Update 3: Rankings for Iflix (#5 to #7), dimsum (#6 to #5), Ani-One (#8 to #6), and Crunchyroll (#7 to #8) changed. Some changes/additions made to Netflix, dimsum, and Ani-One entries.

Update 2: dimsum Entertainment and Ani-One have been added as entries.

Update 1: The original article said that Astro GO did not have access to Fire Force when it was simulcasted on Aniplus Asia, and that Stars Align was pulled after its simulcast. The former was a mistake as Aniplus Asia’s Fire Force simulcast did not come to pass, with the show only premiering recently. Astro GO has the episodes as well.

Meanwhile, Stars Align is now back on Astro GO, although the episodes have to be watched according to Aniplus Asia’s schedule or recorded at time of writing. The article has been amended accordingly.

Article: When it comes to legal anime streaming, it’s easy to see what Malaysia lacks compared to other countries, namely in the United States.

Over there, they have exclusive services like Funimation and Hulu, as well as the full libraries* for services like Crunchyroll, HiDive, and Netflix. Over there, they have simulcasts for anime like A Certain Magical Railgun T, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, ID: Invaded, Darwin’s Game, and If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die.

While we’re obviously lacking in comparison, it’d be remiss to ignore what we do have. I’m not just talking about subscription-only services, but services that offer us free (and legal) anime. In this list, we’ll be taking a look at the anime streaming services available in Malaysia, the anime they offer**, and rate them from best to worst.

*For the services with limited catalogues in Malaysia, I’ve seen people recommend NordVPN and ProtonVPN, though I haven’t tried them myself. Personally, I feel that a service should earn our subscription by providing the full library themselves.

**It’s worth noting that the shows on these streaming services aren’t necessarily permanent fixtures, thanks to contracts and deals. Fate/Kaleid is no longer available on Astro Go, for instance.

1) Muse Asia

What Is It?

Muse Asia may be a newcomer to the anime streaming scene, but it’s already become a great addition to the landscape. The YouTube channel offers free anime to the Asian region and has a decent number of simulcast titles per season.

For the Winter 2020 season, it offered six simulcast titles. It’s not amazing compared to what North America gets from its own streaming services, but it’s a pretty good number over here; Animax, for instance, usually gets two simulcast titles per season only.

Recently, Muse Asia announced the Muse Malaysia and Muse Vietnam channels, which will offer subtitles in their respective languages (Muse Malaysia also gets Chinese and English-subbed videos). It’s a good show of support for the region.

If I had to nitpick, Muse Asia’s videos max out at 720p instead of 1080p, but it’s really not a big deal.

Notable Shows

BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense, Isekai Quartet 2, Asobi Asobase, A Certain Magical Index 3, Smile Down the Runway.

Worth the Subscription?

Short answer: It’s free, so no.

Long answer: It’s free, so knock yourself out.

2) Netflix

What Is It?

Netflix probably needs no introduction at this point, but here’s the official description anyway:

“Netflix is a streaming service that offers a wide variety of award-winning TV shows, movies, anime, documentaries, and more on thousands of internet-connected devices.

You can watch as much as you want, whenever you want without a single commercial – all for one low monthly price. There’s always something new to discover and new TV shows and movies are added every week!”

Netflix Malaysia’s catalogue is smaller than North America’s, but it’s not something to be scoffed at either. You get all of the Studio Ghibli movies, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Psycho-Pass, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Sword Art Online, The Tatami Galaxy, and many more. Plus, there are Netflix Originals like Carole and Tuesday, Little Witch Academia, and Ultraman.

One downside is that outside of Japan, Netflix doesn’t simulcast anime. As Michael Moore wrote for the Verge: “in Japan, shows are available on the service within a day of the Japanese broadcast. Internationally, it will hold a show until months after it has finished airing and then release the entire season so you’ll have to wait months for a new show to come out.” It’s good for those who like to binge, not so much for those who like to watch new anime weekly.

