123Anime: anime series, anime movies and Chinese donghua, and where to watch them

The 123Anime design

This 123Anime is rebuilt from two archived captures of 123anime.info: the home page of October 2021 and the landing page of December 2021. Their style sheet was measured carefully. The page is a soft lavender grey, the content sits in white panels with slightly rounded corners and a gentle shadow, and a rich purple runs through everything that matters: the menu bar, the panel titles, the tab underlines, the buttons and the little ribbons on every poster. The typeface is Poppins, a round, modern sans serif, set small and neat as on the original.

The original logo was a small picture, and the footer carried a cartoon mascot borrowed from a famous anime. This site uses an original wordmark instead: a purple square with a white play arrow, then 123 in purple and anime in dark grey, with a small line underneath that reads Watch anime online.

The header and the purple menu

At the top sits a clean white header with the wordmark on the left and a search box beside it, its button filled with purple. Below it runs the purple menu bar, with white capital links for Home, Anime Series, Movies & Anime, Chinese Anime, Genre, Release, A-Z and My List. Point at a link and it darkens to a deeper purple, and the page you are on stays marked. The 2021 menu offered Schedule, Release, Genre, Status, Types, News and Movies & Anime; the new menu keeps the spirit with the collections that matter most. On a phone the bar folds behind a purple button, and the menu slides in with its own search box.

The hero slider

The home page opens with a wide hero panel, just like the slider of the original. A backdrop from the featured title fills it, darkening towards the bottom, where the title appears in white with a one-line description and a small white Watch now button on the right. A row of small dots in the top corner leads to the other featured titles, such as JUJUTSU KAISEN, Your Name., Vinland Saga, LINK CLICK and Horimiya, and the dot for the current title is filled white.

Recently Updated

Below the introduction, the main column begins with Recently Updated, the heart of the 2021 page. Its purple title sits on the left of a thin rule, and three tabs sit on the right: Series, Movies and Chinese, in place of the original Subbed, Dubbed and Chinese. The active tab gains a purple underline, and choosing another tab swaps the grid below instantly, on the same page; the tabs work with a keyboard too. Each tab holds twenty posters in five columns, the newest first.

Every poster carries the two little purple ribbons of the original: on the left, the number of episodes for a series, such as Ep 024, or the year for a film; on the right, TV or Movie. Point at a poster and it dims while a round purple play button appears, and the title underneath turns purple.

The sidebar

The right-hand column keeps the three panels of the original sidebar. Top Anime ranks six titles with numbered circles, the top three filled purple, and two tabs: Newest, for the most popular recent releases, and All time, for the highest-rated titles in the catalogue. Quick Filter is a grid of soft grey buttons for genres and years, Action & Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy & Sci-Fi, Mystery & Thriller, Drama, Family & Kids, and the years 2021, 2020 and 2019, with a purple View all button underneath. Recent Added lists the newest titles with a small poster, the year and the type.

Ongoing

Under Recently Updated comes the Ongoing panel, a two-column list of the series that are still returning with new seasons, shaded in alternate grey rows as on the original. Each line gives the title and, in grey, the latest season and its number of episodes, and a purple View all button opens the full list of series. It is a quick way to see which shows are still growing.

The A-Z footer

The purple footer brings back one of the most useful parts of the 2021 site: the A-Z List. A row of small white boxes, from 0-9 through A to Z, opens the index for each letter, under a note that reads Searching anime order by alphabet name A to Z. Below it come the Help and Links columns and the copyright line. The chibi mascot of the original is gone, and the footer is all the cleaner for it.

A title page

Every poster leads to a full title page. It shows the poster and a wide backdrop, the original title in Japanese or Chinese, the year, the running time or the number of seasons and episodes, the genres, the score, the story, the voice cast and the director or creators. The viewing panel lets you choose one of fifteen countries, from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brazil, Mexico, France, Germany and Japan. Pick yours and press Watch now to open the title on JustWatch, which lists every official service that carries it there. Series pages go further, with a page for every season and a list of every episode with its air date and a short summary.

