Anime and manga publisher Viz Media just made some really big anime series free to watch on YouTube. If you’re looking for a good starting point from some really rich shows, this is a great opportunity to dive into some rock-cold classics.
The company uploaded six of the popular shows to which it owns the rights to YouTube and compile them into useful playlists. Book Death, Hunter x Hunter, Inuyasha, Mr. Osomatsu, narutoAnd Sailor Moon it’s all there, mostly in its entirety, for your enjoyment. Notably, these are Japanese versions of shows with English subtitles, so if you’re a fan of dub anime, this might not be what you’re looking for. But if you want to keep it original, there’s a lot to learn here. Personally, I’ve always wanted to see Book Death after hearing about it through cultural osmosis for years, and although I tend to prefer dub, this was too good an opportunity to waste.
Let’s run down each program:
Book Death
Book Death is the shortest anime on the list, with only 37 episodes in a season. It revolves around the Death Note, a notebook with the power to kill anyone whose name is written inside. A teenager named Light Yagami finds the book and uses it to kill people he considers immoral and unworthy of life; This seemingly unstoppable string of random murders eventually catches the attention of L, an eccentric, brilliant detective, leading to a gripping, supernatural cat-and-mouse game.
Hunter x Hunter
Hunter x Hunter Follows Gon Freecss, a young boy trying to follow in his absent father’s footsteps as a Hunter, heroes hunting for rare creatures, finding treasure, and hunting others. Hunter x Hunter It’s famous for its near-universal acclaim by all who watch it, turning them into conversion advocates who really think you should watch it. The show is one of the longer shows that Viz has put on YouTube, with 148 episodes available across its six seasons. But there are some that are even longer. Such as…
Inuyasha
by Rumiko Takahashi Inuyasha follows a true half-youkai as he joins a high school girl named Kagome Higurashi to recover the shards of a broken Shikon jewel. A huge hit on Cartoon Network’s Toonami back in the day, the show’s seven seasons had 197 episodes.
Mr. Osomatsu
Mr. Osomatsu goes back to the sixties, when Fujio Akatsuka’s comic comics were a cultural phenomenon in Japan. This anime adaptation is much newer, dating back to 2015. It’s worth noting that Mr. Osomatsu is the only show that Viz has uploaded to YouTube that doesn’t include its full run. The currently uploaded first two seasons of the family animated comedy show make up 50 of the series’ 75 episodes.
naruto
With 220 episodes, naruto To be almost biggest sink time Viz has put on YouTube. The five-season show that makes up the First Season of naruto, which follows the protagonist as he goes to school to become a ninja. These 220 episodes are followed by Naruto Shippudenanother 500 episodes long and another follow-up show called boruto but follow Naruto. So you’re opening Pandora’s Box if you decide to sit down and watch this.
Sailor Moon
However, the series with the most episodes in this (original?) wave of uploads is the 1990s bishoujo phenom Sailor Moon, which comes with a whopping 238 videos in its five seasons. This is the classic Magical Girl anime, about a group of teenagers who transform into superheroes and do superhero tricks. She is an icon. She is the moment. And all of her shows are available to watch for free on YouTube. (However, some specials and later movies are not currently available.)
If you’re not an anime connoisseur, there are some really great entry points here, but if you’re a true addict and have watched these shows, you now have a really easy way easy to review them. Speaking for myself, I’m about to suggest some Book Death. Time for me to check it out.
