The best AniWave alternative in 2026
AniWave, the name 9anime took in 2023, closed at the end of August 2024 with a farewell page. The site it pointed its users to, HiAnime, has since closed too.
By the Rotten Brains team · Updated 23 September 2026 · 3 min read
The short answer
AniWave closed in August 2024, and HiAnime, the site its farewell page suggested, closed in March 2026. The AniWave sites around now are clones. Rotten Brains is free, needs no account, and keeps your place with a free account.
What happened to AniWave?
AniWave was not a new site. On 2 August 2023 9anime renamed itself, blaming "DMCA issues and multiple ISPs blocking our domain", and moved everyone to aniwave.to. It kept the same free sub and dub streams, and by the time it closed TorrentFreak put it at about 170 million visits a month.
The end came on 26 or 27 August 2024; TorrentFreak gives the 26th, other sources the 27th. Search and streaming stopped, but users could still export their bookmarks and watchlists for a short while. The farewell page played "See You Again", which quickly became a meme, and it pointed people to HiAnime.
On 29 August ACE confirmed that it had helped Hanoi police shut down the FMovies operation, and listed AniWave next to bflixz, flixtorz, movies7, myflixer and vidsrc.to. TorrentFreak thought a comeback unlikely, given how closely Hollywood and Vietnamese authorities were now working. In October 2025 AniWave was still one of 46 domains in MPA and ACE subpoenas to Cloudflare and the .to registry.
HiAnime, the recommendation on that farewell page, went offline in March 2026. Clones using the AniWave name have appeared, and a security company has reported redirect, fake-captcha and malware risks on them.
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What people liked about AniWave, and where it is now
A watchlist you could even take with you when it closed
On Rotten Brains: pick up where you left off →Good-quality streams without paying anything
On Rotten Brains: the player finds a working source by itself →Sub or dub, whichever you preferred
On Rotten Brains: every season and episode, with up next →
AniWave vs Rotten Brains
Status
AniWave: Shut down August 2024
✓Rotten Brains: Online and updated every day
Who runs it
AniWave: Unknown copies using the name
✓Rotten Brains: One site, one domain
Account needed to watch
AniWave: Usually not
✓Rotten Brains: No
When a server fails
AniWave: Pick another by hand
✓Rotten Brains: Switches source by itself
Subtitles
AniWave: Varies
✓Rotten Brains: Many languages, several versions each
Watch parties
AniWave: Rarely
✓Rotten Brains: Yes, friends join without an account
Resume on any device
AniWave: Rarely
✓Rotten Brains: Yes, with a free account
Anime
AniWave: Sub and dub until August 2024; clones since
✓Rotten Brains: Sub and dub where both exist
| AniWave today | Rotten Brains | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Shut down August 2024 | ✓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 |
| Anime | Sub and dub until August 2024; clones since | ✓Sub and dub where both exist |
A look around Rotten Brains
Real screenshots from the site, in the order that matters most to someone coming from AniWave.
01
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.
02
The player finds a working source by itself
On AniWave 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.
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03
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.
04
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.
05
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.
06
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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Questions
Why did AniWave shut down?
It was part of the FMovies group, which Hanoi police took down in August 2024 with help from ACE, the industry anti-piracy group.
AniWave said to use HiAnime. Does that still work?
No. HiAnime went offline on 13 March 2026 and its team later confirmed the closure is permanent.
Can I keep a watchlist on Rotten Brains?
Yes. A free account adds playlists, watch history and Continue Watching, and remembers where you stopped on any device. You do not need it just to watch.