Japanese animation, or “anime,” has become so popular that 27% of Americans tune in at least once a day, and not to brag, but I’m probably in the top 1% of regular anime viewers. I’ve been a dedicated Crunchyroll subscriber for over a decade, but after noticing that many interesting shows had ended up being exclusively available on Hidive over the years, I finally decided to drop Crunchyroll, at least for a while, to catch up on what I’ve been missing and to explore Hidive to its fullest. After nine months of using Hidive as my go-to streaming app for all things anime, I highly recommend giving it a try — especially if you’re already a big anime fan who hasn’t already watched everything under the sun.
Specifications
- Price: $5.99 a month, $59.99 a year, and includes a 7-day free trial.
- Features: Downloadable movies and shows, watchlists, history and continue watching tracking.
- Genres: Comedy, Action & Adventure, Drama, Romance, Family & Kids, Horror, Science Fiction, Sports, Mystery & Thriller, Super-Natural, etc.
Pros
- Affordable ad-free streaming.
- Sizable library of brand-new and retro anime from the 1980s to today.
- Hidive regularly adds new movies and shows.
- App is compatible with modern smartphones, smart TVs, and gaming consoles.
- Plenty of exclusive shows.
- The Hidive viewing experience is regularly improved with new updates.
- Consistently fluid 1080p streaming across all platforms.
- Convenient official Sentai Filmworks store for Blu-rays and merch.
Cons
- Despite logging my preference for Japanese audio in the settings, Hidive defaults to English voiceovers automatically. It takes a second to flip back to the audio I want, but it’s mildly annoying.
- I reached out at least twice to find content advertised to be on Hidive that wasn’t viewable for one reason or another and although customer service was slow to respond, they were friendly and helpful each time.
HiDive
Diving Into Hidive’s Anime Selection
Between my familiarity with Crunchyroll and it being the biggest and most well-known anime app out there, the comparisons to Hidive are all but unavoidable, however Hidive stands apart as its own worthwhile streaming platform. I’m the sort of person who enjoys innovative stories, lovable characters, and out of the box concepts across all genres, and Hidive’s collection is more than large enough to keep the average anime fan entertained for at least a year before they’d even think of looking elsewhere for their anime fix.
Yes, Hidive tends to acquire far fewer exclusive shows and movies each season when compared to other streaming platforms, but with its sizable backlog of genuine classics that range from the 1980s to the present day, I have a strong feeling that Hidive agrees with my, “If you haven’t seen it, it’s new to you” take on older anime. I had a blast catching up with the hilarious and universally beloved internet sensation of Azumanga Daioh (2002), being absorbed in the bizarre story of Rozen Maiden (2004) and its charismatic dueling magical dolls, as well as brand-new shows such as the vibrantly colored reimagining of the legendary sci-fi romance Urusei Yatsura series, and the surprisingly intense “The Godfather if it was set in a maid café” mobster series Akiba Maid War.
Hidive is more affordable than its competition as well, and if you have a backlog of anime shows and movies you’ve been meaning to watch, I highly recommend tuning in for at least the free seven-day trial, but expect to be hooked for a good while afterward.
Pricing, Where to Watch, and Features
In a world where monthly streaming fees creep up on a regular basis, it’s nice to see Hidive at an affordable $5.99 a month, and if you invest in a year of Hidive at $59.99, it ends up being even cheaper at $4.99 per month. An annual subscription is an excellent gift for the special anime fan in your life, especially for those who don’t understand anime particularly well, but need to impress with a thoughtful present.
I was used to mirroring my laptop’s stream to my TV for the first eight months of my Hidive subscription, so it was a pleasant and convenient surprise when the Hidive app was published to LG TVs in March 2025. Hidive is available on many platforms, including Apple, Android, Xbox, a variety of smart TVs, and Amazon Prime, but if you cannot watch Hidive on your favorite device, drop them a line and wait patiently because they’re constantly branching out.
The Hidive user experience is cleanly designed and uncomplicated, and there aren’t many standout features to make note of. Hidive supports custom watchlists, automatically tracks your viewing history so you can effortlessly pick up where you left off, and subscribers can host up to three unique profiles per account. A surprisingly large amount of content is available in dubbed English, even though I prefer the original Japanese coupled with English subtitles. I wish the Hidive app would remember my preference so I didn’t have to manually change the audio back to Japanese each time I started a new episode, but the translations themselves are spot-on accurate and you can tell Hidive’s translators care about the finished product.
It’s nice to see that Hidive is clearly working behind the scenes to steadily improve the service, as newer features like downloading individual episodes to your mobile device for offline viewing, and how the app regularly pops up on new platforms, shows that Hidive plans to not only stick around, but to grow into something even more impressive in the future.
As a fun sidenote, I like how the official Sentai Filmworks store is attached to the Hidive app so mega-fans who have fallen in love with a series can snap up a steelbook set of The Dangers in My Heart, the complete collection of Blu-ray discs of Dungeon People, or that adorable Himouto! Umaru-chan stress ball I’ve had my eye on.
HiDive
If you’re a big fan of Japanese animation and would appreciate both a whole new slate of shows and movies to watch and a more affordable monthly price for your streaming entertainment, I suggest jumping ship to Hidive for their week-long free trial at the absolute least. While casual viewers may not get as much out of it, hardcore anime enthusiasts will certainly get their money’s worth, especially if they want to enjoy some of the best anime series of yesteryear alongside some fresh seasonal surprises.
