9Anime was a popular, but short-lived addon for Kodi. The site it’s named after is notorious in the anime community for using unlicensed sources, so even while this addon was available, it was a poor choice for anyone hoping to watch anime legally.
The 9Anime Kodi addon has not worked in years but don’t worry: there are plenty of legitimate, free ways to stream anime on Kodi, and we’ll reveal these below.
Warning: Kodi should only be used for content to which you have the legal right to access. Neither the Kodi Foundation nor Comparitech advocates the use of Kodi for piracy.
What was the 9Anime Kodi addon?
9Anime is a website known for anime piracy. You might think that an addon with the same name would simply make the site’s content available in Kodi, but you’d be mistaken. The 9Anime Kodi addon simple scraped content from a variety of free storage and sharing platforms, including G4, RapidVideo, MyCloud, and OpenLoad.
In other words, 9Anime for Kodi was a glorified search engine for file-sharing sites, rather than being a dedicated anime service.
Best alternatives to 9Anime
Adult Swim
If we told you there was a free, legal way to stream hit anime, and that it was included in the official Kodi repo, would you believe us? This might seem too good to be true, but it actually is! The only caveat is that you’ll have to be in the US to watch.
Adult Swim isn’t wholly dedicated to anime, but it does carry several high-profile shows such as Ghost in the Shell, Cowboy Bebop, and Naruto: Shippuden. Looking for something a little more modern? Why not check out Made in Abyss, Attack on Titan, or one of the newly-released anime that this network offers each season?
Crackle
Crackle may not have the largest anime library around but it does offer a few shows that are surprisingly difficult to find. Chief among these are the first season of Yowamushi Pedal and Lady Oscar: The Rose of Versailles. Not bad considering this addon is completely free to use and included in the official Kodi repo!
Always use a VPN with Kodi
Third-party Kodi addons usually aren’t tested as thoroughly as official ones, so there’s always a chance the developer sneaked in some malicious code that lets them see what you get up to online. You can prevent this (and ISP snooping) by connecting to a Virtual Private Network (VPN). As a bonus, this will also stop your service provider from throttling your speeds when it detects streaming activity.
Not all VPNs are ideal for Kodi though. Most don’t have apps for popular TV devices like the Amazon Fire Stick. That’s why we recommend NordVPN. It’s a no-logs service with some of the fastest speeds we’ve seen. Not only that, but it boasts a top-tier set of security features, apps for Amazon Fire Stick and Nvidia Shield, and a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee.
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Streaming anime on Kodi: FAQs
Can I watch Crunchyroll or Funimation on Kodi?
There used to be Kodi addons for just about every major anime streaming service, including Crunchyroll, Funimation, and even Daisuki (rest in peace). However, these all either stopped working or were taken offline after the companies themselves objected.
It is still possible to watch anime on Kodi, although you may have to consult a few different addons rather than having a huge library of it all in one place.
Does the 9Anime Kodi addon still work?
The 9Anime Kodi addon stopped working in 2018 and since it relied on unlicensed sources, it wasn’t a particularly useful addon for anime fans even back then. Kodi users hoping for a large selection of anime would do well to check out Adult Swim and Crackle, both of which are free and available from the official Kodi repo.
Why isn't Kodi working properly?
Kodi isn’t the best at letting the user know what’s causing a particular problem. That’s why we’ve created a guide to fixing Kodi issues (and a seperate troubleshooting guide for Firestick). Whether you’re struggling with buffering, slow speeds, or finding addons that actually work, our beginner-friendly posts will get you up and running in no time.