Did you know…
The word 'anime' (アニメ) is a Japanese shortening of the English word 'animation', a gairaigo, or foreign loanword.
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AnimeSphere Guides
AniList alternative: tracking with free legal watching built in
The short answer: You can watch 6,000+ anime episodes across 590+ series completely free and legally right now. Every episode is an official rights-holder upload playable on AnimeSphere without an account — and 330+ series are complete, so you can finish them, not just sample them. See the live numbers →
Let's be upfront: AniList is a good tracker. It is actively developed, the interface is clean, and its API powers half the anime tools on the internet. If pure tracking is all you need, you could stay and be happy. This guide is for fans who want their tracker and their watching in the same place: AnimeSphere tracks the same things and also plays 6,045 free, official episodes inline.
Import from AniList by usernameNo password needed. Previewed first, undoable in one click.
Why fans run both, or switch
A tracker records what you watch; it does not help you watch it. When a show on your planning list turns out to be legally free, a tracker alone cannot tell you, and it certainly cannot press play. That gap is the whole reason AnimeSphere exists: the same statuses, scores, and progress you keep on AniList, attached to a catalog of 6,045 free, official, US-playable episodes that play inline, checked for embed permission and region playability.
Because the import reads your public list by username, trying this costs nothing: your AniList is untouched, the import previews before it writes, and one click undoes it. Many people simply run both services until one of them wins on its own merits.
The honest comparison
Where AniList is genuinely better today:
- A public GraphQL API with a large third-party app ecosystem built on top of it.
- Custom lists and advanced scoring formats (100-point and decimal scales) for power users who want fine-grained control.
- A long-established community with years of activity, reviews, and forum threads.
Where AnimeSphere is different:
- Watching is built in. Free, official episodes play inline on the same site that tracks them, no tab juggling between a tracker and a player.
- Imports treat your list as precious. Full preview before anything is saved, a named list of anything that cannot come along, and one-click undo afterwards.
- Data freedom is a promise, not a feature. Export your whole list as MAL-compatible XML or JSON anytime, from Settings. That is the AnimeSphere Pledge.
- Discovery around the free catalog. Season planners, mood search, a donghua hub, watch parties, and games, all wired to what you can actually watch for free.
What carries over when you import
Paste your username at animesphere.app/import and your public list is fetched through AniList's official API. Statuses, scores, episode progress, rewatch counts, and start and finish dates all come along; rewatches in progress stay rewatches. You see the full preview, with counts by status, before anything is written, and the import can be undone in one click. AniList's JSON export is supported too if you prefer working from a file.
What you get after the import
Your list powers recommendations, season planning, and stats, and AnimeSphere also plays 6,045 free, official, US-playable episodes inline. A few of the biggest free series:
Frequently asked questions
Do I need my AniList password to import?
No. Paste your AniList username and your public list is read through AniList's official API. No login, no password, no account linking. Your AniList stays exactly as it is.
Do I have to stop using AniList?
Not at all. The import is read-only on AniList's side, so plenty of people run both: AniList for its community and API, AnimeSphere for tracking plus free inline watching. You can re-import anytime to sync your latest AniList changes over.
What carries over from AniList?
Statuses, scores, episode progress, rewatch counts, and start and finish dates. Rewatches in progress are preserved too. AniList's 100-point and decimal scores are converted to the closest value on our 10-point scale.
What happens if I change my mind after importing?
Every import comes with one-click undo that restores your AnimeSphere list to exactly how it was before. And you can export everything as MAL-compatible XML or full JSON from Settings whenever you like.
Is AniList shutting down or in trouble?
Not that we know of, and we are not going to imply it. AniList is actively maintained and has a healthy community. This page exists because some fans want tracking and legal free watching in one place, which is a different product, not a rescue.
Is AnimeSphere free?
Tracking, importing, exporting, and the free episode catalog are all free. The free episodes are official, publicly available uploads from rights holders, played through the platform's own embedded player.