Streaming services have come a long way since the 2000s. Console players can remember having to stick a disc into their PS3 just to stream Netflix. It was a wild setup, but now consoles and most TVs come set up with built-in apps like Disney+ and Netflix.
Not many have dedicated anime apps, like Crunchyroll, pre-installed, but they are easy enough to download regardless. For anime fans, let’s go through the best anime streaming apps ready to play on consoles, TVs, computers, and a plethora of smart devices. These will be ranked based on price and content variety between modern shows and classics. Not all of these are pure anime apps, either.
Amazon Prime
You Probably Forgot You Had This Service
Amazon Prime began as a must-have service that offered free shipping on everything in the store. Customers bought their annual subscription, and then that was that. However, eventually, Amazon started adding new services free of charge, such as streaming anime, movies, and TV shows. Amazon doesn’t have the most diverse anime selection around, as most titles are big but older, typically falling under the 2010s.
Some good examples include Death Note, InuYasha, and Great Teacher Onizuka. They have paid for some good current shows too, like New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt and Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, but anime fans shouldn’t generally go to Amazon Prime hoping to get the latest and greatest all of the time. It’s a plus to free deliveries with nice options to rent, or buy content beyond anime, too.
Hulu
More Than Meets The Eye
Hulu was the first big streaming competitor to Netflix, and it had a great hook. Viewers could watch basic cable shows the day after they aired for free. The model has changed significantly since then, and right now customers can sign up and get an ad-based version for $10 or a $19 version with no ads.
Beyond the price difference, Hulu has also added more and more anime over the years. There’s nothing on there that can’t be watched on other streaming services, but the archive is well put together. There are good modern classics like Attack on Titan and My Hero Academia, and older gems like Gundam Wing and Cowboy Bebop. It’s expensive and doesn’t fully cater to the needs of pure anime fans, but Hulu’s lineup is undeniably solid.
Hidive
An Eclectic Collection Of Anime
Hidive is a relatively new streaming service as it was released in 2017. There are only two tiers to the payment plan, as subscribers can pay $7 monthly or $70 annually. With either version, they can stream on two devices at a time, get dubbed and subbed content, and download episodes for offline viewing. Hidive is one of the oddest anime apps focused purely on anime, which is only recommended when all other streaming apps have been mined.
That is to say, the anime variety is strange, with a large focus on more obscure anime that is admittedly current, like a lot of Isekai. There are some great, fairly recent, and classic choices too, like Food Wars, Made in Abyss, and Lupin the 3rd. They even have some decent movies like Ninja Scroll and Vampire Hunter D, but the overall collection lacks the punch of other services and is only recommended for the diehards. Still, it does have new anime and that’s something to celebrate.
RetroCrush
Obscure And Old Classics
RetroCrush began around 2020, which was the perfect era to launch a streaming service since everyone was trapped inside. Like Hidive, there are only two subscription models as fabs can either pay $5 monthly or $50 annually. RetroCrush’s gimmick focuses on retro anime anywhere between the 70s and 90s, primarily, but it has 60s and 2000s anime too, and a few live-action and Western cartoons.
There is definitely some obscure anime on the service, but altogether, the retro collection is well groomed, offering things like Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Uresei Yatsura, and even Astro Boy, which helped start the medium. There are subbed and dubbed shows, with subbed content definitely overtaking the dubbed offerings. The coolest feature on the service is the Livestream, which features a programming block. It feels like a combination of Lo-Fi beats channels on YouTube and classic Adult Swim lineups.
Netflix
Surprisingly Great Anime
Netflix began as a mail-in service that sent media to homes as early as 1997. It was one of the best ways to get anime without paying an exorbitant amount of money for box sets or individual videos for a good decade. Eventually, they set up their streaming version and quickly became a phenomenon in 2007. Netflix’s anime lineup online was pretty lackluster for a long time, but within the past five years, they have really come into its own.
They currently have some of the most popular anime up to date, like Dan Da Dan, One Piece, and Sakamoto Days. They also regularly help fund projects based on games like Castlevania and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. It should also be noted that there are, of course, tons of other things to watch besides anime, as Netflix is all-encompassing now. With ads, viewers can pay $8, but the best deal is obviously the no-ad $18 version. There’s a $25 4K version too, but it’s not really worth it. Overall, Netflix is pricey for fans who just want anime, but it’s hard to argue against their selection and user-friendly setup.
Crunchyroll
It’s THE Anime App
Crunchyroll technically began as a humble fan service in 2006, which has evolved so much since it shifted to official uploads in 2009. It is the best way to watch current anime, in dubbed and subbed formats, and a healthy collection of retro content too. There are three versions to subscribe to, including Fan, Mega Fan, and Ultimate Fan, and all options have yearly versions too. Respectively, their costs include $8, $12, or $16, and version differences include how many active devices subscribers can have and how much they can get discounted on the store.
For the anime itself, some great trending shows include Dr. Stone, Fire Force, and Solo Leveling, along with older anime like Ashita no Joe, City Hunter, and Golden Boy. The one gripe that is worth mentioning is that some anime are only available in subbed formats, even though there is a dub out there, like Gate Keepers, Hunter X Hunter, and Naruto. Licensing issues are common in streaming services, but those examples are a bummer regardless of the reason. That said, there’s no better anime variety than Crunchyroll.
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