5 Great Free Animes to Watch Online

Funimation sent shockwaves through the anime world when it was revealed that the company had acquired Crunchyroll in late 2021. A lot has changed since then – the two companies were united as Crunchyroll, LLC, and the landscape of anime streaming has changed dramatically.

There’s no reason to pay for a Funimation subscription anymore as the service is dropping simulcast anime premieres (which will debut on Crunchyroll from now on), while the back catalog of older Funimation-licensed anime is slowly but surely spilling over to Crunchyroll’s library . Emphasis on “slow”.

While a majority of the service’s popular titles, such as Dragon Ball Z, Yu Yu Hakushoand trigun have made their way to Crunchyroll since the merger was announced in March, not to mention English dubs of anime, including dr Stone, Hunter X Hunterand Kaguya-sama: Love is war, there are still a handful of gems in the Funimation library that haven’t made the jump yet. Some of these anime can even be streamed for free with ads on the Funimation website, which means you can enjoy them even without a subscription.

If you are looking for an older excellent anime to watch, from The Vision of Escaflowne to Ping pong the animationthese are just some of the best anime you can stream for free on Funimation right now.

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The Vision of Escaflowne

Image: Sunrise/Funimation

The brainchild of Macross co-creator Shōji Kawamori, The Vision of Escaflowne is a fantasy romance Isekai set in an alternate dimension where feudal kingdoms pilot gigantic mechanized armor and the power of love can change the shape of fate itself. The series follows Hitomi, a Japanese high school student who is transported to the magical world of Gaea after being rescued from a dragon by Van Fanel, heir apparent to the kingdom of Fanelia and pilot of the well-known white dragon Guymelef (see: Mecha). Escaflowne.

Don’t be fooled by the emphasis on action in the first episodes of the series; Escaflowne gradually turns into an intense love drama with a love pentagon between Hitomi, Van, brave knight Allen Schezar, a wayward princess and Van’s childhood catgirl companion. Also, the series’ main antagonist is heavily hinted at as the immortal Isaac Newton, who uses a so-called “Fate Alteration Machine” to interfere with Hitomi’s love life. If you like big mechs, intense combat and big emotions, The Vision of Escaflowne is a must watch.

Lupine the Third: The woman named Fujiko Mine

Image: TMS/Po10tial/Funimation

Produced to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first Lupine the Third anime (and the 45th of the manga), Lupine the Third: The woman named Fujiko Mine is a sultry and colorful origin story for the franchise’s iconic femme fatale. Directed by Sayo Yamamoto (Michiko & Hatchin, Yuri on ice), the series follows Fujiko’s career as a seductress and thief as she first meets the likes of Lupine III, Daisuke Jigen, Goemon Ishikawa and Inspector Zenigata as she becomes drawn into a sinister conspiracy orchestrated by an owl-possessed mad scientist comes with alleged ties to her past.

Featuring character designs by Takeshi Koike (Red line) and a fantastic jazzy score conducted by Cowboy Bebop Director Shinichiro Watanabe, The woman named Fujiko Mine is a glitzy, cerebral, and beautifully animated crime drama with more than enough twists and turns to please the most devout lupine Fans and newcomers alike.

Record of the Lodoss War

Image: Madhouse/Funimation

before The Legend of Vox Machinathere was Record of the Lodoss War. Based on a series of light novels by writer and game designer Ryo Mizuno, which in turn are based on transcripts from a number of Dungeons & Dragons campaigns in which he participated, both the 1990 13-part OVA (original video animation) and the 27 episode 1998 anime Chronicle of the Heroic Knight are highly regarded not only for their role as seminal touchstones in the fantasy RPG anime genre, but also as significant breakthrough titles for anime’s early popularity in the West.

The series follows a young warrior named Parn along with his band of companions (a wizard, a thief, an elf and a dwarf) as they traverse the cursed island of Lodoss as the fate of the world hangs in the balance. While several fantasy anime since then have reiterated and improved upon the foundation laid by the series, both the Record of the Lodoss War OVA and anime series are thoroughly entertaining and will delight any avid fantasy fan.

serial tests

Image: Triangle Staff/Funimation

Ryutaro Nakamura and Chiaki J. Konakas 1998 serial tests is a cult masterpiece, a psychological drama about a strange young girl who comes of age at the dawn of the information age. After the death of one of her classmates, Lain finds herself embroiled in a cryptic conspiracy as she delves deeper into the world of online hacking and computers to find answers not only about her classmate’s suicide but also about her own mysterious nature. Known for its avant-garde animation and themes of consciousness, perception, identity and reality, serial tests is the closest anime equivalent to a Kiyoshi Kurosawa horror film: intellectual, terrifying, and devastating in its foresight.

Ping pong the animation

Image: Science Saru/Funimation

Based on the manga of the same name by Taiyo Matsumoto, the 2014 anime directed by Masaaki Yuasa table tennis is an engrossing sports drama fueled by interesting protagonists, an emotionally charged tale of personal growth despite failure, and a beautiful expressionist art style that feels unique and timeless in its appeal. The story follows two childhood friends and table tennis prodigies as they are pushed beyond their respective limits as they mature into not just impressive players but emotionally mature young men. If you’re a fan of sports anime à la Haikyu!! and looking for something more stylistically eccentric and psychological that you can’t go wrong with table tennis.