If You’re an Anime Fan, Don’t Ignore Mainstream Streaming Services

If you’re a core anime fan like I am, you might generally stick to dedicated anime streaming services like Crunchyroll or HiDive for your needs, but if you take the time to plumb the depths of more mainstream services, you could be pleasantly surprised.

Dedicated Anime Streaming Services Are Great, but…

There’s no argument from me that the libraries offered by services like Crunchyroll are amazing for anime lovers, but these services are far from comprehensive or perfect. Compared to Netflix, for example, the Crunchyroll app has always given me numerous technical problems over the years on different devices and platforms. Crucial features like subtitles don’t always work right, and streaming quality performance is still a common issue, despite the fact that I’ve upgraded to gigabit fiber in the meantime.

Frankly, if the same anime is available on Netflix and Crunchyroll, I’m much more likely to watch it on Netflix because the overall experience is likely to be better as things stand. I don’t want to single out Crunchyroll alone, all the dedicated anime streaming apps I have tried over the years have consistent issues. It’s common for server capacity problems at peak times, or for subtitles to be out of sync. They don’t have basic features such as being able to switch audio tracks. Instead, an entire show is listed multiple times, once with and once for every language of dubbed audio.

Many Classic Anime Live on Mainstream Services

There’s also a definite bias towards newer and simulcast anime on specialist anime streaming services. Which isn’t a bad thing at all, but it does mean that many classic titles are more likely to be on mainstream platforms than on small anime streaming services. After all, the likes of Amazon and Netflix have significant licensing clout, and will likely get huge bundles of older shows and media that include older shows that are timeless. Not only that, but big streaming services are starting to fund the production of some anime themselves, such as the excellent Knights of Sidonia, which for a time was a Netflix-sponsored title.

If you want to stream my all-time favorite show, Neon Genesis Evangelion, well, you have to head over to Netflix. If you want to watch the movies that followed later, that’s only on Amazon Prime. Actually, I personally don’t have to worry about that because I buy my favorite shows on disc, but the point is that the mainstream services often host some of the best and most popular anime you can watch.

Another thing to consider is that licensing varies by region, so depending on where in the world you are, licenses for certain shows may be with big streaming services rather than anime-specific ones.

There Are Some Hidden Gems if You Know Where to Look

Netflix, at least, is pretty good at showcasing its anime on offer. Well, assuming it knows you like the medium in the first place, but for many other streaming services you have to go digging and rate a few things before the good stuff bubbles to the top. Amazon Prime in particular has a small but quality collection of shows, and that’s where I was able to watch Vinland Saga long before it was available on Crunchyroll.

Even Plex surprised me with its selection of anime as part of it’s streaming library. Yes, most people think of Plex as something you use to host and stream your own collection of digital media, but the platform holds a sizable selection of old shows and movies, which means relatively obscure or old anime such as Otaku No Video or the original Bubblegum Crisis can be found there, and for free! Again, the specifics of what’s in each library changes depending on the time and place, but what’s clear is that you should spend a few minutes looking at the anime selections of services you wouldn’t usually associate with the medium. Often lumped in under the broader “animation” category along with everything else that isn’t strictly live action.