5 Best Anime Streaming Apps for Android

Japanese anime shows are popular even outside the country and around the world. While there is a large treasure of Animes available to watch, the dearth of proper, legitimate apps to stream them have always given the pinch. Right now, there are way too many anime apps for Android. A majority of them are loaded with ads (how else would they offer you content for free) that often puts your experience and data at risk.

You can find some anime shows on popular streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu, but the collection is limited. These platforms cater to audiences from all walks of life and across the world. The more avid and hardcore fans are always looking for the dedicated anime streaming apps for Android phones that do one thing and do it well. Allow you to search, discover, and stream anime shows.

Let’s begin.

1. Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll is one of the most popular anime streaming app for Android users. It has over 1000 shows to choose from, but there is just one problem. Ads. A recent update pushed by the team has broken the streaming experience.

You will find old anime classics like Naruto that you will enjoy if you are new to the anime world. There are also plenty of new shows that you can stream. One of the coolest part of this app is that it offers a vast library of Mangas (digital) that you can read without paying extra.

Crunchyroll comes with a 14-day free trial but has a subscription model in place. I recommend you to subscribe and get rid of the ads. The monthly subscription will cost you $9.99 but you can opt for an annual subscription of $79, which turns out cheaper than paying monthly. There is also a news section to keep you up-to-date.

Download Crunchyroll

2. Funimation

Funimation is free to use anime app that works on Android and iOS, but Crunchyroll takes the lead when it comes to platform support. Funimation is popular because it has a big catalog that is not locked behind a paywall. That means ads, but they are tolerable if you have some patience.

There is also a subscription model to remove them if you don’t, but it’s not compulsory. Otherwise, you can pay as low as $5.99 per month for the subscription. Because Funimation is the official broadcaster for some anime shows and a major distributor, certain shows are not available on other platforms.

Note that the latest version of the app has broken the UI, which frequently lags and stutters at the time of writing this guide. I am sure the dev team will soon fix it. While Crunchyroll allows you two concurrent streams, the Funimation plans can let you enjoy up to 5 concurrent streams.

Download Funimation

3. HIDIVE

HIDIVE offers a small but growing collection of anime shows that you can simulcasts anywhere in the world. That means that the anime show will be available for you to stream as soon as it is broadcasted on one medium. It is broadcasted on other platforms too. That means it will be available on television and the web almost simultaneously.

HIDIVE has a neat and functional UI that works very well and will remind you of premium streaming apps like Prime or Netflix. There is a lot of exclusive content available that you won’t find elsewhere. You can pay $4.99 per month or $47.99 per year for the HIDIVE’s subscription.

Download HIDIVE

4. VRV

VRV is one anime streaming app to rule them all. One subscription of VRV will get you access to Crunchyroll, HIDIVE, Mondo, and few others. This makes it one of the most affordable subscriptions on the list, priced at $9.99 per month. This also makes VRV heaven for anime loves who can’t have enough of it.

Note that anime is not the only content VRV streams. There is other good stuff, but let’s stay focused. You can explore that part on your own. I recommend you to cancel Crunchyroll and get this. You will have enough content to last quite some time.

There is also a free version of the app available. However, it is ad-supported.

Download VRV

5. AnimeLab

AnimeLabs is a very popular anime streaming app for Android. Compared to other anime apps infamous for their sluggish UI and overdone ads, AnimeLabs is a breath of fresh air. The fans developed it and for the fans. That makes a lot of sense and explains why it doesn’t face the same problems as it’s competitors.

AnimeLabs has a decent collection with some classics and popular anime shows like DragonBall Super, Naruto, and One-Punch Man, among others. The good thing about this anime app for Android is that it is completely free but ad-supported. The ads are not intrusive in nature either and won’t ruin your streaming experience. You can remove ads and watch all shows you want in HD for $7 per month.

Download AnimeLab

Anime on the Go

There are many anime apps available on Android and even iOS platforms, but the real problem is legitimacy. Most of these apps are not legal and steal content without consent or legal contracts. This also explains why so many anime apps disappear from the Play Store every year, and new ones keep popping up in their place. One thing you shouldn’t discount with these apps is the availability of exclusive spin-off movies.

I would recommend you go for legitimate apps that have partnered with the studio and have the right to distribute their content. You will not only have a better experience but also get to simulcast the shows and movies.

Next up: Are you wondering how to use Airstream to easily stream media from cloud storage and local computers on Android? Check out the next article link below.