Farewell 4Anime!
4Anime was the real star among anime streaming websites. It provided a vast collection of high-quality Japanese animation series and movies (in English subtitles and in Dubbed versions), attracting millions of monthly visitors.
4Anime gained immense popularity among anime enthusiasts worldwide, particularly during 2019, 2020, and 2021. However, on July 13, 2021, 4Anime abruptly shut down! It disappeared like a fading star leaving its loyal user base perplexed about the reasons behind its closure. But soon enough, this loyal user base quickly found alternatives to 4Anime in this massive anime streaming galaxy.
What is [was] 4Anime?
4Anime was a well-known pirate anime streaming website that attracted millions of monthly visitors.
It was a popular platform especially around 2019, 2020, and 2021 among worldwide anime enthusiasts, that were looking for either Japanese animation series and movies. The site offered free access to amazing high quality anime content, in both english subtitles and dubbed versions.
Some notable features of 4Anime included:
- A user-friendly platform for streaming the latest anime worldwide content.
- Provided high-definition anime movies and series (in compressed formats).
- 100% free access to all kinds and types of anime content.
It is strongly believed that 4Anime (just like other similar sites to 4Anime) were able to maintain a 100% free site by hosting and providing access to copyrighted content. They were able to pull out the financial resources by monetizing their million monthly traffic via ads. However, it’s common knowledge that distributing anime (or any other copyrighted content) online for free, violates copyright laws. In the face of illegal activities, governments are quick to take actions such as domain seizing or site shutdowns.
Why and how 4Anime shut down?
At the peak of its popularity, 4Anime abruptly and without much notice shut down on July 13, 2021. It left many loyal users frustrated, angry, and wondering about the reasons behind 4Anime’s closure.
There could be many reasons why 4Anime shut down. But it is certain that 4Anime started facing a legal pressure, that likely lead to its ultimately shutdown.
In the months leading up to its closure, legal crackdowns on websites hosting pirated content had been on the rise. The 4anime site had managed to continue its operations even after being listed on an Australian site-blocking application alongside other pirate websites. However, the situation took a different turn when 4Anime’s domain started redirecting users to a public shutdown announcement hosted on GitHub.
In this announcement, the site’s administrators expressed remorse for “ending things this way” and encouraged users to support the entertainment industry by exploring legal alternatives or “something”.
While the exact cause for the shutdown wasn’t specified in this announcement, the timing of 4Anime’s shutdown coincided with various factors. Such factors were likely, the already legal ‘mounting’ pressure and the later subpoena issued by a US federal court. This subpoena aimed to access personal information about 4Anime’s operators from CDN provider Cloudflare.
4Anime died: And a handful of alternatives pop up.
As a result of the sudden closure of 4Anime, the loyal fanbase’s found themselves in search of alternative platforms. The majority of this 4Anime users, (now refugee fan base) continued looking for similar free websites to watch anime online. They are constantly looking for sites like 4Anime, that offer free access to high quality anime.
Below is a list of similar sites to 4Anime, that raise to popularity.
1. 4Anime.gg (Clone of 4Anime)
4Anime.gg is the closest to 4Anime.to, and according to them, they are the official comeback from the now defunct 4Anime.to. 4Anime.gg is a trusted platform that offers free online anime streaming. They provide high-quality English Subbed and Dubbed options across a wide range of genres. Users benefit from HD quality, fast loading speeds, a user-friendly interface, and exceptional customer service, making it an excellent choice for anime enthusiasts looking for 4Anime alternatives.
2. Animeheaven.me.
AnimeHeaven, established in 2006, is one of the oldest anime streaming websites offering a substantial library of free, sponsored anime content. This great alternative to 4Anime is user-friendly. It also allows HD downloads (via torrents), but users are encouraged to use services like VPNs, proxies, or seedboxes. Although it is a popular resource among anime enthusiasts, it is essential to recognize that accessing copyrighted material without authorization on AnimeHeaven is not considered legal.
3. KissAnime
Similar to 4Anime, KissAnime is also a free online platform dedicated to providing high-quality anime content. KissAnime also provides a wide selection of anime series to its close to million visitors per month. The site is optimized to be accessible on various devices, including mobile phones and desktops. KissAnime stands out as a go-to premium website for anime enthusiasts. They offer instant premium streaming without the need for downloads or surveys, all while maintaining a responsive and mobile-friendly interface. KissAnime uses its health site: KissAnime.help to find its status and list of URLs.
