Streaming anime has always been something that has never felt quite streamlined. For every new show you hear about, there is probably a bookmarked anime content website somewhere that you’ve kept tucked away. If you’ve spent an extended period on the internet, as many anime fans do, you’ve probably come across a few legal and not-so-legal sites, including sites like GoGo Anime, Kissanime, and especially 9anime.
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In fact, 9anime (a free anime website) is likely one of those bookmarked sites that provide a steady supply of the newest anime TV series. Moreover, it is one of the most visited websites to stream a person’s favourite anime title or episode.
However, it always feels like a chore to use 9anime, considering the seemingly endless ads you and other visitors have to put up with (although you could use ad blockers for this). Still, you power through and catch up on your favourite shows. As you’ve engaged with this platform and watched a few episodes of your favourites, there have probably been questions lingering at the back of your mind, “Is 9anime a legal anime streaming site? Is 9 anime safe?”
It can feel like a mission for anime lovers to even find the official website for 9anime, as a simple search will show you many websites with similar domains. All fake sites. The only natural way to find the official website and avoid being caught on scam websites or phishing sites is to find their page through their official Twitter page or Subreddit. There, you will find links to all of their official links and mirrors and their proxy website.
That’s what we are going to investigate and answer today. Before you begin downloading or streaming your favourite show, consider this.
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Is 9anime legal?
In a nutshell, no, 9anime is not a legal anime streaming site. But there’s a more extensive scheme behind 9anime that will make you think twice about using the website if you’ve been an avid supporter.
9anime and many other free anime streaming websites on the internet are running advertisements (something that many of us circumvent with an ad blocker). While it may be nice to think that the ads are donated to studios/Mangaka, that is simply not the case.
With 9anime, you’re watching high-quality anime from their servers in exchange for the advertisements targeted at you (which is not legal at all). Unfortunately, once the ads generate revenue, these profits will only seep into the pockets of the person running the illegal streaming sites.
If you think that’s bad enough, consider that the internet is a cesspool of opportunistic sharks. All of them are waiting to take advantage of art with no appreciation for the process behind it. Many people running these websites don’t even have a connection to anime. Instead, they see the whole operation as a money machine, and you’re unknowingly taking the bait.
Plus, there’s the chance of picking up a virus (or viruses); even if you are running military-grade encryption and the best VPN, you are putting yourself at risk when you use free piracy sites and torrent sites. While you are getting access to your favourite anime through these illegal sites, getting access to free movies, and it feels okay because it’s easy access to the best free anime, there are much better ways to go about it, for your own internet safety and online privacy.
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Why your favourite anime did not get a new season
While piracy (and using illegal piracy sites like 9anime) may seem harmless, there’s a lot that it affects behind the scenes. Creating an anime requires costly resources, and the only way studios can confidently embark on a project is by receiving support.
Therefore, it may seem unfair when a heavily discussed anime receives a new season after years. That’s because many people were streaming illegally or exploiting the genre. While there are many free ways to watch high-quality anime online, there are other ways to go about it.
To combat this, start looking toward the paid options. We know how frustrating they can be, and their catalogues never seem to have the classics. However, it is currently the best thing that we can do to support those artists, and a few noteworthy workarounds can improve your paid anime streaming experience. I understand, though, that only some people have the money to spend on a subscription service. If you have no choice but to enjoy your anime the ‘illegal’ way, make sure to use a virtual private network or a VPN service to protect your information and your computer while you are online. This isn’t the only use for a good VPN, as you can use it to hide your IP address, something that protects you and also allows you to view different content based on regional availability.
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How to enjoy legal anime streaming
Legal anime streaming platforms are still your best bet if you want to support the creators. Avoid such illegal anime sites as 9anime, AnimeFreak, and various proxy sites.
There are a ton of legal options waiting for you to try out.
Netflix – is one of the cheaper and most affordable options for streaming anime legally. There are a lot of options when it comes to tailoring how much you would like to pay for the service. Suppose you are used to streaming anime on mobile devices. In that case, you can pay for the portable option, which is as little as R39/month. Netflix has an extensive library of online anime with many different languages when it comes to options for subs and usually has English dubbed. If you are still looking for what you are watching there, there are plenty of other options. Check out a list of great anime series available on Netflix here. There are some great anime and live-action adaptations on Netflix, including a few of the most-watched anime titles like Death Note, One Piece, and so much more.