Anime series: action

The Anime Series collection gathers the Japanese series of 2019 to 2021, three remarkable years for the medium, and action leads the way. Demon Slayer, the story of Tanjiro Kamado and his sister Nezuko, turned Ufotable's dazzling animation into a worldwide phenomenon from 2019. JUJUTSU KAISEN, from MAPPA, followed in 2020 with Yuji Itadori, a student who swallows a cursed finger and joins a school of sorcerers, and its fights set a new standard for television animation. Tokyo Revengers sends a young man back to his school days to save his first love from a gang, and Record of Ragnarok stages a tournament between the gods and the greatest heroes of humanity.

Martial arts fans will find KENGAN ASHURA and Baki Hanma, with their huge fighters and bone-crunching bouts, and The God of High School, adapted from a Korean webtoon, is a whirlwind tournament of martial arts and borrowed divine powers. SHAMAN KING returned in 2021 with a full new adaptation of the classic manga, Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai did the same for another beloved hero, and Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon follows the daughters of the Inuyasha heroes. EDENS ZERO, from the creator of Fairy Tail, is a space adventure, Noblesse follows an ancient noble who wakes in the modern world, and Blade of the Immortal and Dororo bring samurai stories full of danger. Vinland Saga, from Wit Studio, follows the young Viking Thorfinn on a long path of revenge, and it is one of the finest anime of the decade.

Anime series: fantasy and other worlds

Fantasy fills a large part of the shelf. Ascendance of a Bookworm follows a book-loving young woman reborn in a medieval world where books are rare treasures, so she sets out to make her own, and Ranking of Kings is a tender story about Bojji, a small, deaf prince, and his shadowy friend Kage. To Your Eternity follows an immortal being learning what it means to be human, and Dr. STONE rebuilds civilisation from scratch after humanity is turned to stone.

Stories of people transported to other worlds are especially popular. The Rising of the Shield Hero follows a young man summoned as a hero armed only with a shield, So I'm a Spider, So What? reincarnates a schoolgirl as a spider in a dungeon, and The Slime Diaries is a gentle spin-off about the friendly slime Rimuru. My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! is a comedy about a girl reborn as the villain of a romance game, I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level is a cosy tale of a witch and her growing family, and The Saint's Magic Power Is Omnipotent, How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious, Wise Man's Grandchild, By the Grace of the Gods, The 8th Son? Are You Kidding Me?, Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles and The World's Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat complete a rich shelf. Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina and Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle add gentler magic.

Anime series: science fiction

Science fiction produced some of the most striking series of these years. 86 EIGHTY-SIX follows young pilots fighting a war their country pretends is fought by drones, Vivy -Fluorite Eye's Song-, from Wit Studio, sends a singing AI on a century-long mission to prevent a war between people and machines, and Deca-Dence hides a surprising secret behind a battle against giant creatures. Astra Lost in Space strands a group of students on the far side of the galaxy, and Godzilla Singular Point reimagines the king of monsters as a scientific mystery.

From director Masaaki Yuasa comes Japan Sinks: 2020, a family's struggle to survive a great disaster, and from Studio Trigger comes BNA, set in a city of beastmen. Akudama Drive is a neon-lit heist full of colourful criminals, ODDTAXI is a clever mystery about a walrus taxi driver whose passengers all seem connected, and Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045, RESIDENT EVIL: Infinite Darkness, Yasuke and takt op.Destiny complete the shelf.

Anime series: romance and comedy

For gentler evenings, the romance and comedy shelf is a joy. Horimiya follows a popular girl and a quiet boy who discover each other's hidden sides, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War turns a student council romance into a war of wits, and TONIKAWA: Over the Moon for You begins with a marriage proposal on the very first day. Fruits Basket returned in 2019 with a complete adaptation of the much-loved manga, given is a moving story about a young band finding its sound, and SING "YESTERDAY" FOR ME is a grown-up romance in Tokyo. Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It follows two researchers testing whether they are in love.

The comedies are just as good. The Way of the Househusband follows a legendary former yakuza who devotes himself to housework, The Helpful Fox Senko-san sends a divine fox to look after an overworked office worker, and Kakushigoto is a warm story about a manga artist hiding his job from his daughter. Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun, Seton Academy: Join the Pack! and Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun bring school life with a twist.

