BitTorrent is a great way to get anime. Just download it to your computer and watch at your leisure. No commercials, a pause button – who could ask for more? Almost all anime available via BitTorrent is in Japanese with subtitles but that’s how I watch my anime anyways. If you haven’t tried it yet you really should. The software is easy to download and use and it hasn’t given me any trouble.
A very large selection of anime and manga is available online. You can find a lot of old stuff as well as the latest. I’m watching Bounen no Xamdo now which is quite new but I also watched Captain Harlock (1978) and Zambot 3 (1977). A lot of fans are working very hard to subtitle the anime they love and share it with others.
If you haven’t tried it yet let me give you some pointers to get started. Once you have the BitTorrent software installed on your computer you can mostly ignore it. I find anime to download on Web pages. Once I’ve found what I want I click on the Web page and BitTorrent activates itself and starts downloading. You will probably also want to install the CCCP codec. It’s also easy to install and use. The reason you probably want it is because a lot of the subtitled anime out there is saved as video files that a person’s computer often can’t recognize. CCCP will allow you to play the video files without worrying about how they were created.
Some people still don’t use BitTorrent because of concerns they may have. Some people think they’ll download hidden viruses and mess up their computer. It’s never happened to me and I don’t know that much about computers. My success may be attributed to the fact that I only download my anime from three trusted Web sites (more on that in a moment).
A lot of people probably run into the same problem I did when I started: where do you go for anime downloads? Random searches on the Internet will take you to odd sites that are loaded with annoying advertisements. I wouldn’t be surprised if you picked up viruses from some of them. I get all my anime from three sites: Tokyo Toshokan, BakaBT and Anime Suki. I highly recommend them.
I have talked with some people who won’t use BitTorrent because they’re afraid of downloading illegal copies of anime. It’s true that many sites offer anime without thinking about what is or isn’t licensed in North America. If you’re concerned about that then restrict your downloading to Anime Suki. They are very strict about only offering anime downloads that are not currently licensed in North America. You’ll never break any rules downloading from Anime Suki. Also, keep in mind that licenses on anime expire. For example, Captain Harlock was shown on American television years ago. The license has long since expired and anyone can download it now without breaking any rules. The same goes for the Orange Road television episodes.
If you haven’t tried BitTorrent than I recommend you overcome your reticence and give it a try. It isn’t about being a tech geek or a rebel. It’s about watching great anime.
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