What the heck is anime simulcast? Let us explain. Since the dawn of time, anime fans have been trying to watch seasonal anime as soon as they air in Japan…
But before anime streaming sites like Netflix, FUNimation, Crunchyroll were available, anime fans had to wait for months and months on end for a series to come out on DVD, or if they were lucky, wait a week or even more for the subtitles of their favorite anime to come out.
With the help of technology, however, times have changed, and it has never been easier to watch anime online! Now, most anime shows are readily available all over the world through anime streaming services, and most of these shows are even being simulcasted.
So, you may be wondering;
What are Anime Simulcasts, and are they really necessary?
For those who don’t know, Simulcasts are actually the shortened form of Simultaneous Broadcasts. Simulcasts allow the fans to watch anime, at the same time as they are being aired in Japan, in real-time.
Till now, most of these Simulcasts were only available in Raws, meaning they did not have any subtitles. But now, some online platforms not only offer live subtitles. Heck! even simuldubs have also become a thing which we will get into a bit later on.
But for now, these Simulcasts are for enthusiastic anime fans who want to watch their seasonal anime as soon as they go on air. And don’t want to wait for hours and hours on end for online releases.
Tip! If you ran out of new anime to watch, you can check out our article that shows you how to keep finding exciting new stuff! ➤
How To Find New Anime To Watch
They are extremely helpful if you want to remain on top of your favorite shows and don’t want to get spoiled on social media by your friends online or through the memes at the very least.
In a nutshell — Anime Simulcasts are basically the fastest way for anyone to watch seasonal anime.
Its All About the Community
Regardless of the technical aspects, however, what makes anime simulcasting fun is experiencing new anime together as a community.
Usually chat windows are open within the streaming service, and since you are experiencing a first screening, you can be sure that people’s reaction to the events in the anime are genuine.
Where to watch Anime Simulcasts
There are plenty of popular anime websites like FUNimation, Crunchyroll, Hulu, Disney+, ANIPLUS and more, that simulcast some of the most popular anime online with their paid subscription tiers.
Where to watch anime? We explained this in detail in this article ➤
Best Legal Sites to Watch Anime Online
But sadly, these services are region locked, and you may not be able to watch anime on these services without using a VPN. And even then, finding the correct region where that specific anime is available for simulcasts can be a challenge in and of itself.
After all this trouble, if you can’t find subtitles or if you want to watch anime in the plain old English Dub as soon as possible, then you are in a huge pickle that is hard to get out of.
Lucky for you, premium anime subscriptions on anime streaming sites like FUNimation have started to offer simuldubs on the latest anime shows as soon as they air.
FUNimation Anime Simulcasts
FUNimation has, by far, one of the biggest libraries of seasonal anime available for simulcast and simuldubs available on their platform. But, as we can’t have nice things, their library is region locked.
Meaning they only support certain regions and are not available anywhere else. FUNimation Simulcasts supported regions include, U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand at the time of writing.
But fret not, the one and only Crunchyroll is available all over the world except for in China, France, Italy, Japan, and Germany at the time of writing
Crunchyroll Anime Simulcasts
Yes, you read that right Crunchyroll Simulcasts are available all over the world, but there is a catch. They only simulcast only a selected number of shows, and even then, most of these shows are available for some regions, and after that, only a handful number of shows are available for others.
So, even though Crunchyroll is available worldwide, they have an extremely small library, where you can only watch 2 or 3 currently airing anime at most.
And even then, just getting subs on these anime in real-time is a rarity on Crunchyroll.
Hulu Anime Simulcasts
Although Hulu has a limited library of anime, they have a prominent list of some major titles every season that are simulcasted on their platform in supported regions.
In order to figure out if your favorite anime is available for simulcast on Hulu, and if they are airing it in your region, you need to check out their simulcast library here.
But What if None of These Services are Available in My Region
If, by chance, you are living in a region that is not supported by any one of the options mentioned above, and Crunchyroll is not a viable option because of their limited library. Then, Livechart.me just might be just the service you were looking for.
While Live chart does not offer any kind of anime streaming or anime simulcasting services, their extensive list of every single seasonal anime and the platforms that are simulcasting them is a lifesaver for any anime fan out there.
You can view their simulcasting charts here.
Live chart essentially covers every single anime streaming service out there. Their charts show which anime is being simulcasted on which platform.
Moreover, the anime simulcast list even shows if a certain broadcast is available in your country, and also if the simulcast is available in raw, subbed, or dubbed format.
Using Live chart, you can easily eliminate the long hours you have to spend on google searching for the next best anime simulcasting service and watch your favorite shows, without any wait, in the most hassle-free, resourceful manner.
But, you may be wondering, such a service could never be free. Well, the best about the Live chart is that the platform is free for all. And you can use their service for free to find out when an anime episode is due, and watch it in real-time, with official subtitles at the very least.
Live chart usually contains each and every single official anime platform out there, so you can be sure to curate a good collection of multiple, or if you are lucky, just one anime website to simulcast your favorite anime as quickly as possible.
Start Your Anime SimulCast Experience
You should now be able to explain anime simulcasting in your sleep and might even be excited to start the viewing experience. Most of all, have fun and share your experiences with your friends.
Until next time, anime fans!