Anime series: passions and sport

Some of the most inspiring series are about passion. Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, from Masaaki Yuasa, follows three girls who start an animation club, and it is a love letter to the art of animation itself. Blue Period follows a student who discovers painting, SK8 the Infinity, from Bones, is a thrilling skateboarding series, and Iwa Kakeru! Sport Climbing Girls follows a school climbing team. Basketball fans will also find a series about a small player with a big heart on the sport shelf.

Anime series: mystery and thrillers

The Mystery & Thriller collection holds some of the best storytelling of these years. The Promised Neverland follows the children of an orphanage who uncover a terrible secret, Moriarty the Patriot retells the Sherlock Holmes legend from the side of the famous villain, and In/Spectre pairs a young woman who solves problems for spirits with an immortal young man. The Case Study of Vanitas is a stylish vampire mystery in Paris, Shadows House is set in a mansion of living shadows, and Talentless Nana hides a twist in its very first episode.

For darker tales, Dorohedoro is a wild, blackly comic fantasy, BEASTARS is a drama about predators and prey at a boarding school for animals, and Kemono Jihen follows a boy caught between humans and spirits. Platinum End, Darwin's Game, Battle Game in 5 Seconds, The Day I Became a God, Wonder Egg Priority, Cagaster of an Insect Cage and 7SEEDS complete the shelf.

Anime movies: Makoto Shinkai and Mamoru Hosoda

The Movies & Anime collection gathers the anime films of 2016 to 2021, and it opens with two of the great directors of modern animation. Makoto Shinkai's Your Name. follows two teenagers who mysteriously swap bodies across Japan, and it became one of the most successful anime films of all time; his Weathering with You tells of a runaway boy and a girl who can make the sun shine in a city of endless rain. Mamoru Hosoda made Mirai, in which a small boy meets his younger sister from the future, nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and Belle, a dazzling retelling of Beauty and the Beast set in a vast virtual world.

Anime movies: tender stories

Some of the most moving anime films of these years are quiet, personal stories. A Silent Voice: The Movie, from Naoko Yamada at Kyoto Animation, follows a former bully who seeks to make amends with a deaf classmate, and it is widely admired for its sensitivity. Violet Evergarden: The Movie and Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll conclude the story of a former soldier who writes letters for others, with some of the most beautiful animation of the decade. Josee, the Tiger and the Fish is a romance between a student and a young woman who uses a wheelchair and dreams of the sea, and Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms, the directing debut of the writer Mari Okada, is a mother-and-son story across generations.

I Want to Eat Your Pancreas is a bittersweet tale of friendship despite its curious title, A Whisker Away follows a girl who can turn into a cat, and Hello World is a science fiction romance set in a future Kyoto. Mary and The Witch's Flower, the first film of Studio Ponoc, and Earwig and the Witch, Studio Ghibli's first fully computer-animated feature, add magic for younger viewers, and Dou kyu sei – Classmates is a gentle romance between two schoolboys.

Anime movies: big-screen events

The biggest anime films of these years were events. The Demon Slayer film Mugen Train, released in October 2020, became the highest-grossing film ever released in Japan. Jujutsu Kaisen 0 tells the story of Yuta Okkotsu before the series began, and Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time brought Hideaki Anno's Rebuild of Evangelion to a close. My Hero Academia fans will find My Hero Academia: Two Heroes, My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising and My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission, and One Piece Film: GOLD and One Piece: Episode of Skypiea follow Luffy and his crew.

Families will enjoy the Pokémon films, from Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! to Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle, along with Stand by Me Doraemon 2, Doraemon: Nobita's Treasure Island and Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna. Lupin III: The First brings the gentleman thief to 3D animation, and Lupin the 3rd: Goemon's Blood Spray is a stylish adventure for his swordsman friend.

Anime movies: other worlds

Fans of epic worlds will find the Godzilla trilogy, Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters, Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle and Godzilla: The Planet Eater, in which humanity returns to an Earth ruled by monsters. Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel I. Presage Flower and Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel II. Lost Butterfly adapt a celebrated visual novel, Sword Art Online the Movie - Progressive - Aria of a Starless Night retells the first days in Aincrad, and Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Memory Snow, Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple and Psycho-Pass 3: First Inspector extend popular series. Game fans can try Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, Resident Evil: Vendetta and Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway, and Batman Ninja sends the Dark Knight to feudal Japan. The anime movies guide gathers the highlights.

