Anime is an ever-expanding medium with thousands of titles spanning multiple genres. While it may have been rare to spot anime fans in the past, currently, the medium’s popularity has skyrocketed, resulting in a large fanbase. Consequently, multiple companies and organizations have emerged to make the anime-watching experience more streamlined and comfortable for the masses.
Some anime fans may be more familiar with legally questionable, free streaming sites which have a large database of anime to choose from, but these are usually filled with ads and redirections everywhere you click. The more comfortable options, in most cases, are the mostly ad-free legal sites with recognized licenses and additional features tailored to enhance your viewing. Though they usually require payment for the full range of their services, the costs are relatively cheap, and they provide quality services. With this in mind, fans of the anime franchise can use these sites to stream their favorite anime.
10/10 RetroCrush
- Pricing: Free
- Genres: Mecha, Comedy, Psychological, Drama & more.
The anime available on RetroCrush are largely represented by the name of the service. It mainly features anime classics from the 1990s, and late 2000s, such as; Urusei Yatsura, Hajime no Ippo, and Great Teacher Onizuka. Despite being free, they have a premium option that allows you to navigate the platform without encountering any ads.
It mostly consists of anime originals and movies, but it provides an experience that can hardly be found anywhere else. It also has many titles available in dub for those who would rather not follow subtitles.
9/10 AsianCrush
- Pricing: Free
- Genres: Comedy, Drama, Historical, & more.
AsianCrush is a free service with a design that is much similar to that of RetroCrush. It offers similar packages as well in terms of premium, but the content is, in fact, different. AsianCrush focuses more on media that encompasses all of Asian entertainment, meaning, apart from anime, it includes k-dramas and other popular series stemming from the continent.
The anime offered on AsianCrush are pretty random, with many of them being old shows that can be considered classics. The service allows you to watch them from your browser, the app, and many other platforms.
8/10 HIDIVE
- Pricing: $4.99 Monthly.
- Genres: Fantasy, Slice of Life, Romance, and more.
HIDIVE is a streaming service that offers both simulcast and DUBCAST showings on their platform. Simulcast, meaning shows that air at the same time they are broadcasted on Japanese television, while DUBCAST represents the dubbed alternatives streamed in English a few weeks later.
Their titles are also viewable on a wide array of devices such as; smartphones, TVs, web browsers, streaming devices, and gaming consoles. In addition, they provide detailed descriptions of new anime airing in a specific season and have helpful categories that assist in finding the right fit for you.
7/10 VRV
- Pricing: $9.99 Monthly.
- Genres: Shonen, Seinen, Shoujo & more.
VRV is a great anime website with a large catalog of shows to choose from; however, it’s available only in the United States. It offers three channels, namely Crunchyroll, Mondo, and VRV Select, with Crunchyroll being the one designated for anime. It is also not strictly a paid service, as you can watch some content for free. They also offer a 30-day free trial, giving you an extended time to navigate its website and see if it is to your liking.
You can access some of the most popular anime on this site, as their library is directly linked to Crunchyroll. You can also take your favorite shows offline and watch them even without an internet connection.
6/10 TubiTV
- Pricing: Free.
- Genres: Action, Fantasy, & more.
TubiTV also offers services that do not strictly cater to anime fans but have all the popular anime you may be looking to watch for free. In exchange for their services, however, viewers may have to put up with a few ads, but it still remains extremely convenient.
It is available in multiple regions and allows you to stream shows over multiple devices and platforms. Once signed in, you can also make a list of anime you wish to remember, which can help because there are many shows in the medium.
5/10 Amazon Prime Video
- Pricing: $14.99 Monthly
- Genres: Fantasy, Psychological, Mecha, & more
Amazon Prime Video may sometimes be overshadowed by its larger competitors, but it remains a great site where you can access many of your favorite anime. The pricing system allows you to rent anime for usually between $2.99 to $3.99, while you can also choose to buy them for $14.99. There are also other titles and movies you can access as long as you have an Amazon Prime membership.
Its library includes classics as well as popular movies and recent titles. In addition, they offer a 30-day free trial for prime membership, which gives you access to a wide section of their catalog and other packages exclusive to certain series.
4/10 Hulu
- Pricing: 6.99 Monthly.
- Genres: Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Drama, & more.
Hulu is a strong presence in the streaming industry, with connections to both Disney and Sony. It features popular anime and anime movies such as Demon Slayer, One Punch Man, and Akira. It is easily accessible and has different plans set up with the intention of making the site’s viewing experience comfortable for different individuals.
They also offer recent simulcasts and dubs, as well as other categories for people with specific preferences. Though some long-running anime on the site are featured with incomplete episodes, it makes up for it with a large library and many other shows to choose from.
3/10 Netflix
- Pricing: $9.99 Monthly
- Genres: Action, Sci-Fi, Dark Fantasy, & others.
Netflix is arguably the world’s most popular streaming service. They are renowned not only for their massive collection of live-action titles but also for their anime, some of which are even referred to as Netflix originals. While using their service, you can watch anime like Vinland Saga, Devilman Crybaby, Beastars, and many more.
They also have quite a few handy options as well which allow you to download your favorite shows, skip anime openings, share with your friends, cast to other devices, and many more.
2/10 Funimation
- Pricing: $7.99 Monthly.
- Genres: Action, Comedy, Slice of Life, Romance, & others.
Funimation is one of the oldest anime streaming services around, and it has done well to keep up with the ever-changing nature of the anime industry. It started out as a dubbing and distribution service mainly involved with East-Asian media and has been working with anime ever since. Despite a large portion of its library being shared with Crunchyroll in March 2022, it remains a great site for watching various anime.
It features classics like Dragon Ball Z, popular romances like Toradora, and interesting isekai like Overlord. Furthermore, their shows are split into categories that make it easier for viewers to pick out what they want, and they offer dubs for almost all their titles.
1/10 Crunchyroll
- Pricing: $7.99 Monthly
- Genres: Action, Romance, Comedy, Slice of Life, and more.
Reputed as the world’s largest anime library, Crunchyroll is almost always the first name that comes to mind when you think about unrestricted anime content. They have offices worldwide and feature a news page keeping their subscribers up to date about all the newest shows.
They also have over a thousand anime series with more than thirty thousand episodes combined. Unlike some other streaming services mentioned previously, they consistently keep up with long-running shows and are bound to have your favorite titles no matter what you’re into. Naturally, they stream in both dubbed and subbed while also having their own anime originals, which they began releasing in 2020.