Funimation is one of the biggest anime streaming platforms in the world, and even though it recently merged with Crunchyroll, there’s no sign of it disappearing just yet. However, as the FunimationNow addon no longer works and the Crunchyroll addon was taken down years ago, there aren’t many ways to watch anime legitimately on Kodi. Still, we’ll cover the best alternatives to Funimation below.
Warning: Kodi should only be used for content to which you have the legal right to access. Neither the Kodi Foundation nor Comparitech advocates the use of Kodi for piracy.
What is Kodi?
Kodi is free, open-source media center software that lets you access content from multiple streaming services all in one place. It’s extremely flexible, supporting just about every operating system, and has a vibrant development scene, with people creating addons for almost any legitimate streaming service you can imagine.
Always use a VPN with Kodi
Normally, your internet service provider (ISP) can see everything you do online. This allows it to sell details of your browsing habits to advertisers or limit your speeds. Luckily, you can shield your data from snoopers and prevent ISP throttling by connecting to a VPN. This not only encrypts your internet traffic, preventing it from being read or analyzed, it also hides your true location, which is helpful for anyone who travels a lot and finds themselves locked out of their favorite streaming services.
When you choose a VPN for streaming, one of the most important factors is speed. We recommend NordVPN because it’s one of the fastest VPN providers around. Not only that, but it boasts an impressive array of security features and works with just about every service we’ve tested, including Funimation.
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The best alternatives to Kodi’s FunimationNow addon
Adult Swim
There’s no other way to put it: Adult Swim is the home of free-to-watch anime in the US. It boasts some of the biggest shows from the last few years including Attack on Titan, Black Clover, and Made in Abyss, as well as cult classics like Ghost in the Shell, Cowboy Bebop, and FLCL.
There’s more good news: this network actually broadcasts currently-airing shows as well. New episodes of One Piece are added every week, and it’s even nailed down titles that are expected to do pretty well, like Housing Complex C. Best of all, the Adult Swim addon is free, doesn’t require a login, and works with all recent versions of Kodi.
Adult Swim is included in the official Kodi addon repository.
ConTV
ConTV actually has a separate section entirely dedicated to anime. Now, you’re not going to find recent hits like My Hero Academia, but this addon is a great way to experience classic shows such as Bubblegum Crisis, Boogiepop Phantom, and Gunslinger Girl without paying a cent. There’s no need to sign up, and if you don’t know what you want to watch, don’t worry: ConTV has a 24/7 live stream as well.
You’ll find ConTV in the official Kodi repo, and it’s fully compatible with Kodi 19.
Crackle
Crackle has a fairly limited selection of anime but some of its titles (like Yowamushi Pedal season one) can’t even be found on Crunchyroll or Funimation. To its credit, the shows Crackle does have are pretty recognisable, with Case Closed, Cardfight!! Vanguard, and Lupin the 3rd being the obvious highlights.
This service is completely free to use and there’s no registration required. You’ll find the Crackle addon in the Kodi repo.
YouTube
Any anime fan over a certain age can tell you about a time when their favorite show was only available in Spanish, spread across twelve separate YouTube videos. Thankfully, the landscape has changed since then and now it’s possible to watch anime on YouTube fully legally.
Channels like Crunchyroll Collection, Bilibili, and Ani-One Asia upload full episodes of their shows on a regular basis. The only downside is that these are almost always subbed, not dubbed, but still, it’s hard to complain when the content is free.
The YouTube addon for Kodi can be found in the official repo.
Watching anime with Kodi: FAQs
Is streaming anime on Kodi legal?
Kodi is just media center software, and all of the addons in its official repo use properly-licensed sources. In other words, there’s no legal issue here.
The problem is that many developers create piracy-focused addons. These scrape content from unauthorized sources, which is why they’re able to offer free access to every show you can imagine. You could concievably find yourself in hot water if you use these addons, but since you have to actually seek them out, there’s almost no chance of you getting one by accident.
Why can't I watch Crunchyroll on Kodi?
There used to be a Crunchyroll addon for Kodi, but the company submitted a DMCA request to have it taken down from GitHub. Crunchyroll claimed that their code had been reverse-engineered in bad faith to circumvent their rights as copyright holders.
The developer disagreed with this, mentioning that their addon required users to login before they were able to watch anything but ultimately decided to remove the addon entirely.
Can I watch new anime on Kodi?
The best way to watch new and currently-airing anime on Kodi is with the Adult Swim addon. This is regularly updated with whatever shows are on Toonami at the moment, plus it has a solid catalog of older content including Attack on Titan, Naruto, and Cowboy Bebop.