Chinese anime: donghua

The Chinese tab on Recently Updated, kept from the original, opens one of the most exciting shelves on 123Anime: donghua, the animation of China, which grew enormously in these years. Much of it is xianxia, epic fantasy about cultivators who train for centuries to gain immortal power. Soul Land, one of the longest-running and most popular, follows Tang San, reborn in a world of spirit masters, and A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality follows an ordinary village boy who climbs the ranks of the cultivation world through patience and cunning. Perfect World, Swallowed Star, A Will Eternal, Fights Break Sphere, Stellar Transformation, Martial Universe and Tales of Demons and Gods complete a rich shelf of adventure.

Donghua ranges well beyond fantasy. LINK CLICK follows two friends who run a photo studio and can step into photographs to relive the moment they were taken, and its twisting stories won fans around the world. Scissor Seven is a wildly funny series about a hairdresser who works as an assassin on a small island, and The Daily Life of the Immortal King follows a teenager with godlike powers who simply wants an ordinary school life. The King's Avatar is set in the world of professional gaming, Spare Me, Great Lord! is an action comedy, and LEGO Monkie Kid reimagines the Monkey King for children.

Several donghua adapt celebrated Chinese novels of romance and legend. Heaven Official's Blessing follows a thrice-banished god and a mysterious ghost king, The Founder of Diabolism is a tale of two cultivators bound by fate, and Thousand Autumns and Scumbag System add more stories from the same tradition. Fog Hill of Five Elements is admired for its ink-painting style, and Great Journey of Teenagers, White Cat Legend, The Island of Siliang, All Saints Street, Fairies Albums and King of Jin in Tang Dynasty show the range of the form. The donghua guide suggests where to begin.

Sub or dub

Anime fans often ask whether to watch with subtitles or a dub. On the official services, both are usually there. Most anime keeps its original Japanese audio with subtitles in many languages, and many series and films add an English dub, and often Spanish, Portuguese, French, German or Hindi as well. Donghua usually keeps its Mandarin audio with subtitles, and some popular series add English dubs. Switch between them from the audio menu while the episode plays, and change the subtitle language, size and colour in the player settings. The sub and dub guide explains the settings.

The anime seasons

Anime follows a calendar of four seasons, winter, spring, summer and autumn, each bringing a fresh wave of series in January, April, July and October. The original site had a Schedule page for new episodes; here the year collections, Released in 2021, Released in 2020 and Released in 2019, gather each year's titles, and every season page lists its episodes with their air dates. Mark the episode you reached in My List and the next one is always easy to find. The anime seasons guide explains how the anime year works.

How Watch now works

Every title on 123Anime has a Watch now button, on the hero and on every title page. Choose your country and press it, and JustWatch opens with every official service that carries the title in that country, with subscription, rental, purchase and free options side by side. Anime licences differ a great deal from country to country, so the button checks JustWatch each time rather than guessing. The how to watch guide walks through the steps.

Where the titles stream

Crunchyroll carries the largest anime library in most countries, including many of the series on 123Anime, and HIDIVE carries more. Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and Hulu carry many series and films, some of them exclusively, such as Record of Ragnarok, KENGAN ASHURA, Japan Sinks: 2020 and Yasuke on Netflix. For donghua, Crunchyroll, Netflix, iQIYI, WeTV and Bilibili carry many series. Apple TV, Google TV and Prime Video rent and sell many of the films. The streaming services guide gives more detail.

Free and legal options

Some anime can be watched free and legally. In many countries Tubi, Pluto TV and The Roku Channel carry anime free with adverts, and several studios and distributors publish first episodes, and sometimes whole series, on their official YouTube channels. Bilibili and iQIYI offer many donghua episodes free in several regions. When you press Watch now, free options appear on JustWatch beside the paid ones. The free anime guide lists the best places to look.

