Netflix of anime

[hey]

Update: It has been pointed out to me that the watch instantly, while poor, is actually a small portion of their collection. However what I'm looking for is an anime on demand service. Any thoughts?

OP:I've noticed Netflix has a pretty tiny anime selection. That got me to wondering. Is there a Netflix like solution for anime? I figured this would be the best place to find out. If there isn't a Netflix for anime then seriously why not? Do people not like money anymore.

[Etoh*the*Greato]

The videogame ones have been very slow to start up. Gamefly is just within the last two years starting to pick up a little bit of speed. If you've got the idea, you could certainly try it yourself, but I suspect that the big names in the rental industry either aren't aware of anime or view it as too small of a niche market to try catering exclusively to.

[goldenspines]

Really? I was under the impression that Netflix had tons of anime. What in particular were you looking for? I haven't signed up for Netflix, but I've browsed through their selection a few times. They have a great deal of anime, though they may not have some obscure titles that only have very small fan bases.

[hey]

When I look through their watch instantly I only see 59 discs. Some of those aren't even complete. For example it might only feature epsidoes 1-5 for a show.

I guess that's what I'm really interested in since I don't ever bother using the physical discs anymore. I want to watch what I want to watch when I want to watch it.

To be fair I'll do a quick look at their physical media collection.

Please wait...

OK it looks like they have 701 cartoons which include anime, but it would take some serious work to filter out which is which. Either way that's a much better collection than I was thinking they had. At the same time I guess my original request was flawed because I think of Netflix purely as an on demand service.

I'll update the OP to reflect that. Thanks!

[blkmage]

Crunchyroll has a growing library of shows and has been offering a pretty sizeable chunk of what's currently airing each season in Japan. Those are available one week after airing for free or you can pay a monthly fee to get shows within hours of airing in Japan.

For the fall season, they've got Tegami Bachi, Asura Cryin' S2, Natsu no Arashi! S2, Sora no Otoshimono, Book of Bantorra, Nogizaka S2, Miracle Train, Fairy Tail, Sasameki Koto, 11eyes, Koihime Musou S2, and White Album S2. They also have their offerings from previous seasons available.

[Mr. Rogers]

Netflix has always had all the anime I wanted to watch.

[hey]

Crunchyroll, cool I'll check it out.

Please wait...

Holy cow that's like IMDB for anime. It doesn't have the ones I've been looking for, but it's worth keeping an eye on.

[Roy Mustang]

Also, you have

Hulu

Anime Channel

Joost

Anime Channel

[font="Book Antiqua"][color="Red"]Col. Roy Mustang[/color][/font]

[hey]

Thanks for the info Roy I'm checking them out now.

[Yamamaya]

In addition, funimation has their own youtube channel through which you can view many of their shows.

[hey]

I assumed anything on youtube wasn't terribly legal?

[Roy Mustang]

I assumed anything on youtube wasn't terribly legal?

Only if its the company that own the titles and they have a youtube channel that shows anime is legal.

Bandai Entertainment has a youtube channel as well.

As far as I know Bandai Entertainment and funimation have their own youtube channel that shows anime.

[font="Book Antiqua"][color="Red"]Col. Roy Mustang[/color][/font]

[MasterDias]

Funimation's video site is better than their Youtube one. It has more stuff.

Bandai Entertainment only really has their Youtube channel but it has the first seasons of Code Geass and Gundam 00, and all of Kurokami uploaded legally.

The Anime Network used to have some free stuff, but now you have to get a subscription for most of it.

Anime News Network also has a video section. Most of it are shows that Hulu/Crunchyroll/Funimation have but they have a few things the others don't...like all of Eureka Seven.

[blkmage]

Crunchyroll, cool I'll check it out.

Please wait...

Holy cow that's like IMDB for anime. It doesn't have the ones I've been looking for, but it's worth keeping an eye on.

Yeah, CR is generally more focused on shows that are on TV in Japan for each season. That is, you'd be watching the shows that are on Japanese TV rather than shows that have already come out and have DVDs available.

[hey]

So many sources to bookmark from this thread. I guess it's a good problem. Although at the same time it would nice if all these sources worked together. Thanks for the extra sites.

Now onto the next task. Picking a new anime to watch.

[StarMasayume]

Netflix has a really large selection of most licensed anime as far as I've seen. Occasionally they have missing discs, but I usually find Netflix a great resource for anime (sometimes it's easier doing a search for specific anime than trying to browse for it though).

However, their watch instantly only has a few anime listed. I think the watch instantly is a great feature for netflix, but the few anime on watch instantly is only English dub versions. You have to have a regular rental membership to access their instant, however, so you might as well just rent the anime you want...

I'll agree Crunchy Roll is a good source for online watching that's legal, though you can pay for added benefits and more variety of shows.

[Blitzkrieg1701]

Another thing about Netflix: sometimes thet don't pay attention and file anime in the SciFi or Adventure sections (I don't think any of those are Instant, though)