4. 9animetv.to (Clone of 9Anime.to)
9Anime is “The most popular online anime platform” as of Sep 2023. In this site, users can stream and watch anime series and movies, just like 4Anime. Although this site is the mirror of the once popular 9anime.to (which is still operational), as of 2023, 9Anime (9animetv.to) has over 1.5 Billion monthly visits. This site provides free access to a vast catalog of high-quality anime content in various genres and in either English or Subbed. To identify the genuine 9Anime website, you can visit their official Twitter page, where they confirm that 9anime.to is the legitimate site. Alternatively, the 9Anime subreddit at https://www.reddit.com/r/9anime/ provides official links in the “Important Links” sidebar.
5. Animixplay.to (Shut down)
Just like 4anime, Animixplay.to was also a popular streaming website that allowed users to watch anime online for free. However, Animixplay.to has also shut down and is no longer operational (Check out Animixplay alternatives). The site once provided access to a broad range of anime series and movies, with lots of user-friendly features. Users could create accounts to manage their watchlists and track their progress in various anime shows. AniMixPlay is no longer in service, and users are advised to avoid any copycat websites claiming to be AniMixPlay as they are not affiliated with the original site.
6. Animedao (Shut down)
AnimeDao was another top player among the anime streaming websites. It also offered a wide range of anime series and movies for online viewing, accessible for free. However, as per the announcement on their official site, AnimeDao decided to shut down. AnimeDao shut down due to difficulties in providing content without intrusive popup ads and because it was facing challenges related to content security measures. They have chosen not to change domains and emphasize that animedao.to is their only official domain. The Animedao’ site admins also warns their users against fake websites claiming to be AnimeDao. We advise to instead chek out the Animedao alternatives.
7. 5anime.in
5anime is another growing player in the free anime streaming website market. They not only offer a competitive vast collection of anime series and movies for either online viewing and downloading, but also provide the added value. 5Anime stands out as a good alternative to 4Aninme (and other similar websites) especially because they are commited to safety, they show minimal ads and are constant monitoring for any suspicious content. 5Anime is also praised for its excellent content library, providing a wide range of anime genres, high-quality video resolutions, fast loading speeds, regular updates, user-friendly interface, and responsive customer support.
8. Gogoanime.mom
Gogoanime.mom is another similar site to 4anime with a growing interest. As of 2023, GogoAnime has about 20.7M (monthly) visits. Just like other free websites to watch anime online, GogoAnime provides high-quality streaming anime with both English subtitles and dubbing for free. The site boasts a massive collection of anime series and movies, and a wide range of genres. Gogoanime is known for its safety, fast updates, user-friendly interface, high-quality video resolutions, and responsive customer support.
9. Animesuge.to
AnimeSuge is a highly popular free online anime streaming platform with a significant user base of 319.2 million visits. The site prioritizes in delivering an exceptional anime streaming experience and is recognized as a legal and safe platform for watching anime. AnimeSuge works as an automated video search engine to provide high-quality content to users. According to their official homepage, AnimeSuge’s mission is to spread happiness and offer a superior viewing experience through fast updates, user-friendly navigation, and rapid streaming.
10. Gogoanime2.org
Gogoanime2.org is a quite popular online platform (with 256.2M visits) for anime enthusiasts. It is a great 4Anime alternative, because it offers a broad catalage of anime content, including classics and contemporary favorites in both English dub and subtitle formats. The site also provides both subbed and dubbed versions, making it accessible to a global audience. Gogoanime2.org stands out for its regular updates, user-friendly interface, and a vast collection of anime genres. They always ensure an uninterrupted and diverse anime streaming experience.
Final Words.
The closure of 4Anime marked a turning point for its dedicated fanbase, leading them to explore alternative platforms. Many continued searching for free websites offering high-quality anime content similar to 4Anime. Platforms like 4Anime.gg, AnimeHeaven, KissAnime, 9Anime, and 5anime.in emerged as great alternatives and favorites among those 4Anime refugees.
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