Notable Shows

This is a tough one. I’m adding a personal recommendations category so that I can mention more titles and give a better idea of Netflix’s variety without making things too messy.

Shows you should know about: Zombieland Saga, Violet Evergarden, Spice and Wolf, Kaguya-sama: Love is War, Code Geass, Haikyu!!, Attack on Titan (third season added fairly recently)

Personal recommendations: A Place Further Than The Universe, Fate/Zero, Run with the Wind, Mobile Suit Gundam UC, Tsuredure Children, Re: Zero, Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai (recently added to Netflix), SSSS. Gridman (recently added to Netflix)

Worth The Subscription?

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Netflix’s subscription costs range from RM17 a month for the Mobile plan to RM55 for Premium. Premium lets you watch shows in HD and Ultra HD, lets you watch on TV, PC, and mobile, and also allows you to watch on four screens at the same time.

Basic (RM35) and Standard (RM45) lack the Ultra HD feature and only allow you to watch shows on one and two screens respectively. Mobile is like Basic, except that you can only watch on your phone or tablet.

The plans are all pretty decent, and there’s no need to bother with Standard or Premium if you’re the only one watching (unless you really want Ultra HD, in the case of the latter).

Given the stuff that you can get access to, I’d say that Netflix is worth the subscription.

3) Amazon Prime Video

What Is It?

Anime Strike is gone, but we can still watch anime on Amazon thanks to Prime Video. Prime Video is one of the streaming features you get when you subscribe to Amazon Prime. You can also choose to subscribe to the service specifically.

The About page says that its “unlimited streaming of movies and TV episodes for paid or free trial members” is available for those in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, but I was able to access their videos.

Amazon doesn’t have a massive ton of anime, but among the three dozen or so shows it does have are some pretty noteworthy titles like Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku and Kokkoku. Some like Happy Sugar Life or the more recent Vinland Saga and Blade of the Immortal are exclusive to the platform. And unlike Netflix, Amazon simulcasts its new shows.

The main downside I’ve seen so far is that the service doesn’t have all the seasons for a multi-season anime. For example, you get the first seasons of Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend and Yuki Yuna is a Hero, but not their subsequent seasons.

In addition, Amazon doesn’t always get a lot of new shows each season. While it had Babylon, Vinland Saga, Blade of the Immortal, and Psycho-Pass 3 during the Fall 2019 season, it only has one show – Pet – for Winter 2020. Admittedly, however, the lack of Winter 2020 titles was partly due to Interspecies Reviewers being removed.

If you’re on the fence, you can try out the seven-day free trial to see if the service and its offerings – especially the exclusives – are up to your taste.

Notable Shows

Dororo, Scum’s Wish, After The Rain, Inuyashiki Last Hero, Welcome to the Ballroom, Re; CREATORS.

And while I’ve already mentioned them, it’s worth emphasizing that this is where you can find Vinland Saga and Blade of the Immortal.

Worth the Subscription?

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: A Prime Video subscription will set you back $5.99 (RM25.31) a month. It gives you live-action shows as well as anime. You can also subscribe to Amazon Prime for $12.99 (RM54.86) a month to get not just Prime Video, but a host of other benefits.

If all you’re interested in is Prime Video and its anime though, I’d say that the Prime Video subscription is decent enough considering the exclusives that Amazon has. It’s a matter of quality over quantity.

4) Astro Go

What Is It?

Astro GO is an online service that’s exclusive to Astro customers. Instead of restricting yourself to the TV, you can watch your favourite shows on mobile, tablets, and PC. You can also stream on four devices simultaneously with a single ID.

The best thing about it is the stuff you won’t find on Astro TV. Aside from being able to watch Animax TV online, you get access to Animax On Demand. On Demand’s catalogue includes shows you can find on Animax TV, but it also has a fair bit of exclusive content, which includes some pretty good titles.