Phones, laptops, consoles and TVs

123Anime works in every modern browser, on a phone, a tablet, a laptop or a desktop computer. On a phone the menu folds behind a purple button, the sidebar moves below the main column and the poster grid drops to three columns, easy to scroll with one thumb. You can add 123Anime to your home screen from the browser menu, where it opens like an app. The episodes play in each service's official app, installed from Google Play, the App Store, your console or your television's store, and Fire TV, Google TV, Apple TV, Roku, PlayStation, Xbox and most smart TVs run them. The apps and devices guide covers each option.

My List

Press Add to My List on any title page to save a series or a film, and on a season page mark the episode you reached, which is handy for long series such as Soul Land, Vinland Saga or Dr. STONE. My List is stored in your own browser, works straight away and belongs to you alone. Export saves it to a small file, and Import restores it on another phone or computer. The My List guide has the details.

Finding a title

There are several ways to find what you want. The search box in the header looks through titles, including the original Japanese and Chinese titles, as well as the voice cast and directors; press Enter for the full results page, where you can narrow the list to films or series. The menu leads straight to Anime Series, Movies & Anime and Chinese Anime, the Quick Filter in the sidebar opens genres and years, and the A-Z List in the footer opens every title by its first letter. The finding titles guide explains each route, and the genres guide tours every collection.

Top Anime

The Top Anime collection, which also feeds the All time tab in the sidebar, gathers the titles with the highest scores from a large number of votes. JUJUTSU KAISEN, Vinland Saga, Dr. STONE, Horimiya, Dororo, TONIKAWA: Over the Moon for You, The Rising of the Shield Hero, BEASTARS, Record of Ragnarok, Tokyo Revengers and KENGAN ASHURA sit there with films such as Your Name. and A Silent Voice: The Movie. The Newest tab shows the most popular recent releases instead.

Recognising 123Anime

Many sites have borrowed the 123 name over the years, so it helps to know the real design. This 123Anime has a lavender page, a white header with a purple play square and the 123anime wordmark, a purple menu bar with white capital links, white panels with purple titles, purple Ep and TV ribbons on every poster and a purple footer with an A-Z List. Every Watch now button leads to JustWatch and from there to the official services. Bookmark the home page, or add it to your phone's home screen, and you will always return to the right place. The official site guide repeats these signs.

Streaming safely

A few habits keep streaming safe and simple. Install apps only from official stores, give each service its own strong password and switch on two-step sign-in where it is offered. Before entering payment details, check that the address bar shows the real name of the service. 123Anime links only to JustWatch, and JustWatch links to the official services, so every step stays on trusted ground. The safety guide keeps the checklist short.

If a page is slow

If 123Anime seems slow, load the home page and then any title; if both appear, the site is working. Refreshing the page, clearing the browser cache, trying another browser or switching between mobile data and Wi-Fi usually solves the rest. Playback itself happens on the streaming service, so its help centre is the right place for any playback question. The site status guide lists the quick fixes.

Privacy

123Anime keeps things light and ready to use at once. My List, your chosen country and the episodes you mark are stored in your own browser, on your own device. Posters and details load from TMDB, and the site font loads from Google Fonts. The privacy page explains each item in plain words.

How the catalogue is chosen

The catalogue follows the spirit of the 2021 site, whose Recently Updated grid mixed the season's new series with films and Chinese donghua. It gathers the Japanese anime series of 2019 to 2021, anime films of 2016 to 2021 and Chinese donghua from 2017 to 2021. Every title is chosen by hand for a general audience, with fan-service and ecchi titles left out, and the whole catalogue is drawn from TMDB, which supplies the posters, stories, voice cast and episode lists.

A short history of 123Anime

123Anime grew up alongside the famous 123 family of movie sites in the late 2010s, with addresses such as 123anime.info, 123anime.me and 123anime.ru carrying the same lavender design. By 2021 it had a hero slider, a Recently Updated grid with Subbed, Dubbed and Chinese tabs, a Top Anime sidebar and a Schedule page for new episodes, and its landing page greeted visitors with a big search box and a Trending button. That bright, tidy design is the one this rebuild brings back, with one important difference: every series and film now opens on the official services that carry it, in your country.

