The best KissAnime alternative in 2026
KissAnime closed for good in August 2020, together with KissManga. Its own moderators warned that other sites using the name were most likely phishing.
By the Rotten Brains team · Updated 23 September 2026 · 3 min read
The short answer
KissAnime has been gone since August 2020, and the sites using its name are copies its own moderators warned about. Rotten Brains is free, needs no account, and lists every season and episode, anime included.
What happened to KissAnime?
KissAnime started in 2012 and became one of the first really big anime streaming sites. It moved to kissanime.ru in 2016, and TorrentFreak once called it the most visited pirate site in the world. Fans valued its archive, which had older and rarer series that legal services did not carry.
Pressure built for years. Funimation targeted it with a subpoena in 2017. In December 2018 it was blocked in Australia after Roadshow Films and 11 other companies went to court against 52 ISPs, and in July 2020 it was blocked in India after a Delhi High Court decision for Disney.
In mid-August 2020 (Wikipedia gives the 14th, Anime News Network reported it on the 16th) KissAnime and KissManga went offline with the message: "All files are taken down by copyright owners. The site will be closed forever." It came shortly after Japan revised its copyright law in June 2020 to ban leech sites and, later, unauthorised downloads.
The next day its moderators confirmed the closure was permanent and warned that other sites calling themselves KissAnime were most likely phishing. Copies are still around, run by other people.
Trending movies this week
What people liked about KissAnime, and where it is now
Older and rare series you could not find anywhere legal
On Rotten Brains: the player finds a working source by itself →Eight years of the same site to come back to
On Rotten Brains: pick up where you left off →Long shows with every episode in one place
On Rotten Brains: every season and episode, with up next →
KissAnime vs Rotten Brains
Status
KissAnime: Closed August 2020
✓Rotten Brains: Online and updated every day
Who runs it
KissAnime: Unknown copies using the name
✓Rotten Brains: One site, one domain
Account needed to watch
KissAnime: Usually not
✓Rotten Brains: No
When a server fails
KissAnime: Pick another by hand
✓Rotten Brains: Switches source by itself
Subtitles
KissAnime: Varies
✓Rotten Brains: Many languages, several versions each
Watch parties
KissAnime: Rarely
✓Rotten Brains: Yes, friends join without an account
Resume on any device
KissAnime: Rarely
✓Rotten Brains: Yes, with a free account
| KissAnime today | Rotten Brains | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Closed August 2020 | ✓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 KissAnime.
01
The player finds a working source by itself
On KissAnime 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
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.
Trending shows this week
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.
The best-rated films of all time
Questions
Why did KissAnime shut down?
The closing message said all files had been taken down by copyright owners. It came after years of blocking orders and shortly after Japan tightened its copyright law in 2020.
Is there a new KissAnime?
Not a real one. The original closed in August 2020 and its moderators said sites using the name were most likely phishing.
Can I watch older anime on Rotten Brains?
Anime is listed with every season and episode, with sub and dub where both exist. Each title is checked against several sources, and the player switches if one fails.