As an avid anime fan, watching anime has become my daily routine. I usually watch anime on AniWatcher because it offers a lot of anime for free without popups.
However, on March 1, 2021, AniWatcher was suddenly shut down, and the official notice of goodbye was issued. I have been sad for a long time because of this. Why is AniWatcher down? Will it come back? With such questions in mind, I collected and organized all relevant information.
This article will tell you what happened to AniWatcher and free sites like AniWatcher to watch anime without ads.
Table of Contents
1. What is AniWatcher？
2. Why AniWatcher is Down？
3. When Will AniWatcher Come Back?
4. 7 Best AniWatcher Alternatives to Watch Anime for Free
1. What is AniWatcher？
AniWatcher (https://aniwatcher.com/) is the most straightforward anime website with a huge collection of ongoing and trending anime episodes.
In AniWatcher, you can stream and download subbed and dubbed anime shows in ultra HD quality without the need to pay, subscribe, register, or even watch ads and pop-ups.
Why AniWatcher is So Loved by Anime Fans
1. Safety
AniWatcher is the safest free anime streaming site you can find. On AniWatcher, you can watch anime without registration and without any ads. So, while you watch anime, your device, and identity are completely safe from information leaks or malware attacks.
2. Animation resources
AniWatcher hosts a huge collection of ongoing and trending anime episodes. The list of anime on the site is continuously updated, and both dubbed and subbed anime are provided.
At AniWatcher, you can find anime of all genres, including action, adventure, fantasy, music, suspense, romance, school, comedy, police, games, food, and many more.
3. Updates
The newest episodes, latest releases, as well as requested titles are updated as soon as they are available. In addition, AniWatcher has added an updated countdown so that anime fans can more clearly understand the specific update time of anime episodes.
4. Streaming Experience
AniWatcher consists of experts in the streaming field. They provide us with a premium watching experience at no cost. Streaming is seamless, with no lagging, buffering, or ads. AniWatcher links multiple video sources.
If the video source you choose does not work, you can watch it by switching to different video sources. Once you start the animation, you can immerse yourself in the anime world without any interruptions.
5. Quality/Resolution
You can watch all the titles at AniWatcher in ultra HD quality. If you want to save the animation for later, downloading is just as easy as streaming.
6. Watch2gether
For me, the most attractive feature is that watch2gether can be used in AniWatcher, so I can watch anime online together with my friends.
Watching anime together, discussing plots, and sharing viewing experiences with each other. There is nothing better than it.
Cons of AniWatcher
In fact, you can hardly find a flawless website, and AniWatcher certainly has its flaws. The following are some flaws of AniWatcher that I sorted out.
- Old and sloppy UI: As a popular animation resource site, compared with other similar sites, the UI of AniWatcher is too old and sloppy. This greatly affects the experience of using the website. Most people like a trendy, cool website, but it seems impossible to accomplish it in AniWatcher.
- Lack of popularity and rating ranking: For those who don’t have much time to pay attention to most anime, choosing which anime to watch is a difficult decision. The popularity and rating ranking of animation can provide them with greater help, and at the same time, they can also avoid some unpopular or low-quality animations.
- Unstable: The official of AniWatcher once announced to shut down the website in 2021. Although it reopened recently, the official has not announced any news about the website. You don’t know whether the website will continue to operate or whether it will suddenly close one day.
2. Why AniWatcher is Down？
In March 2021, as usual, I opened the website to watch my favorite anime. But I failed to see it. When I opened AniWatcher, an official notice was placed on the top of the page “The time has arrived.”
Due to “funding issues and some minor server outages,” the Aniwatch team can no longer provide the service like what they used to.
Following the news that Aniwatch had been taken offline, there were immediate concerns from fans on social media about fake or phishing websites attempting to use the ‘Aniwatch brand’ to entice fans.
AniWatcher ended their official statement with an important notice for people looking for the site in the future.
3. When Will AniWatcher Come Back?
Per the statement, “Aniwatch’s closure is not a definite decision,” which suggests that there is a possibility that the platform could return down the line. However, the staff “needs some time to figure things out,” i.e., how to fund such a platform.
During the period when AniWatcher was down, you found some good free anime sites, and I will introduce them to you later.
