Asian TV drama series, with their global appeal, has garnered a massive following. This international popularity has given rise to numerous platforms, including KissAsian. Unlike commercial alternatives like iQiyi, KissAsian users are free from concerns about cost or location-based restrictions.
If you’re looking for an Asian drama site to call home, KissAsian can be a viable option. However, exactly how good is this website, and are there advantages other than its free availability?
Let’s find out.
Table of Contents
- What is KissAsian?
- Watching Drama on KissAsian
- Is KissAsian Actually Legal?
- The Problem With KissAsian: Ads
- Alternatives to KissAsian
- Final Thoughts
1. What is KissAsian?
KissAsian is an online streaming website under the DramaCool umbrella that provides many Asian dramas, movies, and TV shows. The site mainly focuses on content from Korea, China (including Hong Kong), Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand.
The platform offers these shows for free with English subtitles, making it a popular choice among international fans of Asian entertainment. It also has a convenient navigation system that makes it easy to find dramas to watch.
However, while this all sounds fantastic, KissAsianisn’t precisely without drama (pardon the pun). The site has faced legal challenges for streaming copyrighted content. Several users have also made (unsubstantiated) claims of crypto mining, malware, and other negatives.
2. Watching Drama on KissAsian
From a consumer standpoint, there are many advantages to watching drama on KissAsian. The most prominent reason is that it’s completely free. You don’t even have to register for an account to watch dramas on the site.
a. Easy Series Navigation
The site sports a neat interface with an advanced navigation system, allowing you to find and watch anything. Since much of its content is in series, you can even continue watching episode after episode from one page.
The usability is astounding and can rival many commercial alternatives run by large corporations.
b. Simple and Effective Movie Player
The movie player that’s embedded on the site is quite effective. We’ve heard numerous complaints about reliability but have not encountered these issues. It works like most other media players, with options for controlling sound, video quality (up to 1080p), and more.
The streaming quality is also excellent for those with a fast Internet connection. There is very little buffering, even when skipping ahead to different parts of the movies. That means they’ve invested in some pretty serious hardware and networking infrastructure.
c. Advanced Episode Calendar
Drama and movie fans always want to know what’s coming next and when. KissAsian solves that with a movie calendar that lists precise dates and times of movie and episode releases. That calendar is easy to refer to and works as advertised. Even Netflix isn’t as effective.
3. Is KissAsian Actually Legal?
Running any streaming website is not without peril. Even if sites wish to comply with copyright and other laws, it can be challenging given the volume of content, which they must carefully vet. The complexities of regional restrictions can complicate this process even further.
a. The Disclaimer
Like most streaming and torrent websites, KissAsian tries to worm around the issue of legality with a simple disclaimer. Here’s how it reads:
“Dramacool are not affiliated with any of the video content and none of the video content are held on our servers. The video content that is displayed originates from social video websites, such as, but not limited to Veoh, YouTube, Dailymotion, Yourupload and Myspace TV. In case of copyright infringement, pl”
Disclaimer Posted on KissAsian
It claims no liability since its servers do not host copyrighted content. It merely serves as a conduit to several other publicly accessible sources. We aren’t going to argue about that, but KissAsian has been sued before.
b. Successful Copyright Lawsuit Against KissAsian
A few years ago, ABS-CBN, a media company in The Philippines, sued KissAsian for copyright violations. ABS-CBN won the $8 million lawsuit. From this we can see that the disclaimer doesn’t work, nor is everything on KissAsian completely legit.
Incidentally, the company’s ability to pay also shows how much a “free” streaming service can earn. After all, the people behind Dramacool claim to be “just a bunch of college students who love to watch drama and want to share it with the world.”
4. The Problem With KissAsian: Ads
Like many other “free” sites, KissAsian relies on ads to fund its operations. While this is acceptable in practice, the problem is that KissAsian claims to be 100% free without ads. The reality is that almost anything you click on will open an ad in a new tab.
Why this contradiction exists is anybody’s guess. However, the ads are there and extremely obvious. Given the content and streaming quality, we’re prepared to ignore this issue. We only wish they’d remove the “no ads” claim – it’s prominently displayed above the movie player.
5. Alternatives to KissAsian
Those who hate ads should consider one of the commercial alternatives to this platform. We subscribe to iQiyi, but many others have equally good content and features. Here are some of our recommendations:
a. iQiyi
iQiyi is a prominent streaming service based in China. It is known for providing a wide array of video content, including movies, TV shows, variety programs, and anime. It operates primarily on a subscription model, boasting over 100 million paying subscribers.
Interestingly, iQiyi also offers some free content. However, these are fairly limited and typically only meant as a teaser to entice more users into subscribing. Content-wise, it’s a mix of popular titles and some B-grade stuff.
b. Viu
Viu is a Hong Kong-based over-the-top (OTT) streaming service operated by PCCW Media. It offers a dual revenue model that includes both a free tier supported by ads and a premium subscription tier.
The platform offers a rich selection of content, including fresh premium TV series, movies, and lifestyle programs from top content providers in local and regional languages. Viu is particularly noted for its robust lineup of Asian content and Viu Original productions.
c. Viki
Viki is a globally popular on-demand video streaming service specializing in Asian content, including dramas and movies from countries like South Korea, Japan, China, and Taiwan. It was launched in 2007 and later acquired by the Japanese conglomerate Rakuten in 2013.
Viki offers a range of subscription plans known as Viki Pass, available in different tiers: Standard and Plus. The Standard Pass provides access to significant content without ads, while the Plus Pass includes additional content from KOCOWA.
6. Final Thoughts
There is a lot to like about this site. However, its general dishonesty is a concern, especially for those who value their privacy. For those willing to ignore this problem, there is a ton of content, and streaming works well.
Even if you sign up for a paid account on platforms like iQiyi or Viki, KissAsian doesn’t lose out on usability or content availability. It’s up[ to you how you spend your time and money.
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