These days, watchinganimeis easier than ever, with half a dozen different streaming sites each hosting their own impressive libraries of content. From Netflix to Crunchyroll, almost everything you’d want to watch is on there–emphasis on “almost.”
There are, however, plenty of high-quality anime out there which aren’t actually available on any streaming service at the moment. This can be due to a variety of reasons; sometimes, no one owns the rights anymore, or the rights have been revoked and the one place it was watchable vanished.
The top criteria was that these series weren’t available to stream anywhere legally in the US, at least at the time of writing, although some are available as digital purchases. New series are constantly being added to streaming services, so it’s possible that some of these series may return from their legal limbo. For now, however, they’re effectively only watchable on old DVDs or Blurays.
XXXholicis a series that follows Kimihiro Watanuki, a high schooler who can see fantastical things, and who ends up in the service of a mysterious and powerful witch named Yuko Ichihara, who promises to free him from being able to see the supernatural.
The anime series is generally well regarded, but has been very difficult to find streaming since the closure of the Funimation streaming service in 2024. The second season,XXXholic: Kei, has been even harder to find than the first season. There are also some OVAs, which have never been easily available.
Unlike most of CLAMP’s works,XXXholicwas more aimed at an older male audience, as opposed to the younger female audience which they mostly catered to with other projects.It’s an interesting examination of characters and their minds, and why they want the things that they want.
Mushi-Shiis a wonderfully peaceful seriesabout Ginko, a man who dedicates his life to solving the problems created by supernatural beings known as Mushi. Mushi vary quite a bit in appearance as well as their threatening nature, but most Mushi really don’t mean to cause harm. They’re considered primitive and ethereal, easy to destroy even by accident.
Most humans can’t see Mushi, so Ginko attempts to use his position to mediate conflicts and research the little-known beings. The series is extremely episodic, with no overarching narrative driving the story. Instead, it’s just the tale of one man’s daily life dealing with the supernatural.
Mushi-Shiis widely beloved for its calming tone and subtle use of color.The series was critically praised and well-received by fans, so its absence from any streaming service at the moment is quite confusing.
Fans of Toonami and Adult Swimmay well rememberThe Big O; it was a surprise hit in the US, to the point where Cartoon Network helped to fund the creation of a second season, being one of their first anime production partnerships.
The Big Ofollows Roger Smith, a Bruce Wayne-esque figure who acts as a “negotiator,” dealing with problems and crimes that happen in the mysterious and isolated Paradigm City. In times of trouble, Roger can call upon a giant robot, known as Big O, which he sometimes uses to do battle with monsters and other giant robots.
The Big Ois very influenced by film noir, andBatman the Animated Series, and has a strong psychological bend to it.Unfortunately, while the first season can be found with a little difficulty, the second season, which actually resolves the plot, isn’t available anywhere, likely due to its co-production status.
Baccano!Tells a fascinating, if convoluted, story that’s set across three distinct settings and time periods. The first is 1930, where an immortality elixir is created in Manhattan; the second, in 1931, sees a famous train, the Flying Pussycat, being commandeered; and finally, in 1932, where a young woman is searching for her brother.
Baccano!is particularly interesting because it is largely told non-linearly, with events from all three storylines occurring in a seemingly random order.However, the order events are shown in can help clever viewers to identify how these apparently unrelated storylines are actually connected.
Another series that was quite well-received by critics and fans alike,Baccano!Has been available to stream in the past, but currently no one seems to hold the rights to stream it in the US.
Darker Than Blackis set in a world where two mysterious anomalies, the Heaven’s Gate in South America and the Hell’s Gate in Tokyo, suddenly appeared, causing mass panic and distress. Certain people exposed to the area near these gates develop special powers, and come to be known as Contractors.
The series follows Hei, one such Contractor, as he attempts to uncover the truth behind the Hell’s Gate and Heaven’s Gate while working for a mysterious organization known as the Syndicate.Contractors are used for their capacity for handling extreme violence just as much as their supernatural abilities, and are said to have sacrificed their humanity in exchange for power.
