If you’re like me and are just dying to watch Anime, or are wanting to get into Anime, you are probably wondering were the best places to get your fix are. Below, I discuss the best places to catch up on your favourite shows. (All prices below are in AUD)
Crunchyroll
The Place for the Ultimate Anime Enjoyer
Personally, I think this is the best place to get your daily fix of Anime. When I first got into Anime, my choices were AnimeLab, Funimation, or Crunchyroll. Now, 5 years later, only Crunchyroll remains. Something that really stands out to me is the ability to have a free Crunchyroll account. Whilst you don’t get access to everything, and you have to suffer from so many ads (nothing a good ad blocker can’t fix), it is still pretty cool that you’re able to watch the first few episodes of titles like One Piece and Mashle.
Unfortunately, the free Crunchyroll account is pretty useless if you want to watch more than just the first 3 episodes of an anime. You can upgrade your account to a premium Fan account for $10.99 a month, or a premium Mega Fan Account for $13.99 a month or $139.99 a year. Personally, I have a Mega Fan account as this allows me to download episodes and watch them offline when I’m on the bus to school, however, if you don’t need to watch anime offline, than the premium Fan account should suffice.
Netflix
The Best Option for Families
When I first started watching Anime I never would have expected Netflix to have become such a powerhouse. Netflix is probably the best option for someone interested in watching anime, but also other popular movies and TV shows. I would absolutely recommend Netflix to any new Anime enjoyer, especially if you’re a teen like myself who doesn’t pay for TV yet. It’s a lot easier to convince your parents to pay for Netflix as there’s bound to be a show on there for them! With series like One Piece and Black Clover being available, you can’t really go wrong with Netflix.
Sadly, Netflix doesn’t have a free option like Crunchyroll. The basic account comes in at $7.99 a month and gives you access to the majority of the Netflix catalogue. Sadly, at this lower price you will still have to deal with ads. Not cool Netflix. Fortunately, you can upgrade your account for $13.99 to gain access to Netlfix’s entire catalogue, as well as enjoy an ad-free experience. Personally, I would avoid the Premium account for $25.99 as the only extra features it provides that would be really useful are the ability for 6 different devices to stream shows at the same time.
DVD
The collector’s choice
I grew up on DVDs as a kid, and I have to say I’m yet to find a feeling more heartbreaking than your favourite disk scratching. If you happen to have a DVD player kicking around at home and have a series that you are absolutely obsessed with and want to be able to watch forever, it might be worth picking it up on disc. With streaming services’ catalogues constantly changing, your favourite show might disappear from your watchlist overnight.
Another benefit of watching anime on disc is that your local library may have a small collection that you can borrow from. Personally, I would use a streaming service over DVD due to the large price tag involved with collecting DVDs, however, if I was someone who collected merch from my favourite shows, I would probably use DVDs and a streaming service.
Make sure to leave a comment if I haven’t mentioned how you watch your anime trouble free!
AM-ZONE 