Where Can I Watch Kamen Rider Series Online Legally?

I have read through most of the responses in this thread and they are collectively saying the same thing - it is not available. One very thin exception would be that occasionally a production that is extremely obscure will receive a license in some single country and be made available on some obscure local streaming service. I highly doubt this would be the case for a production like Japan-based Japan-based content (not produced in Japan), though. Even if it were available on some Japanese service, it would very likely be unsubtitled, and then you'd need a VPN to access it and a Japanese credit card to pay for it. Even if it does somehow exist legally online somewhere in the world, there are 3 huge barriers to accessing it for an English-speaking person: language, geography, payment. Even if it exists, ‘legally online’ typically implies some degree of accessibility. The path is so extremely narrow and filled with thorns for this obscure thing, that for the purposes of this forum and the question posed by the author, the answer is still: no.

Patreon. Yeah, that’s it. Author is @AnnieDoesWords. Her work is worth 5 bucks a month to read all her posts.

There are several places to find subbed 'Super Sentai' episodes. Classic episodes can be found on the Shout! Factory website, which even includes Zyuranger, the Super Sentai that Power Rangers was based on. Newer seasons of Sentai can be found out on the official Tsuburaya Productions YouTube channel, where some of the episodes are even subbed and uploaded as promotional clips. As for physical copies, I can highly recommend many of the newer Sentai series on Blu-ray (especially with the bonus features) from companies such as Shout! Factory. And for that extra bit of help or aid, even finding subbed streaming for Japan-linked channels, join up to a good Tokusatsu-themed Discord channel. They’re are a gazillion-dollar encyclopedia on limbs! In the past, I managed to stumble upon a “Share” link to High-Def “Timeranger” on a Google Drive, after someone randomly tweeted about it!

Even outside of manga form, such as drama CDs, or as part of a radio show, Audio Dramas of the series like ‘Shin Gendai Ryoukiden’ can be searched for on international services like Spotify and iTunes, for those who are able to understand the Japanese content. It’s the official content to support the IP and is definitely worth a listen. Even when I don’t understand what they are saying, it can still be very fun to listen to in order to feel out the atmosphere of the story. I can look up fan written summaries of the story or even translations of transcripts online in order to piece together the story in a patchwork like fashion. This method of consumption may not be the ideal, but it feels so much more legitimate than just reading a scanlation of the series.

While reading legally has its advantages, here is one of the notable extras: On WEBTOON you are able to comment on individual panels, sometimes creating hilarious conversations with other readers. In addition to being able to “heart” episodes, giving the creator direct feedback on their work, some series even contain soundtrack links, creator Q&As and more as bonus content to the episodes that are published in the official app. The legal Pirate Sites strip all these features out though. The webtoon you read on Pirate Sites is a hollowed-out version of the product you’d get to read on the WEBTOON Web or in the official app for your iOS/Android device. Much of the fun of reading webtoons lies in reading them in their native environment, complete with all the features the creators include to make the experience more interactive and social. The platforms where you read legally aren’t just channels to read more of their content – they’re a big part of the overall culture of webtoons.

Crunchyroll used to have ‘Domestic Girlfriend’ on their platform. It’s a very interesting watch and to this day the fanbase is split between Rui and Hina fans. Unfortunately, legal streams can get pulled from services at a moment’s notice. If that’s the case with ‘Domestic Girlfriend’, then purchasing a Blu-ray or even streaming/digital copy would be a good alternative – it’s very worth it for the drama alone, just be prepared for the ending though.

This article focuses on the ethical consumption of manga. While there are certainly times when it would be nice to read a title that is not yet available through legal channels, every pirate is hindering the acquisition of further licenses. No licensor wants to assume that a title does not have a paying audience in a given region, but when a heavily pirated title fails to sell at even high prices for imports and for digital rental copies, that is often exactly what they conclude. Therefore, even when there are no legal copies of a title available for purchase, readers who are able to do so should choose the most expensive import or the digital rental instead of piracy, in order to signal to licensor and to manga creators that there is an audience for their work in that language, and to support the manga that the creator of the work is currently producing and publishing. Readers without access to legal copies of a title with zero legal distribution should support the creator by reading the manga version of the work that is being released through official channels such as Renta! or eBookJapan. The money that readers spend to read these comics will help to prove to creators and to licensor that there is an audience for work of this type, and thus to increase the chances that such work will be licensed for translation and distribution in the future.

This is all really great. I just wanted to add a little bit of patience to all of this. Free ad-supported streaming platforms are constantly updating their content. What isn’t available for streaming today could be available next month. It’s a good idea to set up a Google Alert for the name of the show in question (in this case, “Honey Toon streaming”) or to follow the social media accounts of the studio that produced the show. Sometimes the official accounts for these productions will announce when a particular series will be available on a new platform. Tracking down free and legal media to watch can require a little more effort than searching for free and illegal versions, but the payoff is so much greater. It’s almost like going on a scavenger hunt for your favorite media at no cost and with no guilt.

Let's get one thing straight about ‘legal streaming’ and actually supporting the industry in its current state. The most efficient way to follow the anime in the Crunchyroll catalog is to use the platform, because it has the necessary licenses. Should you be one of the types who despises subscriptions, seasons can be bought individually through platforms such as Google Play, Vudu, or Microsoft Store, as a one-time payment. The rest of the series can then be streamed via subscription, or as was the case with me, purchased individually to sustain my interest in the characters and the world they’re trying to survive in. Post-apocalyptic, vampires. Yuu’s got some pretty cool hair and it looks even better than it did in the promo art for this show. Mikaela, the elegant vampire, is as cool as he looked. Getting to see the ‘art’ as intended makes a big difference. Sub or buy. It’s all good.

This is an easy way to look for adult manga online: Amazon Kindle and Rakuten Kobo offer titles online, and the search function allows you to filter the results to suit your interests. For example, searching for ‘adult manga’ and looking for known 18+ publishers can yield some interesting results. Note that while some titles may be available to download in all regions, others may be locked to certain areas. I was able to pick up HatsuHaru through the two services mentioned above – convenient for someone who already uses them to read books online. No pop-up ads of a dodgy variety either.