Kara Dennison
September 19, 2022 
Need your fix of classic animation but can’t afford another subscription? Never fear! There’s plenty of free anime you can start—and finish—without spending a dime! And if you’re looking to build up your knowledge of the classics, you’re in luck. Much of what you can watch is a fine vintage, meaning you can backfill while you wait for the next episodes of your current faves!
Check out these three titles, and get watching right away!
Ninja Robots Tobikage
How does this strike you for a free anime viewing night: Martian landscapes, ancient prophecies, and big fighting robots. Definitely worth the price of admission, right? Now what if I told you it’s from Yūji Watanabe—the same person who wrote Space Runaway Ideon: Be Invoked?
Ninja Robots Tobikage takes place on Mars in the 23rd century, and follows a group of rebellious teens as they fly to a far-off galaxy to pilot… well, ninja robots. Now allied with the alien planet of Ladorio, Joe Maya and his friends must fight against the onslaught of the planet Zaboom. You can watch it now for some classic mecha action!
Astro Boy
Is there any series more classic than Astro Boy? Osamu Tezuka’s revolutionary work is the standard for what we know as anime. And you can now add the 1963 series to your watch list of free anime!
If you’ve never seen Astro Boy for yourself, or aren’t familiar with Tezuka’s work firsthand, you may be surprised. Like all his titles, it has the capacity to be dark, surprising, and weirdly thought-provoking. There’s a lot of Astro Boy out there, old and new. But if you’ve ever been especially interested in diving into the OG series, now’s your chance!
Unico in the Island of Magic
Speaking of Tezuka and surprisingly sad things, this classic Unico film is another good addition to your free anime watching catalogue. Old-school fans may recall seeing this on cable as kids. As usual, the happiness-bringing unicorn baby sails off to a new adventure with new friends. This time, though, he’s in over his head, as he finds himself on an island inhabited by a mad wizard and his puppet servants.
Dive in now and experience this trippy nostalgia for yourself. As is typical of Unico, the ending is bittersweet. After all, he has the ability to bring happiness to others. But to stay safe from the gods who want him dead, he’ll end up whisked away to his next port of call with no memory of his old friends.
Speaking of classic anime, here’s why we’re excited for the upcoming Rose of Versailles film.
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