7 Best websites to watch Anime free online
Looking for a great website to watch free online anime? Here are the 7 best platforms out there.
Being able to watch free anime online is great, but you should note that all sites do not offer the same quality.
Anime has grown over the years from a local Japanese industry to become the source of over half of the world’s animated television series.
From kids to teenagers to mature adults, a wide range of people love anime. And to satisfy this growing popularity and demand for anime on the net, countless websites have sprung up in recent times.
This post looks at the best of these streaming websites that let you watch for free. It looks at their unique features, user interface, reach, and any other qualities that make them stand out.
Anime vs Manga
These two words often get thrown around together. And while they may be similar, they do have some differences that set them apart.
Both words are Japanese in origin. But while manga refers to comics or graphic novels that are often produced in black and white, anime refers to a wider range of animations.
The word anime comes from the English ‘animation’ and refers to animated works of art. These are usually hand-drawn, have a distinctive style, and are produced in full color. Additionally, anime are often adapted from the manga.
Best Free Anime Websites
| Rank | Name | Region Served | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Crunchyroll | Worldwide | crunchyroll.com |
| 2. | Funimation | Worldwide | funimation.com |
| 3. | 9anime | Worldwide | 9anime-tv.com |
| 4. | Asian Crush | N/A | asiancrush.com/browse/anime |
| 5. | Anime Planet | Worldwide | anime-planet.com |
| 6. | Netflix | Worldwide | netflix.com |
| 7. | Gogoanime.io | Worldwide | gogoanime.mom |
1. Crunchyroll
Region Served: Worldwide
Website: crunchyroll.com
Crunchyroll is an American anime, manga, and dorama distribution and licensing company. It offers free anime with either an ad-supported account or a premium account.
You can get Crunchyroll on a wide range of devices, including Android, iOS, PlayStation, Amazon Fire, Chromecast, Roku, and more.
The company has 120+ million users with over 5 million premium accounts. Free accounts can only view content a week after it airs in Japan, and with ads. While premium users can watch the content just an hour after it airs.
Premium plans start from $7.99 per month and go all the way to $79.99 per year for the Mega Fan plan. They offer full HD viewing and a 14-day free trial.
Crunchyroll’s interface is also neat and user-friendly. Allowing you to browse or search for anime titles using different categories and options.
2. Funimation
Region Served: Worldwide
Website: funimation.com
Funimation is another great anime platform with lots of focus on dubs. You can watch 600+ dubbed shows on the platform and in top quality.
The company introduced SimulDub in 2014, which makes English dubs of their simulcast titles available just weeks after airing originally in Japanese.
There is a freemium price model here, with the free plan supported by ads and limitations. But from $5.99 per month, you can enjoy the premium tier with no limits and no ads.
Funimation is also widely available on many devices, including LG smart TVs, Android, Xbox, PlayStation, Roku, Chromecast, and so on.
You should keep in mind that although Funimation has fewer titles available than does Crunchyroll, they offer more dubbed shows for your entertainment.
3. 9anime
Region Served: Worldwide
Website: 9anime-tv.com
9anime offers you simple access to the widest range of free anime online. Here, you neither need an account nor registration. Just search for the title you want and stream.
The website offers a sleek and user-friendly UI. You can browse titles by name and by other categories like upcoming, most popular, or using the alphabet.
9anime does not serve ads, neither does it require payments of any kind. There are thousands of anime shows available and in HD quality. New and old, subbed and dubbed.
Keep in mind, however, that such services often fall along the gray lines of the law. Since the platform is neither collecting nor paying licensing fees for the titles.
4. Asian Crush
Region Served: Asia, USA
Website: asiancrush.com/browse/anime
Delivered with a simple, yet intuitive interface, Asian Crush offers you access to a wide range of titles, including movies and televisions shows.
You can choose between the movies and shows using a menu button. You can also select a genre with the drop-down menu. And although this presents you with non-anime content, they are still generally Asian.
Asian Crush displays ads with the content it streams for free, but you can change that with a premium upgrade if you like. With this upgrade, you get ad-free streaming and additional access to exclusive age-gated content.
5. Anime Planet
Region Served: Worldwide
Website: anime-planet.com
Anime-Planet offers you access to 45,000+ legal anime episodes and manga completely free. All you need is to sign up for an account and that’s it.
You get to track what you have seen or read. Discover personalized recommendations, and share lists of your favorite titles and characters.
The website also includes a forum, site news, and anime and manga reviews. You can browse titles by most recent reviews, newest recommendations, popular titles this week, season, studio, tags, and so on.
Anime planet is a community-supported platform. So, there is no premium account here. But you are free to support the good work through Patreon if you love what you see.
6. Netflix
Region Served: Worldwide
Website: netflix.com
Netflix needs no introduction, except you have been living under a rock. The streaming giant offers everything from hugely popular original series to documentaries, feature films, TV shows, and exclusive anime productions.
You just need to browse the anime section to discover what’s on offer. From the popular category to family, action, children, retro, and series categories.
The downside here is that Netflix is not a free service, although it comes with a 30-day free trial. But if you or someone else already has a plan, then why not. The subscriptions start from about $9 per month for the Basic package.
7. Gogoanime.mom
Region Served: Worldwide
Website: gogoanime.mom
Gogoanime is another website you can check out for entirely free anime. Though it does not come with amazing features, it still offers many useful search functions and basic functionality.
You can search for different titles using their release date, whether they are dubs or not, and by their popularity. You can also list all the available titles and just scroll.
Another thing about Gogoanime is that you do not need an account. Simply click on any movie or episode and start watching free online.
Conclusion
We have reached the end of this list of the top websites to watch anime for free online and you have seen quite a few. From the entirely free to freemium and ad-supported platforms, you will agree there is something for everyone here.
Which of them you choose, however, depends entirely on your needs. As we are all different, with different preferences.
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