Tubi or Not Tubi – This Week in Anime

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Are the best things in life really free? Chris and Coop head over to the Tubi streaming service to find out.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.
Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead.

Chris

Coop, looks like budget cuts are hitting TWIA again. Lynzee says we can’t set the air conditioner below 80 degrees, we have to split a single soda from the vending machine when we go to the grocery store, and this week we can only afford to cover anime streaming on the famously free service Tubi.

Thankfully, Tubi is always expanding their catalog, including a recent addition of the series Tai Chi Chasers! That article’s been updated a few times since I first read it after the announcement, but I’m sure everything’s still totally cool, incredibly normal, and 100% legal.

Coop

As cool as the heavily sweating bottle of orange Faygo I just nabbed from around the corner, Chris. Also, I didn’t grab this only because it would help us court the lucrative Michigander and Juggalo audiences—it’s because it was cheap and Lynzee gave us exactly two dollars.

Everyone’s trying to find new revenue streams. Sarcasm off, in case all y’all out there in readership land had been living under a rock in the weebisphere these past couple weeks, it turns out that the version of Tai Chi Chasers uploaded to Tubi might not have been on the up-and-up…by which I mean a third party named Zaki Paul took it upon himself to completely cop to the upload, which included a hasty AI-generated fandub of the third season.

It is an entire saga you can read in the comments of that article I linked, but the ultimate point is that as of this writing, Toei hasn’t responded, and this version of the show is still up on the streaming site.

There’s an old fandom saying: “You better watch out for when John Toei‘s about to knock on your door.” But regardless of that ancient turn of phrase, uploading a series you don’t own to an official platform and clapping back when people in the know are trying to tell you that you’ve stepped on a landmine isn’t a great course of action.

Someone never got the “Shut the f— up” memo that Kamen Rider and Super Sentai fans have been circulating for ages now.

This is the only Trinity I’m supposed to know about.

Despite that unfortunate gaffe, this is a great reminder of the amazing variety of titles on Tubi for both anime and tokusatsu fans. The platform’s got viewers eating great with oodles of Ultraman series alongside landmark series like Kamen Rider Kuuga and Kamen Rider Ryuki; the latter of the two being a modern anime Rosetta Stone. Shifting back to anime before I have to put another dollar in the “bugman nonsense” jar, you can find so much interesting and legally questionable material on Tubi. With anime specifically, you might as well be Mike Toole digging through a Big Lots bargain bin in 2011. Alongside killer classics like Redline and Ghost in the Shell, viewers can plumb the deep wells of the old Bandai Visual, Media Blasters, Discotek, and AnimEigo catalogs. Needless to say, I’ll be refraining from mentioning titles from those last two on my end.

Viewers can also discover The Room of anime fan films, Time to Duel.

Per the aforementioned budget concerns, we were asking for Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series, but Lynzee told us we had Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series at home.

There are several of these ancillary fan films and “unofficial” parodies hanging out on Tubi, which incidentally also represent how that Tai Chi Chasers situation might have even been possible. That is, Tubi accepts uploads from distribution platforms like Filmhub, ostensibly designed to let smaller creators get their projects in front of more eyeballs, but also apparently lacking consistent guardrails to stop someone from, say, claiming they’ve got the rights to a 2007 Korean TV anime.

You’ll get your Toei toku shows carried over from ShoutTV, but you’ve also got to contend with whatever The Last Ranger is.

I know the folks behind these fan films probably poured their souls into their work. Like for the joking we’ve done around Time to Duel, you can tell the folks behind it love Yu-Gi-Oh! However, the optics aren’t great when you can find the film right next to officially uploaded seasons of Yu-Gi-Oh! on what is considered a mainstream streaming platform.

It’s unusual, but it aligns with Tubi‘s scrappy reputation. Can you tell me that any of these fan films look out of place next to the official movie version of Dead or Alive?

The eclecticness is part of that bargain-bin vibe you invoked. Lucas and I touched on Tubi alongside other cheapo ways to enjoy anime last year. While their catalog is a surprisingly malleable affair, I am happy to confirm that they’re still hosting cruft like Captain of Cosmos, AKA Johnny Destiny Space Ninja.

Flicking through the larger spread of Tubi‘s collection reminded me quite a bit of my days working at a Family Video. Heck, I remember seeing DOA and more than a few schlocky direct-to-video titles coming in and out of the return box all the time. If the store was still there, I could probably even walk to where we kept DOA without even thinking about it too hard. I want to say it was on the left side of the store, not far away from the saloon doors that led to the adult section.

