The Frugal Otaku #2: A Big Year for Streaming Anime

[Sharp]

2009 is starting off big for the Frugal Otaku. We've enjoyed free anime for years through fansubbers. That was the only way we could see the latest and greatest anime out of Japan. Things are changing this year, though. Several sites and companies are coming together to offer an unprecedented supply of free, high-quality anime, direct from Japan. Some of them will even be available one hour after they air in Japan.

There three main sites to go to this year from streaming anime: Hulu, Joost, and CrunchyRoll. All of them are showing big-name anime that you've heard of before. Some shows will be available on all three of these sites. All of the sites have something special, though. Let's go through each of them.

Joost started streaming video on the Internet in 2008, making them the newest player in our list. They provide all kinds of video and music entertainment, in many different genres. They're also integrated with Facebook. They have an extensive list of anime available, consisting of entire seasons of each show. I'm sure you'll recognize many of these names:

Naruto*
Bleach*
Naruto Shippuden*
Kaiji
Buzzer Beater
Shikabane Hime
Death Note*
Ikki Tousen
Saiyuki
Black Blood Brothers
Angelic Layer
Best Student Council
Bastof Syndrome
Basilisk
Gun Frontier
Super Milk Chan
Astro Boy

Shows marked with a * are listed as subtitled and uncut. Others may be subbed or dubbed. The major downside to Joost is that all of their videos show at the same, relatively low resolution. It's almost, but not quite as good as a standard television. Still, it is the only place to see some of these shows online.

Hulu is the biggest of the three streaming sites. It's got ties with many major studios, and is well-known for the big name shows it carries. There are current and past television shows and movies to choose from. Most of them are complete shows, but some (notably Futurama) only show excerpts. Also, while they're not anime, Hulu hosts hundreds of episodes from Adult Swim like Venture Brothers, Robot Chicken, and Metalocalypse.

Their anime selection is pretty good. You'll notice some of the same shows from Joost, but some of them are unique to Hulu.

Naruto Shippuden
Death Note
Bleach
Black Blood Brothers
Mushi-Shi
Blue Gender
Shikabane Hime
Ikki Tousen
Peach Girl
Speed Racer
School Rumble
Shuffle
Moon Phase
Slayers
xxxHolic
Kiddy Grade
Astro Boy
The Galaxy Railways
Rumbling Hearts

Some of the shows are subbed, and some are dubbed.

The main advantage Hulu has over Joost is that their videos are higher quality. You can watch each of them in HD 480p resolution. Some shows and movies are available in higher resolution, although it doesn't seem like any anime are. Also, the higher resolution comes at a price – the shows have commercials, and there are banner ads on the site.

Finally, there is CrunchyRoll. CrunchyRoll is controversial because it used to make money by streaming unlicensed anime. Fansubbers were upset because their work was being used and many anime companies began to work against CrunchyRoll, forcing them to take down a lot of their shows.

Now, however, things have changed. CrunchRoll has removed all of the user-uploaded videos from their site and are only showing anime that they have officially licensed. On top of that, they have entered into several deals that will make them one of the foremost anime streaming sites on the web. Perhaps their most valuable deal involves their right to stream several anime shows a mere one hour after they are aired in Japan. This "simulcast" will only be available to paying members, however. We'll go over that in a moment.

Their anime lineup is large and contains many shows not available on Joost or Hulu.

Bastof Syndrome
Best Student Council
BLASSREITER
Chance Pop Session
Chrono Crusade
Dear Boys
Detective Office 5
Eyeshield 21
Fairy Musketeers
Fist of the North Star
Gatchaman
Gintama *
Girls High
Kaleido Star
Kite Liberator
Lady Death
Last Exile
Libebarrels of Iron *
Magical Play
Mizu no Kotoba
Naruto Shippuden *
Neku Rahmen
Neo Angelique Abyss
Nurse Witch Komugi-chan Magikarte Z
Pale Cocoon
Peace Maker Kurogane
Ramen Fighter Miki
Saiyuki
Shugo Chara *
Skip Beat! *
Slam Dunk
Speed Racer
Steel Angel Kurumi
Strike Witches
The Tower of DRUAGA -the Sword of URUK - *
Time of Eve *
Viewtiful Joe
Web Ghost PiPoPa *
Zaion: I Wish You Were Here

Shows marked with a * are simulcast, which will be available subtitled one hour after they air in Japan.

Video quality is potentially the best of the three streaming sites. You have three options: low quality, high quality and h.264. High quality is 720p, easily the best available, but you have to pay for an Anime Membership to watch it. Prices start at $6.95 / month, and go up to $59.99 for a year. Getting a membership also removes video ads from the site and allows you to watch the simulcast anime before anybody else.

So, as you can see, there are plenty of options available for the frugal otaku on the web. Check out the sites above, use all three, or pick your favorite. Let us know what you think about it all here, in this topic.

[Kitsune_rei]

It is very cool to see the industry finally trying to embrace the internet streaming that is available, since its obvious its a medium fans go to. It seems like the subscription may be worth it for folks who have a nice electronics setup with a great monitor or a way to send it to the TV. Personally I wouldn't care enough about seeing it early to pay. But its nice that its there.

[Kyoko_Sensei]

Yeah, I am likely to go legit after I finish the shows I am currently watching. No clogging up of the HD, no paranoia about torrents, it's a more mellow situation. i'm not eager enough to watch any show for the early streams either.

[DesertPunked]

not a bad line up some classics on there I think, unless there's a new fist of the north star and speed racer but I'm not current on whats what these days.

[Kyoko_Sensei]

There is a new, horrible Speed Racer, produced in the US I think. Avoid at all costs.

[Onelastlove]

Ah!!
So very nice.
=3

This'll do much better then all those youtube clips and what-not, it's all unorganized around all those too.
I have alot of watching to do now
xD

If only they all had japanese voicing and subtitles, hrm...
I'm just too picky, no?

[DesertPunked]

Originally Posted by Kyoko_Sensei

There is a new, horrible Speed Racer, produced in the US I think. Avoid at all costs.

Hey bad shows are what cult icons are made of!

wait... wait.. isn't it that 3D one with cell shading... gah yeah that one was horrible no cult gathering for that one....

[Kitsune_rei]

Gaia Online recently partnered with Funimation to provide more streaming anime in their 'Cinemas' feature. They're supposed to update every Tuesday with new stuff. They had shown a couple promotional episodes here and there when they first launched 'Cinemas', so now hopefully it'll be more regular. Most of the rest of it is really random older movies, though some good stuff like Ghostbusters.

[Kyoko_Sensei]

More info on gaia online streaming animu

http://www.animevice.com/news/funi-a...a-m-i-n-g/681/

The episodes are already online, and include the following series:

* Black Blood Brothers
* Blue Gender
* Glass Fleet
* Moon Phase
* Peach Girl Super Pop Love Hurricane
* Suzuka