Aside from Animax On Demand, Astro Go also gives you access to Singapore’s Aniplus Asia. This gives you access to a notably wider range of anime, as well as more simulcast shows. Sadly, we don’t have some Aniplus titles like Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend.

It’s worth noting that Astro GO has some minor but noticeable flaws. After the recent revamp, it seems that new episodes of simulcast shows are only uploaded after they air according to their broadcast schedule, and you have to wait for the encore to finish to boot (edit: after checking out episode nine of Magia Record, it seems that episodes are uploaded after the initial broadcast, not the encore). You can still watch the show online according to its schedule, however, or choose to have Astro GO record it for you.

In addition, the white subtitles lack black outlines (which is really dumb), so they end up turning invisible during bright scenes. It got so annoying that I ended up submitting a feedback form. Luckily, Magia Record‘s eighth episode has black outlines for its subtitles, so things might be changing. (Edit: episode nine’s subs don’t have the black outlines. So much for improvements.)

Also, the mouse cursor doesn’t disappear when you’re watching a video (again, really dumb). Thankfully, you can hide it by moving it to the side, which was something you couldn’t actually do before the revamp.

Notable Shows

Animax On Demand (exclusives only): Golden Kamuy, March Comes in Like A Lion, Your Lie in April, Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuna, Orange.

(I’d include Aldnoah Zero, but only the second season is available, for some baffling reason.)

Aniplus Asia: Attack on Titan, The Ancient Magus Bride, Steins;Gate 0, Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, The Promised Neverland, Fire Force

Worth the Subscription?

Short answer: Maybe.

Long answer: If you’ve already got an Astro subscription, there’s no reason not to sign up for Astro GO, which is provided for free and gives you a notably wider selection of anime.

For those who don’t, the cheapest Astro TV package is the Starter Pack which costs RM61.32 after the 6% service tax. The Starter Pack gives you a basic pack with “36 basic channels and 22 radio stations” and a mini pack of your choice; the eight-channel Variety pack includes the Animax channel. Aniplus Asia is exclusive to this package.

There’s also an ongoing Starter Pack promotion (it ends on March 31) that makes your third month free, and it costs RM58 a month (inclusive of the 6% tax).

While Astro GO’s anime selection has quite a bit of good stuff, a price of RM58 still gives me pause. As such, I’d say that justification for the price will rely on the mileage you get from Astro’s non-anime content.

The other issue is that there doesn’t seem to be a way to check out what Animax On Demand has unless you already have Astro GO, so you’re making your purchase decision while partially blind. I’ve taken screenshots of the On Demand catalogue in case you’re curious.

Also, it’s worth noting again that we’re not guaranteed to get everything that Aniplus Asia has (like Kids on the Slope and Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend), which sours the deal a bit.

5) dimsum Entertainment

A streaming service that’s pretty cheap. There’s a free package, but you’ll need one of the VIP subscriptions to access the anime content, which is provided via a partnership with Ani-One (see #8).

It’s not an all-mighty catalogue, but there are a number of noteworthy shows here like Tales of Zestiria the X, Saga of Tanya the Evil, and Your Lie in April. The issue is that a number of these shows can be found on other streaming sites (the latter two are also on Netflix, for instance). On the other hand, Ani-One has the latest seasons for shows like Food Wars! and Haikyu!!, whereas Netflix Malaysia is lagging behind in that regard (at time of writing).

As for simulcast titles, there aren’t a lot of these. But if you want to watch Gleipnir, which is airing as part of the Spring 2020 season, then this is where you’ll find it.

Notable shows 

Gleipnir, Dr. Stone, Tales of Zestiria the X, Himouto! Umaru-chan (both seasons), Recovery of an MMO Junkie, My Hero Academia (season two to four), Food Wars! The Fifth Plate, Haikyu!! To The Top.

Is it worth the subscription?

Short answer: Maybe. Try the 30-day free trial first.

