10 Incredible Anime That Are Impossible To Stream In 2025

Anime is easier than ever to watch in modern day. Thanks to the advent of streaming, it’s increasingly simple for fans to watch both new hits and old favorites from years and decades past, and that level of accessibility has played a big part in helping anime become such a fundamental part of modern pop culture.

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Unfortunately, not every anime has benefited from streaming, as there are a surprising number of iconic and all-around great anime that are almost impossible to watch through legal means. It’s unclear why this is still the case in 2025, and with how great some of these shows are, it’s a shame that they’re so hard for most people to watch.

10) Yu-Gi-Oh! Season 0

Before the launch of Studio Gallop’s iconic Yu-Gi-Oh! in 2000, there was another anime in 1998 by Toei Animation. The 1998 series loosely adapted the first seven volumes of the manga, before Duel Monsters became the focus of the story, and because of that, fans have often referred to the series as “season 0”.

As different as Yu-Gi-Oh! Season 0 is from the regular series and even the original manga; there’s a definite novelty to seeing what Yu-Gi-Oh! was like when it was an episodic horror story instead of an over-the-top gaming anime. Unfortunately, the series has never been licensed in English, so it’s unlikely that fans will get to watch it anytime soon.

9) Little Witch Academia (Movies)

Before Studio Trigger’s Little Witch Academia was released as a series in 2017, it was released as a duology of episodic short films; the first film came out in 2013 as the debut work of Yoh Yoshinari, and after a successful Kickstarter campaign, it received a sequel in 2015 titled Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade.

While the Little Witch Academia movies have little resemblance to what the anime would become, they still possess all the same charming writing and visuals, so any fan can get a lot out of them. Surprisingly, though, the films were removed from Netflix some time ago, so it’s unknown if there will ever be another way to watch them.

8) Noragami

In Bones Film’s Noragami, after an encounter with the impoverished god Yato, Hiyori Ikki’s soul starts periodically slipping out of her body, a condition that attracts unwanted attention from deadly ayakashi. Naturally, Hiyori asks Yato to help fix her condition, but unfortunately, that ends up being far more complicated than either would have thought.

With its stellar action and great balance of drama and heart, Noragami has been a major cult hit with fans for well over a decade. Unfortunately, when Funimation was merged with Crunchyroll, Noragami was one of many licenses to become lost media, but with its enduring popularity, that will hopefully change in time.

7) Outlaw Star

Sunrise’s Outlaw Star stars Gene Starwind, a young man who ends up in possession of the most powerful spaceship in the galaxy, the eponymous Outlaw Star, and from there, he and an ever-changing motley crew head out in search of the Galactic Leyline, a legendary treasure trove hidden somewhere in the galaxy, before someone else can beat him to it.

While not as well-known as Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star does a great job of developing a fun and unique take on the Space Western genre, and it still holds up after almost 30 years. Fans can buy Outlaw Star on Blu-ray, but for some reason, it’s unavailable on Crunchyroll and other streaming sites, so watching it is still surprisingly inconvenient.

6) Baccano!

Brain’s Base’s Baccano! takes place during the Prohibition era, when gang violence was at its peak. The series doesn’t have a single protagonist as it constantly shifts focus between different characters and years, but everything that happens appears to be related to alchemists creating an elixir of immortality in 1930.

With its great animation and writing, and how well the music and dialogue sell the 1930s aesthetic, especially in the English dub, Baccano! stands out as one of the best period pieces in anime, by far. The series has been hard to find ever since Funimation lost the rights in 2016, but ideally, Crunchyroll can get them back one day.

5) The Tatami Galaxy

In Madhouse’s The Tatami Galaxy, the unnamed protagonist feels like he’s wasted his life as he remains an antisocial loner who can’t make a move on his crush. The protagonist is left wondering how different his life would have been if he hadn’t joined the tennis club, and each episode explores a reality where the protagonist joins a different club.

With surreal visuals and surprisingly thoughtful writing about the anxieties of young adulthood, The Tatami Galaxy is easily one of the most iconic works from legendary anime director Masaaki Yuasa. That, of course, makes it all the more disappointing that it isn’t available on streaming, especially when its sequel, The Tatami Time Machine Blues, is available on Hulu and Disney+.

4) Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha

Seven Arcs’ Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha is a long-running franchise centered around the adventures of Nanoha Takamachi. After awakening to magical abilities as a child, Nanoha finds herself working to protect Earth and other planets across the galaxy from evil well into adulthood, all with her partner and best friend, Fate Testarossa, by her side every step of the way.

While Nanoha isn’t popular outside of Japan, with its strong character writing, stellar action, and a unique blend of sci-fi and fantasy tropes, the series is easily one of the best magical girl anime a person can watch. A new Nanoha anime is set to release in 2026, and hopefully, that will help bring the older entries to streaming services.

3) JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (OVA)

Before David Production’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure anime, the series was adapted into an OVA series by A.P.P.P. The first half came out in the early ’90s and loosely adapted the Egypt arc of Stardust Crusaders, and the second half came out in the early 2000s and served as a prequel, despite having blatantly different artwork and animation.

While it was the 2012 anime that made JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure mainstream, the OVAs still have plenty of merit for their stylish action and direction, in addition to the unique way parts of the story are adapted. In some ways, the OVAs are even better than the anime, and it’s a shame that there’s no legal way to watch them.

2) Fullmetal Alchemist (2003)

2003 saw the release of the very first Fullmetal Alchemist anime by Bones Film. The first few episodes were largely faithful to the manga, but due to a lack of material to work with at the time, the anime quickly evolved into an original story with new characters and lore, different personalities for old characters, and an overall darker narrative.

With Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood being a straightforward adaptation of the manga, the original anime is seen as largely irrelevant, which is why it’s been removed from streaming and physical media. That being said, the original Fullmetal Alchemist anime still offers a wonderfully unique anime with plenty of great visuals, so it’s a shame that it’s become so hard to watch.

1) Zatch Bell!

In Toei Animation’s Zatch Bell!, Kiyo Takamine is united with a mysterious young boy named Zatch Bell in an attempt to help him make friends, but things become far more complicated when it’s discovered that Zatch is a demon battling to become king of the demon world, with Kiyo the human who can call forth Zatch’s lightning powers in battle.

With its great action, comedy, and surprisingly thorough character drama, Zatch Bell! is an underrated classic and easily one of the best anime to air on Toonami. Complications with the licensing rights keep it from having a place in Western anime culture, but if anything, that only highlights how Zatch Bell! is the most incredible anime that’s impossible to stream.