Anime in the West has come so far since its first introduction in America during the 1960s. When Astro Boy by Osamu Tezuka was first released in the West in 1964, it was a huge game changer—the following years after that event introduced more anime series to the American people, such as Speed Racer and Kimba the White Lion.
Anime served as a gateway that could easily allow people a chance to dive into the Japanese culture. Now, in this day and age, anime is a genre of entertainment that’s highly popular with the teenagers and the young adults—and thanks to the internet, old and new fans alike have the opportunity to watch old and new series from beginning to end. No longer do they have to wait for their favorite anime to air on TV; there are so many anime streaming websites and apps nowadays that they have the power to start and stop watching whenever they feel like it.
One of the popular anime streaming apps out there is FireAnime, and while it offers a vast collection of anime series’ for free, there’s one major downside: you can’t download it through official and legit means. If you want to install FireAnime onto your Amazon Firestick, then you’ll have to sideload it because it’s a third-party app. There’s always a chance that streaming content from third-party apps could land you in legal trouble, so it’s always best to watch shows from legit apps or websites.
Fortunately, the Amazon Appstore has several solid apps you can download. They’re incredibly easy to install to your device and since they’re official apps, you don’t have to worry about the apps getting shut down due to copyright violations.
Best FireAnime Alternatives for Firestick
We scoured the Amazon Appstore for the best anime streaming apps available. We wanted to focus on apps that primarily concentrate on providing anime, which is why we didn’t include Netflix on the list. That being said, let’s dive in and check out these 5 fantastic apps.
Crunchyroll
If you’ve been an anime fan for a while browsing the net for fan sites, then you’ve probably heard or come across Crunchyroll. Crunchyroll actually played a huge part in making anime more popular during the mid-2000s, thanks to how it allows fans to access content online easily. Crunchyroll is one of the most popular anime streaming apps out there, offering more than 900 anime series to choose from and watch—plus, it has a variety of simulcasts from Japan you can entertain yourself with.
If you want to stay as up-to-date as possible with the series you’re watching, Crunchyroll is one of the fastest platforms to update its library. There are some shows that are available to watch for free, but if you want the full Crunchyroll package, then you’ll need to subscribe to Crunchyroll Premium.
VRV
VRV (pronounced as “verve”) is essentially like a sister company to Crunchyroll, but instead of being an independent streaming service, it functions more like a multi-industry cable company. That being said, you’ll find that VRV and Crunchyroll has the same content—even the simulcasts are all the same. So if you already have a subscription with Crunchyroll, consider using the VRV app instead if you want to watch anime on your Firestick.
If you subscribe to this service, not only will you be able to access all the usual content from Crunchyroll, but original shows are also available, such as gen:LOCK and RWBY.
Crackle
Crackle is perhaps an exception to this list full of anime-focused apps—on the surface, Sony’s Crackle app is a free streaming service that offers users with a variety of titles from Sony Pictures’ collection of movies and shows. However, there’s a category in the app’s television section dedicated to anime, where you’ll find popular series such as Afro Samurai, Assassination Classroom, Samurai Champloo, and a lot more.
Crackle is constantly changing and updating its library, so there’s no guarantee that a particular title will be available in the app the next time you check in. So if you see something you’re interested in, better watch it as soon as possible.
Viewster
Even though Viewster touts itself to be a platform wherein users can watch movies and TV shows online for free, a huge portion of its collection actually caters to anime fans. Unlike VRV and Crunchyroll, all the content available on Viewster can be streamed for free—with ads, of course—whether you want to watch anime or your regular movie or show.
That being said, there may be a catch to Viewster’s content: most of the content found on this platform are either somewhat old shows or not as popular. As such, you may not find super popular anime here. Still, it’s a great option to have, especially if you’re not interested in the mega-hit titles available these days, anyway.
Funimation
Funimation used to be intertwined with VRV, but the platform separated itself from VRV on November 2018, and Funimation now functions on its own. The platform now provides users its own streaming option through FunimationNow, and this service has its own collection of content that separates itself from the content offered on VRV and Crunchyroll.
Funimation has a wide collection or popular anime, including Cowboy Bebop, Attack on Titan, Sword Art Online, One Piece, My Hero Academia, and many more.
Conclusion
If you want to start distancing yourself from unofficial apps like FireAnime, these 5 legit platforms are the way to go. Some are available for free, while others may need you to subscribe first. Either way, these official apps have a wide variety of anime series for you to choose from. If one app isn’t to your liking, simply check out another one from the list—you’ll surely find one that suits your needs.