Long answer: Having the fourth season of My Hero Academia and Food Wars! The Fifth Plate (Netflix Malaysia only has two seasons of the former and three seasons of Food Wars at time of writing) is great. While I can’t recommend a continuous subscription based on its catalogue completed shows, dimsum has a strong enough offering that a couple months of subscriptions, in addition to the free trial, is worth considering.

For a continuous subscription, I’d say it largely depends on how you feel towards its simulcast titles. I’m usually not a fan of paying a subscription just to watch one or two exclusive shows, dimsum’s prices are cheap enough that I don’t mind that subscribing just to watch Gleipnir. The VIP subscription (access for two devices) only costs RM8.90 while the VIP Family subscriptions (access for five devices) costs RM14.90, with these being inclusive of the Service Tax (see the FAQ here).

I signed up for VIP Family for reasons that escape me now, but the anime content should be accessible even with the regular VIP subscription (I’ll update this if this turns out to be false).

It’s worth noting that my subscription seemed to replace my free trial period instead of adding on to it so you should enjoy the trial to the fullest before committing to any subscription. (Edit: although it looks as if the free trial is supplanted by the paid subscription, in practice that does not seem to be the case. Despite the expiration of my first paid subscription and not making any renewal, I’m still able to watch VIP content in May, which I assume is because I haven’t used up my free trial yet.)

And as a FYI, subscribing via online banking requires manual renewal.

6) Ani-One

What is it

Like Muse Asia, it’s a YouTube channel that offers anime, both simulcasting and completed, for free. Its catalogue isn’t too bad either, with shows like Fate/Kaleid liner PRISMA ILLYA 3rei!, Angolmois: Record of Mongol Invasion, and The Fruit of Grisaia on offer. In terms of newer titles, there’s How Heavy Are The Dumbbells You Lift? and Sing “Yesterday” For Me. I mentioned earlier that dimsum gets its anime via a partnership with Ani-One, but there’s no content overlap between that streaming service and this YouTube channel.

I wanted to give Ani-One a higher spot than this, but I can’t because of the subtitles. Some shows, like Sing “Yesterday” For Me, Sakura Wars; The Animation, and How Heavy Are The Dumbbells You Lift? have English subs, but the vast majority only seem to have Chinese subs. (Edit: Some shows, namely the more recent uploads, now have English subs added. I’m not sure if the entire Ani-One catalogue is getting retroactively Eng-subbed, but the current changes are enough for me to move this up from its previous position of #8.)

If you can read Chinese or understand Japanese, you can treat this as a #5 entry. For English speakers, Asia-One is still a welcome presence, but there’s a barrier to many of its free offerings.

Notable shows

With English subs: Sing “Yesterday” For Me, No Game No Life, How Heavy Are The Dumbbells You Lift?, Room Camp, Fate/Kaleid liner PRISMA ILLYA 3rei!, Angolmois: Record of Mongol Invasion

With Chinese subs: Fate/Kaleid liner PRISMA ILLYA 2wei！Herz!, The Fruit of Grisaia, Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor

Is it worth the subscription?

Short answer: It’s free, so no.

Long answer: It’s free, so there’s no need.

7) Iflix

What Is It?

Netflix, but cheaper and with more regional stuff than Western, basically. In the past, the only thing I liked about Iflix was its cheap price, and even then, the anime content didn’t seem great enough to bother with it. Now, however, Iflix has free stuff thanks to the introduction of Iflix Free.

I’m not sure when Iflix arrived at its current state. SoyaCincau did write an article on Iflix giving free content in 2018, but there have been further changes since. I was able to watch shows without registering, which was mentioned as a requirement in the article, for instance.

When you register, you get a free trial of Iflix VIP. Regardless of the tier you choose, you get “unlimited access. No Ads”. According to Startup Thailand, the VIP version gives you “premium movies and TV series, LIVE special events”.

It’s worth noting the differences between the mobile app and browser versions. When I launched the app, it stated that all shows were available for free. On PC, there are some shows that are restricted to Iflix VIP, namely raunchy live action shows.