Movie lovers loved Family Video.

As I indicated, Tubi‘s selection often seems to be just as beholden to what’s been checked out or pulled from availability as a given video store back in the day. Cases in point, our always-attentive editor Rebecca recommended a couple of Tubi hits of different irony levels, but by the time we hit up the platform this week, they were no longer streaming Infini-T Force or the dubiously titled LoliRock.

The one time they ask us to check out something tangentially tokusatsu-related…

At least your beloved Pretty Cure is there!

Oh, I don’t feel so good, Mr. Farris.

God, talk about whiplash. I’m thrilled that there’s a free, easy way for people to watch Futari wa Precure, but…not with this quality in audio, video, and subtitles.

Are we sure this upload isn’t also a Zaki Paul joint?

At least Toei Animation has been uploading a much higher-quality version of Precure‘s dub on YouTube. It’s cool to see crusty footage on occasion, but this presentation made me kind of nauseous. That bummed me out, because the first Precure series looks immaculate for the time it was made.

Looking at the opening credits, this seems to be from a 2004 Hawaiian TV broadcast of the series. Nippon Golden Network appears to be a Hawaiian television network, and with how much Honolulu loves Kamen Rider V3, this makes sense.

It makes for an interesting preservation of a specific version of this classic, at least. However, that feels like the sort of thing best reserved for an archival release or a special feature, not a suboptimal way for people to access what’s otherwise a pretty great series. It’s just a strange choice that almost feels like it’s punishing people for wanting to watch anime on a budget.

Pretty Cure is available in several other instances, including other free options! Conversely, Tubi also has the first official streaming option for Gundam X, and that upload looks pretty good, Blowjob Brothers and all!

I’m not a huge fan of the subtitles’ styling here (they’re a little small and hard to read), but that’s a personal nitpick. After all, it beats having to play the Out-of-Print Right Stuf Gundam Blu-ray Roulette.

With Gundam Wing‘s 30th getting some attention, I figure the show it allegedly sapped resources from to complete deserves its day in the sun…or moon in this case.

‘Course, Tubi also got Gundam AGE, so who’s to say if this is a gracious arrangement or not.

Actually, how does the upload of the 1996 show look better than the one from 2011?

Now that you mention it, that’s a good point.

Gundam X has an incredibly solid setup, despite its unfortunately short run. Garrod’s scavenging his way into a rescue mission and the cockpit of the titular mobile suit is compelling. Kind of like someone got a dash of Trigun in my Gundam sauce. Not to mention that it’s the only non-Universal Century entry in the series that seriously explores the concept of Newtype-ism. For instance, I know why this classic meme is terrifying.

That’s not even the only meme that hails from Gundam X!

It’s one of those series I’d always been curious about, partially due to its long unavailability, and it lived up to that curiosity upon watching it. I’m glad it’s now so easily accessible for everyone to enjoy for free. And get jump-kicked by its surprisingly strong yuri shipping partway through.

It’s probably the most sex and violence with machspeed thing he made until Sex & Violence with Machspeed!

chris15 — © 2004 Imaitoonz / Production I.G / Manga Entertainment

chris16 — © 2004 Imaitoonz / Production I.G / Manga Entertainment

This is another case where the quality on display here on Tubi could probably be a little nicer, but as something embodying that unchecked, stumble-upon-something-not-necessarily-meant-for-you spirit of bargain basements and local video rental shops, Dead Leaves is right at home.

I agree. Sometimes the hit in video quality can be distracting, as it was with Precure; however, here, those quirks only add to the envelope-pushing MTV Liquid Television vibes on display.
Also, that guy sure pierced the heavens, I tell you what.

It’s a good way to describe the vibe of seeing something like Dead Leaves‘ sex and violence highlight how “free” hardly means “general audiences” as far as Tubi is concerned. There’s a surprising amount of material that I suppose fits the “trashy” expectations of this kind of depository, even as it still feels a little odd to trip over everything from Angel Cop to Wicked City to Eiken on this platform.

Probably somehow still less controversial than everything going down with Tai Chi Chasers.

Maybe not with how that first one shakes out, but that’s the case for those other shows. Speaking of jiggles, if you’re in the mood for more from the director of Project A-ko, Katsuhiko Nishijima, it looks like you’re in luck with Labyrinth of Flames and Agent Aika. Dude spares no time letting you know what he’s all about.