Where to start with anime

If you are new to anime, 123Anime makes a gentle first step easy. Start with a film: Your Name. and A Silent Voice: The Movie show how moving Japanese animation can be, and Belle is a dazzling spectacle. Then try a series with short, satisfying episodes, such as The Way of the Househusband, Horimiya or Kaguya-sama: Love Is War. When you are hooked, move on to the longer stories: Vinland Saga, The Promised Neverland, Dr. STONE and JUJUTSU KAISEN reward every hour you give them. For donghua, LINK CLICK and Scissor Seven are perfect first steps. The anime series guide suggests more titles by taste.

Studios to know

A few studio names appear again and again on the shelves. MAPPA made JUJUTSU KAISEN, Dororo, Dorohedoro and The God of High School; Wit Studio made Vinland Saga, Ranking of Kings and Vivy -Fluorite Eye's Song-; Bones made SK8 the Infinity and The Case Study of Vanitas; Studio Trigger made BNA; Science SARU, the studio of Masaaki Yuasa, made Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! and Japan Sinks: 2020; and Kyoto Animation made Violet Evergarden: The Movie and A Silent Voice: The Movie. Studio Orange brought its striking 3D style to BEASTARS. Searching a studio's titles is a good way to find a new favourite.

From webtoon to anime

Korean and Chinese comics inspired a growing share of the anime of these years. Tower of God, The God of High School and Noblesse all began as Korean webtoons, and the donghua shelf is full of adaptations of Chinese web novels, from Soul Land to Heaven Official's Blessing. Watching them side by side shows how stories now travel across East Asia, from phone screens to television and back.

Ideas for an anime night

If you are planning an evening, a few pairings work beautifully. For a Shinkai double bill, watch Your Name. and then Weathering with You; for Hosoda, pair Mirai with Belle. For a night of tears and smiles, Josee, the Tiger and the Fish and Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms are ideal. For family fun, Stand by Me Doraemon 2 and Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! suit every age, and for action fans, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 followed by the first episodes of JUJUTSU KAISEN makes a thrilling evening.

Planning a binge

Anime series come in many lengths. Most seasons run for twelve or thirteen episodes of about twenty-four minutes, perfect for a weekend, while longer series such as Dr. STONE or The Rising of the Shield Hero run across several seasons. Donghua varies more, from short seasons of a dozen episodes to long-running shows such as Soul Land with more than two hundred. The season pages show the number of episodes and their air dates, and My List keeps your place, so you can plan a binge as long or as short as you like.

Watching together

Many of these titles are made for a full room. The battles of JUJUTSU KAISEN and Record of Ragnarok get everyone cheering, the comedy of The Way of the Househusband works for all ages, and the Pokémon and Doraemon films bring children and parents together. For group viewing, cast the title to the television, choose the audio language everyone prefers and turn on subtitles for anyone who follows better in another language.

Watching from abroad

123Anime readers live all over the world, which is why the viewing panel covers fifteen countries. Choose the country where you are right now, since that is where the services will play, and JustWatch lists the services that carry the title there. Anime availability varies more than most, with a series on Crunchyroll in one country and on Netflix or a local service in another, so it is always worth checking. Your country choice is remembered in your browser for the next visit.

Worth watching again

Some titles reward a second viewing even more than the first. The clues hidden in The Promised Neverland, ODDTAXI and LINK CLICK only fall into place once you know the ending, and the animation of Violet Evergarden: The Movie reveals new details every time. Keep a few favourites in My List for the evenings when an old friend is exactly what you need.

A first visit

On a first visit, let the hero catch your eye, then look at Recently Updated and switch between Series, Movies and Chinese. Check Top Anime in the sidebar, try a Quick Filter button, and open a few titles to read their stories. Press Watch now on one that appeals, choose your country and follow JustWatch to the service. Save a few titles to My List for later. Within a few minutes, 123Anime will feel as familiar as it did in 2021.

Classics made new

These years brought fresh adaptations of several classic manga, and the shelf makes it easy to enjoy them. Fruits Basket returned in 2019 to adapt Natsuki Takaya's manga from beginning to end, SHAMAN KING was remade in 2021 to cover the whole of Hiroyuki Takei's story, and Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai brought back a hero many fans first met in the 1990s. Dororo reimagined Osamu Tezuka's samurai tale for a new generation, and Blade of the Immortal adapted Hiroaki Samura's celebrated manga again. Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon continued the world of Inuyasha with a new generation of heroines.