The app also has ads, while I didn’t notice any on PC. In addition, you can download shows with the app, but I noticed that most anime lacked the function, despite the PC version showing the download button for them.

Anime-wise, it seems that everything is available for free on both versions. The selection is very limited, but there are some notable titles like Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory and Made in Abyss. Unfortunately, the audio for Made in Abyss and a few other shows sounds muffled.

Notable Shows

Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory, Full Metal Panic! movies, Made in Abyss, New Game!

Worth the Subscription?

Short answer: You can watch for free, so no.

Long answer: The subscription prices are very cheap. You can pay RM3 a week, RM10 a month, or RM96 a year. There’s also a Chinese New Year promotion that gives you 6 months of VIP access for RM6.

However, since you can watch Iflix’s anime catalogue for free, you don’t have to bother with subscriptions.

8) Crunchyroll

What Is It?

An anime streaming service with a good catalogue… if you’re in the United States.

Still, credit where credit is due. First, we can watch several anime on Crunchyroll for free, and these include recognizable titles like The Ancient Magus’ Bride and Shugo Chara. Second, it is the only legal streaming service I can think of that lets Malaysians watch not just the original Naruto series, but also Naruto Shippuden and the ongoing Boruto anime.

Where Crunchyroll disappoints the most is in its simulcast offerings. In the United States, Crunchyroll is currently simulcasting titles like Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, Haikyu!! To The Top, and Somali and the Forest Spirit for the Winter 2020 season. Last season, it had shows like Dr. Stone, Black Clover, and Fire Force.

Over here, the only simulcast shows we currently have are Boruto and Radiant.

But while the lack of simulcast titles is a glaring fault, the shows that Crunchyroll provides for free here – like Darling in the FranXX and Laid-Back Camp – are enough to prevent me from dismissing the service entirely. Just remember that there are still some that require a subscription.

Notable Shows

Free: ReLIFE, Darling in the FranXX, Laid-Back Camp, Recovery of an MMO Junkie, School Days.

You also get the first Jo-Jo’s Bizarre Adventure season, Stardust Crusaders, and Stardust Crusaders – Battle in Egypt. Diamond is Unbreakable and Golden Wind aren’t available at all.

Subscription: YuruYuri, Muv-Luv Alternative Total Eclipse, THE UNLIMITED Hyobu Kyosuke

Worth the Subscription?

Short answer: Probably not.

Long answer: While I haven’t watched anything on Crunchyroll long enough to run into ads, they do exist as Premium offers an ad-free experience. Aside from that perk, there’s also the fact that some shows require a subscription to watch.

A Crunchyroll Premium subscription will set you back $7.99 (RM33.76) a month. You can also try out a 14-day free trial.

As much as I’d like to have access to shows like YuruYuri and Total Eclipse, Crunchyroll’s subscription feels overpriced, especially compared to what Netflix offers with its Basic Plan. It might be worth subscribing for a short while if you really want to watch those shows and can’t binge everything within the free trial period, but overall? I’d say don’t bother.

9) HIDIVE

What Is It?

An anime streaming service with a Malaysian catalogue that’s just plain bad. There are great shows like Bloom Into You and Mawaru Penguindrum on HiDive, but none of them are available here.

What we do get are FIVE shows – three series and two movies. Out of the five, I only recognized one title. There’s not much else to say.

Notable Shows

Kino’s Journey (2003), Chance Pop Session

Worth the Subscription?

Short answer: Absolutely not.

Long answer: While you’re only paying either $4.99 (RM21.13) a month or $47.99 (RM203.20) a year, the atrocious catalogue doesn’t justify the cost at all. Luckily, there’s a free 14-day trial. Use that instead.

***

As you can see, legal anime streaming in Malaysia isn’t a complete disaster. While we still have a lot of catching up to do (especially when it comes to simulcasts), it’s worth acknowledging the services (especially Muse Asia) and anime that are available to us. Hopefully, we’ll see even greater improvements from here on out.