The best AnimixPlay alternative in 2026
AnimixPlay shut itself down in December 2022 after its scraper broke. Its old domain still says it will never return and warns about copycats.
By the Rotten Brains team · Updated 23 September 2026 · 3 min read
The short answer
AnimixPlay closed in December 2022, and its own old domain says the sites using its brand are copycats. Rotten Brains is free, needs no account, and can be added to your phone's home screen.
What happened to AnimixPlay?
AnimixPlay did not host anything itself. It pulled episodes from sites such as Gogoanime and 9anime and showed them in a cleaner, better organised interface, and it could be installed as a web app that behaved like a phone app. The ani-cli terminal tool used it as one of its sources.
On 21 December 2022 its scraper backend broke, and it was never fixed. Two days later, on 23 December, AnimixPlay announced on X that it was closing "since we are unable to provide reliable service anymore", and let users export their data. ForMyAnime quoted the site as saying scraping "requires constant maintenance" and the scraper was "so messy that this problem might need a total rework". By 26 December ani-cli had moved on to another source.
When we checked on 23 September 2026, its old domain still showed a goodbye page saying AniMixPlay no longer exists in any form, that searches will probably turn up copycat sites using its brand, and asking people not to use them. A copycat was live the same day.
The sites it pulled from have closed since as well: 9anime, as AniWave, in August 2024, and Gogoanime stopped updating in November 2024. Anything built the way AnimixPlay was has lost its sources.
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What people liked about AnimixPlay, and where it is now
One tidy front end over streams gathered from several sites
On Rotten Brains: the player finds a working source by itself →The web app that sat on your home screen like a real app
On Rotten Brains: built for your phone too →Being able to export your data before it closed
On Rotten Brains: pick up where you left off →
AnimixPlay vs Rotten Brains
Status
AnimixPlay: Closed December 2022
✓Rotten Brains: Online and updated every day
Who runs it
AnimixPlay: Unknown copies using the name
✓Rotten Brains: One site, one domain
Account needed to watch
AnimixPlay: Usually not
✓Rotten Brains: No
When a server fails
AnimixPlay: Pick another by hand
✓Rotten Brains: Switches source by itself
Subtitles
AnimixPlay: Varies
✓Rotten Brains: Many languages, several versions each
Watch parties
AnimixPlay: Rarely
✓Rotten Brains: Yes, friends join without an account
Resume on any device
AnimixPlay: Rarely
✓Rotten Brains: Yes, with a free account
| AnimixPlay today | Rotten Brains | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Closed December 2022 | ✓Online and updated every day |
| Who runs it | Unknown copies using the name | ✓One site, one domain |
| Account needed to watch | Usually not | ✓No |
| When a server fails | Pick another by hand | ✓Switches source by itself |
| Subtitles | Varies | ✓Many languages, several versions each |
| Watch parties | Rarely | ✓Yes, friends join without an account |
| Resume on any device | Rarely | ✓Yes, with a free account |
A look around Rotten Brains
Real screenshots from the site, in the order that matters most to someone coming from AnimixPlay.
01
The player finds a working source by itself
On AnimixPlay a dead server meant going back, picking the next one and hoping. Here every title is checked against several sources before you press play, and the player starts on the one that answers first.
If a source stalls, the player tries the next one and picks up where you were. You can still pick one yourself from the settings menu, with a note on which ones carry extra audio languages or subtitles.
02
Built for your phone too
The site works the same on a phone as on a laptop: the player pins to the top, the episode list scrolls underneath, and the controls are sized for thumbs.
Add it to your home screen and it opens full screen, like an app, with no store and no install.
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03
Pick up where you left off
With a free account, every movie and episode remembers the second you stopped, on every device. Continue Watching sits at the top of the home page, next to what is new in the shows you follow.
You never need the account to watch. It only adds the memory.
04
Every season and episode, with Up Next
Shows open on a watch page with every season beside the player. The episode you are on is marked, and Up Next sits right above the list, so finishing an episode is one tap from the next.
Anime is here too, with sub and dub where both exist.
05
Subtitles in dozens of languages
Subtitles come from more than one source, so most titles have several versions per language. If the first one is out of sync with the video, the next one usually is not.
Many get lined up with the dialogue automatically when you pick them, and there is a delay slider for the rest.
06
Watch parties with friends anywhere
Start a party from any movie or episode and send the link. Everyone who opens it watches the same second of the same video, with a chat alongside, and the player keeps them in sync.
Any free account can start one. Friends can join and watch without an account at all.
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Questions
Why did AnimixPlay shut down?
Its scraper broke in December 2022. The team said they could no longer provide a reliable service and closed the site rather than rebuild it.
Is animixplay.fun the real AnimixPlay?
Nothing links it to the original, and the original domain says any site using the AnimixPlay brand is a copycat and asks people not to use them.
Can I put Rotten Brains on my home screen?
Yes. Open it in your phone's browser and add it to the home screen, and it opens full screen like an app. There is nothing to install from a store.