Crunchyroll – known for its reliability, this service is ideal for all age groups. It has plenty of options to choose from within the anime genres. Using it is a pleasant experience, and the site guarantees English subtitles and dubbing. This service also comes with an anime app you can use on a mobile device to read manga comics, watch short animation, or whole episodes in full HD. This is a great option because it’s a lot like YouTube, where you can make a free account and then decide if you want to upgrade it to a premium account.
Amazon Prime Video – is home to our favourite and most popular anime, shows, cartoons, and anime. This could be the best site as it has many animated originals like The Legend of Vox Machina, all streamable in HD quality. New episodes are updated constantly. To check if it’s available, just type your title of interest into the search box and enjoy your anime in excellent quality.
Funimation – is one of the most extensive catalogues for anime movies, TV shows, comics and manga. Unfortunately, this service is only available in many parts of the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Ireland. It is unavailable in many other parts of the world. Yet again, this is something easily avoidable with a VPN.
Thankfully, they are constantly improving and responding to feedback. In addition, they are paid subscriptions that care about what their customers want and are not just a cash grab. The key feature to look for in the best website is one you know is being paid for. This means the studio behind the anime is actually getting paid for their hard work.
There are a ton of benefits to consuming your favourite anime content using a paid service, starting with the benefit that they have the legal right to share that content. While they might not have as many options, there are still various genres to explore, and most of the time, if you are starting the service for the first time, you can even get away with using a free trial, meaning that they are sort of still free sites, and then you can decide if you want to keep your subscription or not.
Legal sites usually have the latest updates because they get access to the content first, and often have the content in high quality for you to enjoy. Such sites also tend to have a mobile app so that you can enjoy your anime on the go without having to deal with any legal issues.
Besides, if a show or streaming service isn’t available in your location, consider using a VPN service to work around that. Then you don’t have to deal with the headache of copyright violations and copyright laws, scams, civil charges, purchasing good antivirus software, etc. Additionally, another benefit of consuming anime content that isn’t from an illegal streaming website is that you can often download episodes using the streaming platform, meaning that you can even watch your favourite anime when you have no internet connection.
Heck, there are even a few free streaming sites that will allow you to enjoy some excellent anime for free.
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TL;DR
- No, 9anime isn’t a legal anime site.
- The ads that allow you to watch anime for free don’t support the studio or artists; they support those pirating the anime.
- There are great anime streaming sites that are legal and support the artists with accommodating options, and you don’t need to worry about the safety of your information nearly as much.
Now Crunchyroll has a monopoly on most anime and are dedicated to making every mainstream anime, as well as most new anime need a subscription, so the days of watching anime legally for free may be coming to an end… I know first world problems right?
Well bring AnimeLab back then? Funimation ruined it, region blocked it for Oceania and with horrible website and app. Im with Crunchyroll and Netflix, for shame
9anime does so much more than Crunchyroll offers. I pay for Crunchy, but so much of the time I can’t even watch the shows properly and have to go to 9anime.
The biggest gripe here, without question, is that Crunchyroll does not translate on-screen text for 95% of the anime they stream. This is huge. So many shows have crucial plot points that go wholly misunderstood without legible text. Think about Paranoia Agent’s episode 8, revolving around a suicide group message board. You’re getting a fraction of the show without the text being translated.
9anime on the other hand, DOES translate on-screen text (majority of time through algorithm, but still).
I also run into many server issues with Crunchyroll, and 9anime, but with 9anime the problem is easily resolved by switching around servers. Half of the time Crunchy refuses to play the damn show!
Get with it anime streaming sites, serve us well and we will never pirate.
ha, thought this would explain how it works but nope, just bickering about piracy, there are too many streaming services nowadays that it isn’t worth buying them just for one show, while the rest is garbage. piracy prevails when the alternative isn’t worth it, either have everything in one place with good features or gtfo.
remember how Crunchyroll censored kissing and they had the raw for subs before releasing censored version that already had adult label. at the end you can get more graphic shows from Disney kids. then you have high guardian spice that none of that money went in the pockets of anime industry. before knocking and saying the money is going into greedy pockets taking advantage maybe sony needs to figure out we dont want censored anime and changed words. these sites that are not legit has fan subs a lot of the times and most of the time the agendas is removed due to the fact that people want as close to the experience as possible. Sony doesn’t provide this. yes i have a Crunchyroll account and yes i pay for it. but i dont use the site that often when i watch anime because of this issue. i can get uncensored and non political anime from a better source than the legal source.