle indicators allow for browsing through recommendations without breaking immersion. The form factor of a single focused recommendation with the utility of a full carousel.

Visual and Motion Design

Another focus for this feature was to integrate a pagination design that worked in harmony with the licensor title art, but still provided clear wayfinding for our users.

The result was a number of iterations that incorporated Crunchyroll branding and anime elements. The final product being the ‘kira-kira’ star component which proved successful enough that it's now being adopted platform-wide across other carousels, extending its impact well beyond the original feature.