Games on screen

Video games inspired several titles on 123Anime. Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV expands the story of the game with photorealistic animation, Resident Evil: Vendetta and RESIDENT EVIL: Infinite Darkness continue the survival horror saga, and the Pokémon films bring the pocket monsters to the big screen. Fate/Grand Order Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia adapts a hugely popular mobile game, and takt op.Destiny turns classical music into a battle. Game fans will also enjoy Darwin's Game and Battle Game in 5 Seconds, both built around deadly contests.

Music in anime

Music runs through many of these titles. given follows a young band finding its sound, Vivy -Fluorite Eye's Song- is the story of an AI who wants to sing from the heart, and takt op.Destiny brings symphonies to life. The theme songs of Demon Slayer and JUJUTSU KAISEN topped the charts in Japan, and the soundtracks of Your Name. and Weathering with You, written by the band RADWIMPS, are loved around the world. A good pair of headphones makes all the difference.

For younger viewers

Families will find plenty to enjoy. The Family & Kids collection gathers the Pokémon and Doraemon films, Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna, Mary and The Witch's Flower and Earwig and the Witch, and on the series side LEGO Monkie Kid, Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun and The Helpful Fox Senko-san suit younger viewers. Check the genres and the story on each title page to choose what suits your family.

Reading the scores

Every title page shows a score out of ten, the average rating given by TMDB members. Scores from many voters are the most reliable, which is why the Top Anime collection lists titles with a large number of votes. Newer series and donghua often have fewer votes, so a smaller title with a modest number of ratings can still be a gem; read the story, check the genres and trust your own taste.

Anime for every season

The catalogue has something for every time of year. Summer suits the sunny adventures of A Whisker Away and the rain-soaked Tokyo of Weathering with You, autumn evenings suit the mysteries of Shadows House and The Case Study of Vanitas, and winter holidays suit the warmth of Fruits Basket and the Doraemon films. Spring, with its new anime season, is the perfect time to start a big series such as Vinland Saga or To Your Eternity. Whatever the weather, the Quick Filter in the sidebar will point the way.

Directors to follow

A handful of directors shaped the films on the shelf. Makoto Shinkai made Your Name. and Weathering with You, Mamoru Hosoda made Mirai and Belle, and Naoko Yamada made A Silent Voice: The Movie. Mari Okada, best known as a writer, directed Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms, Takashi Yamazaki made both Lupin III: The First and Stand by Me Doraemon 2, and Hiromasa Yonebayashi made Mary and The Witch's Flower. On the series side, Masaaki Yuasa made Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! and Japan Sinks: 2020. Searching a director's name is a good way to discover more of their work.

Heroes and rivals

Superheroes and rivals appear across the shelf. The My Hero Academia films follow Deku and his classmates in a world where most people have superpowers, Batman Ninja sends the Dark Knight to feudal Japan, and Noblesse and The God of High School give their heroes ancient powers. Rivalry drives Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, where two brilliant students compete to make the other confess first, and the tournaments of Record of Ragnarok and KENGAN ASHURA, where every bout is a battle of wills as much as strength.

Short watches

Some evenings call for something short. Most anime episodes last around twenty-four minutes, so a couple of episodes of The Helpful Fox Senko-san or The Way of the Househusband make a perfect break, and The Slime Diaries and Seton Academy: Join the Pack! are light and cheerful. Films such as A Whisker Away and Hello World run for under two hours. The running time on each title page and the episode list on each season page help you plan, whether you have twenty minutes or a whole afternoon.

Sharing a favourite

Every title page has its own address, so sharing a recommendation is simple: copy the link from the address bar and send it to a friend, who will see the story, the cast and the Watch now button for their own country. It is an easy way to introduce someone to Vinland Saga, Horimiya or LINK CLICK, and to compare notes after the latest episode. Adding the title to My List first means you can find it again quickly when the conversation turns to what to watch next.

Questions