4. 7 Best AniWatcher Alternatives to Watch Anime for Free
When I first heard that AniWatcher was down, I thought I had nowhere to watch anime anymore. But, the mania for anime prompted me to continue looking for other anime sites.
After recommendations from friends and my own experience, I have found a couple of free AniWatcher alternatives that you can try.
1. 9Anime
When it comes to the best AniWatcher alternatives, 9Anime is the top choice for anime lovers. What makes it stand out is that it offers thousands of HD anime videos and movies with subtitles in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, etc.
Moreover, there are no advertisements or pop-ups, so you will not be disturbed when enjoying anime.
You can watch all the titles at 9Anime in ultra HD quality. However, to make it more convenient for us (our Internet connection is not always in tip-top condition), 9Anime offers the option to adjust the image quality. You can go as low as 360p when your Internet is weak and go back to 720p or even 1080p when it gets better.
If you are a veteran anime lover, you know how most free sites look. Sloppy and untrustworthy. Surprisingly, 9Anime looks exactly like a premium site with a simple user interface and zero ads. It takes us only a quick look to figure out how to navigate through this site.
Pros
- No ads and pop-ups
- Support multilingual subtitles
- HD video quality and video resolution can be changed
Cons
- Lack of plot discussion
2. Zoro.to
Zoro.to is a new free anime streaming site that lets you stream and download subbed and dubbed anime shows in ultra HD quality without the need to pay, subscribe, register, or even watch ads and pop-ups.
Zoro is mobile-friendly and Chromecast-supported. You can watch free anime online with any device available, be it your smartphone or big-screen TV, as long as the Internet is accessible. That’s very convenient.
Pros
- No ads and pop-ups
- HD video quality
- The comment area is hot
Cons
- Some old resources cannot be played
3. Anime-Planet
Anime-Planet is another excellent choice for watching anime online. It streams over 45,000 legal, industry-supported anime episodes. Moreover, you can watch manga and light novels on Anime Planet, which is unavailable on other anime sites.
Pros
- HD video quality
- Manga and light novel resources
Cons
- Lack of popularity and rating ranking
- Login required
4. GoGoAnime
If all you care about is anime, then GoGoAnime is exactly what you need. The website has a huge database, which provides you with various anime in different resolutions, from the earliest to the latest, and it also lets you download anime for offline watching.
Pros
- No ads and pop-ups
- HD video quality
Cons
- The website interface is sloppy
- Lack of popularity and rating ranking
5. Kissanime
Kissanime is one of the best anime websites. It has been in operation for many years. Kissanime provides a lot of cool animations in thumbnail view and arranges the latest anime on the homepage.
The biggest weakness of Kissanime is that you cannot change the video resolution in the playback window, and ads may pop up at any time. It really affects the viewing experience a lot.
Pros
- Abundant animation resources
- HD video quality
- Website and app version
Cons
- Ads and pop-ups
- Cannot change the video resolution
6. MyAnimeList
MyAnimeList is another best free anime streaming website without ads. It offers different tabs to help users easily search for their favorite anime series. It also provides a short description of the show. It will show you the ranking, popularity, reviews, characters, etc.
In addition, you can also see the introduction of the voice actor corresponding to the role and use this link to watch other works of the voice actor. This feature is perfect for voice actors’ fans.
Pros
- No ads and pop-ups
- Community discussion
- HD video quality and video resolution can be changed
Cons
- Login required
- Cannot change the video resolution
7. Chia-Anime
The last one on the list is Chia-Anime. The site is accessible from all over the world and provides a large amount of anime stuff. In addition, it not only allows you to stream your favorite anime but also downloads it for later use.
Pros
- No ads and pop-ups
- Quick filter, easy to search
- Voice actor introduction
Cons
- Difficult to comment on anime
- Lack of daily update list
Summary
Actually, in 2021, AniWatcher was down due to funding issues and some minor server outages.
Looking for alternatives to AniWatcher while it was closed, I did extensive searching and research and picked 7 of the best anime streaming sites out there. When you are troubled by not being able to find a website to watch anime, you can consider these websites I mentioned, I hope you can enjoy the fun of anime.
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