Darker Than Blackis often considered a contenderon top 100 anime lists, but it never really hit it off big in the US, which may explain why the licensing rights to the series have lapsed.
Chobitstells the tale of Hideki Motosuwa, a country boy who has headed to live in the big city in order to attend a cram school and hopefully get into college. Hideki discovers it’s common in the city to have a Persocom, a humanoid computer, that helps attend to their needs. He wants one desperately, but they’re far too expensive…
That’s when Hideki finds a Persocom discarded outside and brings it back to his apartment. Attempting to turn it on, Hideki eventually figures out her switch is in a very private place.When she finally comes online, Hideki dubs her Chi, after the only thing she’ll say, and it soon becomes apparent that Chi is no ordinary Persocom.
Chobitsis mostly a slice of life/romantic comedy series, but it does get dramatic towards the end, and really predicted some problems the world would face. Another series by CLAMP, it’s again aimed at a more male audience.
.Hack//Signfollows Tsukasa, a player of a VR MMORPG known as “The World,” who wakes up in the game one day with little memory as to how he got there. Worse still, he soon discovers he’s incapable of logging out of the game, leaving him trapped in the game world 24/7.
Dot Hack, as it’s usually called, can be controversial for some, as the story moves at a fairly slow pace, gradually uncovering the mysteries of how Tsukasa came to be stuck here and what larger purpose his presence may serve.However, for those who enjoy character exploration and don’t mind taking their time, it’s a truly wonderful series.
.Hack//Signis part of a multimedia franchise, which also featured.Hack//video games, light novels, and manga, all of which are pretty hard to get one’s hands on today. It’s a shame, asDot Hackwas ahead of its time in many ways, and is far better than certain other series involving being trapped in a video game.
Slayersis a hilarious fantasy adventure seriesthat follows Lina Inverse, a powerful sorceress with a big reputation, both good and bad. Lina gets into all sorts of trouble, from minor brushups to battles with potentially world-ending consequences, and everything in between.
Lina is joined on her adventure by Gourry Gabriev, a meatheaded swordsman, Zelgadis Graywords, another sorcerer who was turned into a chimera against his will, and numerous other characters who come and go along the way.
The series has five seasons, produced over the course of 15 years, but not a single one of the seasons is available for streaming, unfortunately.The show is legitimately hysterical, parodying popular fantasy tropes while still telling a captivating fantasy story all of its own.
WhileFullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the 2009 remake, is easily available to stream on plenty of services, and indeed is considered one of the greatest anime of all time. The first attempt at adapting the manga, however, hasn’t been so kindly remembered by history, however, and isn’t streaming anywhere.
The first half ofFullmetal Alchemist(2003) features the same story as the manga, but given that the manga wasn’t completed until 2009, Bones was forced to make up a completely different ending to the story, which required diverging from the manga content about halfway through.
Despite being a radically different interpretation of the same source material,Fullmetal Alchemist(2003) is still absolutely worth watching, even in a world whereBrotherhoodexists. It features a few episodes which were skipped over inBrotherhood, and the dub mostly has the same cast for both. Unfortunately, it isn’t clear when or if it will ever be available to stream again.
FLCLwas a mainstay of Adult Swim for years, and many anime fans likely have some familiarity with it. The first season, which was for decades the only season, follows Naota, a young boy whose life is turned upside down when a bizarre woman named Haruko makes her presence in his life known after hitting him with a Vespa.
FLCLwas so successful for Adult Swimthat they eventually funded the creation of 4 additional seasons, each of which follows a different protagonist and tells a very different story, with Haruko as the only real point of connection.
WhileFLCL’s later seasons are easily available on several streaming services, the first season has been left completely unwatchable since Funimation shut down in 2024. It’s a shame, as the original season is a part of anime history, beloved for its strange antics and awesome soundtrack. Hopefully, some of theseanimewill become available to stream again soon.