Times and distribution services may change, but panty shots are eternal, it seems. At least there’s still a free way to get anime fanservice in this day and age, even if it’s from a previous era, in this case.

A salute to the fallen panty shot gags of yore.

However, on the topic AIKa, I found the series’ production values to be super strong and feature great character designs. AIKa herself cuts a strong silhouette, making me want to watch her show even if the rapid-fire fanservice eventually overstays its welcome.

coop-16 — © 1997 Studio Fantasia / Bandai Visual

Same with Labyrinth of Flames. This kid has studied the blade AND rocks a solid design.

© 2000 Studio Fantasia / Bandai Visual-Nippon Columbia

Wait a minute, that doesn’t look like David Bowie!

chris19 — © 2000 Studio Fantasia / Bandai Visual-Nippon Columbia

It is interesting to see multiple Nishijima anime on Tubi, which caters to that same trashiness and even allows viewers to sample multiple works by a creator, even among the grab bag that this catalog necessarily is.

chris20 — © 2000 Studio Fantasia / Bandai Visual-Nippon Columbia

That does lead me to another point: that given the nature of what’s available, the anime on offer from Tubi tends to be older. Very few shows in their collection seem to be from less than ten years ago, though the newest thing I saw seemed to be My Deer Friend Nokotan? That is more bizarre than anything the show itself attempted.

The freshest anime I found was Tasokare Hotel from earlier this year. So Tubi has at least two fairly new shows.

I’m not going to complain about the siren song of free streaming guiding people to check out more older anime, compared to the firehose of simulcasting content other sites have. It just makes me wish that Tubi‘s selection didn’t seem so volatile. I know they used to have series like the elusive first season of Dagashi Kashi, or B’t X, the other anime based on a work by Saint Seiya creator Masami Kurumada, and I’m wondering where those went!

chris22 — © Masami Kurumada/Shueisha, Toei Animation

chris23 — © Masami Kurumada/Shueisha, Toei Animation

On that note, I am happy to report that Tubi specifically hosts a Spanish dub of the 2002 Saint Seiya entry, AKA Los Caballeros Del Zodiaco: Hades, AKA the canonical version.

I was thrilled to see the handful of Spanish dubs featured on the platform. Heck, you want to watch Kaleido Star on Tubi, it better be en Español.

These guys get the Spanish version of Dragon Ball, they’d be in business.

Wait, not like that!

Mis amigos necesitan sus Dragon Pearls, mi hermano! And that’s as far as my gringo Spanish will get me.

Minus some disorienting, Star Wars Special Edition style visual effects and a deeply unfortunate scene of Oolong in black face, Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins is a fun and unserious action flick. The bad guy is a wonderful translation of Toriyama’s design sensibilities into live-action.

It’s more entertaining than the official live-action Dragon Ball movie, despite this Taiwanese film being as legitimately licensed as that Yu-Gi-Oh! flick you mentioned earlier.

chris25 — © 1993 My Way Film Company LTD

Meaning it is, once again, so very Tubi.

It’s a super rough adaptation of a Dragon Ball movie (which is also a loose interpretation of the manga’s opening chapters). Still, the series’ mischievous spirit is here alongside a distinct, kung fu flick flair.

It’s also extremely funny to me that this is the sole representation (however unofficial) of one of the world’s most famous anime on a platform that was otherwise able to swing Naruto, Hunter x Hunter, and the aforementioned Yu-Gi-Oh!.

At least they’ve got the Blue Dragon anime if you’re craving something Toriyama-adjacent.

It would be oddly fitting if the Hunter x Hunter on Tubi wasn’t the 2011 series, but the 1999 one. That feels like a Tubi move.

They can stash an old, niche release of Futari wa Pretty Cure on here, but not a retro iteration of a classic favorite? You’re not living up to your full potential, Tubi!

chris27 — © 2004 We’ve, Actas Inc, TV Tokyo, NAS, SD Entertainment, Hasbro

I do want to stress that, despite my gripes and digs about Tubi‘s eccentricities, I genuinely appreciate having the platform around, doing what it does. Not for nothing, but it’s the most convenient place for me to throw on a variety of Transformers toons and anime whenever I want.

You saying that has me jonesing to do a proper rewatch of Transformers: Animated and blast the Japanese intro by JAM Project at a louder-than-socially-acceptable volume.

It’s all on Tubi, right next to (for now) that ill-advised iteration of Tai Chi Chasers and Magical Meow Meow Taruto in both real and extremely fake-looking versions?