I know that right now is kind of a scary time for many, so I wanted to take a moment to make a post of free resources that you could utilize to try relax & take you mind off of things if you’re having trouble finding ways to spend your time while you’re stuck at home! (Please note: since I’m in North America, most of these are most likely limited to America & Canada, but may work in other regions. If you have any suggestions for things outside of North America, please drop me a line and I’ll see if I can include them in this post!) This is going to be a fairly long post, so please bare with me!
Free, Legal anime you can watch!
No money for paid streaming subscriptions? No problem! I have a
Master Post of free & legal old-school anime you can watch from various resources around the internet! Many of these places like
Pluto TV &
Tubi TV have PS4, tablet, and phone apps you can download as well, so you can watch them on your TV or on your preferred devices. Pluto TV also just recently launched
a channel JUST for classic tokusatsu shows like Ultraman and Kamen Rider, so definitely check that out if that interests you!!
Currently on Youtube, there’s some great free & legal anime you can watch as well, including the
official English dub of Moomin,
the official English dub of Anne of Green Gables, all of Revolutionary Girl Utena
subbed or
dubbed, all of
Slayers &
Slayers Next,
Mashin Hero Wataru,
Ghost in the Shell, and
Sailor Moon R: The Movie dubbed! Many of these channels offer even more free & legal anime, so check out their playlists if you have time!
Free, Legal anime music to stream!
If you’re in the mood to listen to some official anime music soundtracks, then
AniPlaylist is a HUGE help! With this website, you can look up what official anime soundtracks have been added to Spotify--not only that, but you can see what is available specifically by country! Links to the music will open directly in Spotify, and you can make your own anime playlists with your favorites with your Spotify account! Some of my favorites:
Maison Ikkoku,
Yu Yu Hakusho,
Escaflowne,
Kiki’s Delivery Service, and
a HUGE selection from the Gundam franchise! There’s thousands of titles available, and it’s constantly updating, so you’ll find lots to chose from!
Free, Legal manga to read!
Looking for some manga? If you have a library card, you may have access to Hoopla--a free, online digital library of ebooks, audio books, music, and streaming media! While their manga selection is limited (to say the least), you can read a few classic manga there free with your library card, including the classic
60s Batman Manga,
Blade of the Imortal, and
Lone Wolf & Cub. If your library has access to
Overdrive, you'd probably have WAY more choices of digital manga available, so be sure to check!
You can also read select chapters of official Shueshia manga for free on
Manga Plus (which is actually available in many countries, and in some cases multiple languages!), free first volumes to read at
Manga Planet (may I suggest the classic
Toward The Terra?), and free chapters/volumes at
Comic Walker (in Japanese and English!), including
Gundam The Origin!
Website Yatta-Tatchi has a great comprehensive list of manga sites and what they offer as well if you’re looking for free vs purchase options, so check it out!
More free anime/manga related goodies to check out!
If you’ve grown a little bored with the usual stuff, here’s a few misc. things you can try out!
Avane has free scans of vintage
Sailor Moon &
Utena anime coloring books that are easy to print up and color!
If you enjoy cooking, website
YumPenguinSnacks is a site dedicated to replicating recipes from anime!
Anime Music Quiz is a site where you can basically play “Name That Tune” with anime songs! Challenge yourself, or play with friends online to see who can name the most!
If you want to read some great articles related to older anime fandom & otaku culture, there’s some great stuff online in
Zimmerit’s archives!
And of course, if you like podcasts, you can always catch up with episodes of
The Anime Nostalgia Podcast here! If you’re already caught up, might I recommend checking out a few lesser-known podcasts, such as
CLAMPcast in Wonderland (where the hosts read through CLAMP’s entire manga catalog, starting from the very beginning...and they create recipes for CLAMP-themed drinks!), and
Zannen Canada (a Canadian anime podcast, which periodically discusses the history of shows and fandom as released in Canada--which is often VERY different than how it was in America!)
I hope this post gives you a few new things to try out, and helps you take your mind off of stressful stuff for a little while! I spent a while gathering all of these resources, so if you found this useful
you can always say thanks by tipping me a virtual coffee at my ko-fi account here! Take care, friends!
