Every new season, the same question: where is this show actually streaming? The answer depends on who bought the licence, and in which countries. Here's how the official services fit together, and how to check what's available where you live.
Why one show can be on different services
Anime studios and their production committees sell streaming rights per territory. One service might get the show in North America and Europe, another gets it in Asia, and a third holds the rights in Japan itself. That's why a friend abroad can be watching something that isn't on any of your services yet.
It's also why we always say availability varies by country. Every link on NextCour goes to the official page on the service, which will tell you whether the show plays in your region.
The big four
Crunchyroll
The anime-only giant. Crunchyroll simulcasts a large share of every season, typically within hours of the Japanese broadcast, and keeps a deep back catalogue. If you only pick one service for seasonal anime, it is the one most likely to have the show you're looking for. This season it's the most common name on our Where to Watch list by far.
Netflix
Netflix funds and licenses a growing number of series, including its own originals. Its release style varies: some shows stream weekly alongside Japan, while others arrive all at once after the Japanese TV run has finished. Our cards show the next episode date from the Japanese broadcast, so check Netflix's own page for its timing.
HIDIVE
A smaller anime-focused service with a curated slate of simulcasts and dubs each season. It often carries shows nobody else picked up, so it's worth a look when a title seems to be missing everywhere else.
Prime Video
Amazon's service carries selected anime series, a few of them exclusively in some regions. Availability differs a lot between countries, so the official listing is the place to check.
Free and legal
You don't always need a subscription:
- Official YouTube channels run by licensors such as Muse Asia and Ani-One Asia stream some series for free, usually limited to parts of Asia.
- Ad-supported services like Tubi and RetroCrush carry catalogue anime in some countries.
- Some streamers put the first episode of a new show up for free so you can try it.
When we list a YouTube channel, it's an official one. Channel names show up in the link label.
Why it's worth staying legal
Official streams pay the people who make the shows, and the numbers they generate decide which series get sequels. Unofficial sites pay nobody, often come with malware-riddled ads, and the quality is worse anyway.
That's why NextCour has one hard rule: we only ever link to official services. Our links come from AniList's curated listings, and we still check every one against a list of licensed services and their real web addresses before it appears on the site.
Using NextCour to find a show
- Open the season chart and find the show. The links at the bottom of each card go to the official page.
- A grey "soon" label means the service has announced the show but the page isn't live yet.
- Want everything on one service? Each of the big four has its own page, for example anime on Netflix.
Services and regions change during a season, so we refresh our listings regularly.
