Downloading Anime Guide: How to Download Anime

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Downloading Anime Guide

I've tried to put together an easy to use resource guide for downloading anime.

Methods of Getting Anime
Playing Anime
Legalities of Downloading Fansubbed Anime
Helpful Guides and Resources
Buying Anime

Methods of Getting Anime

BitTorrent

In my opinion, bittorrent is by far the easiest way for newbiews to download anime.

Download a BitTorrent client at bitconjurer.org. If you use a slower DSL/cable modem connection, I'd suggest using the BitTorrent experimental download client instead. Azereus is also pretty good.
Find a BitTorrent & download the BitTorrent file: Animesuki usually has just about all the unlicensed links. Once the anime is licensed, Animesuki removes the links. There are a number of other BitTorrent sites out there. Tokyo Tosho and BoxTorrents are also good sources
Your anime download should start automatically soon after. To play anime, see Playing Anime.

Online Video

There are a number of great free video sites where you can watch high quality videos. Some of the best that are high quality alternatives to YouTube include Crunchyroll and Veoh.

For the highest quality videos, look to paid sources like ADV Films $1.99/episode downloads, Direct2Drive, and Funimation on iTunes.

aba/abma newsgroup community

You'll probably want to start with the aba/abma newsgroup community (alt.binary.anime and alt.bianary.multimedia.anime) , which includes a forum, the unofficial FAQ& a beginner's guide to the newsgroups. You can access the news groups via a general purpose newsgroup reader such as Xnews or Agent/Free Agent better. Both are far better readers than Outlook or Netscape & will save you a lot of compiling time. This is my method of choice. It tends to be the fastest (I'm on DSL) & it's completely leeching, as you aren't forced to give up some of your own bandwidth to upload while you're downloading. If you're interested in posting some of your files, use PowerPost.

Peer to Peer

There are a number of P2P applications you can use to find anime on. Check out Wikipedia for a full list of Peer-to-peer apps.

For Kazaa, for example, download Kazaa.
Do a search for the file you want & wait until you get a connection to start downloading.
Your file should hopefully start to download soon. To play anime, see Playing Anime.

IRC

For IRC networks, you can try DALnet or Enter the Game. If you are new to IRC, you can read the IRC Leeching For Dummies guide or the IRC Miniguide. Other helpful links to search IRC include IRC Spy and PacketNews.

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Playing Anime

(This section needs updated.) Download each of the following:

Download: Divx.com
Get the latest version of Divx - you will need the latest version to play files. To play files, use either RealOne, Windows Media Player, or Quicktime.

Note for OGG/OGM files:
Most downloads will most likely be .avi or .mpg format. However, if you find an OGG/OGM file, you may need Ogg Vorbis codec to play it. OGG/OGM files allow for multiple soundtracks embedded in the file & tend to be higher quality.

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Legalities of Downloading Fansubbed Anime

Animetique's discussion: Are Fansubs Hurting DVD Sales?
Jordan S. Hatcher has put together an excellent guide to legal issues in anime. I highly recommend you check it out: Of Otakus and Fansubs: A Critical Look at Anime Online in Light of Current Issues in Copyright Law.
Arthur Smith, President of GDH (Gonzo) International, discusses the state of the anime industry and the effect fansubs have on US dvd sales.
ANN's editorial on why fansubbing won't roll over and die until there is a viable, legal alternative to watch new anime in English.
CrunchGear has an Essential Guide to Piracy that's not specifically anime related, but does talk about the various methods to obtain pirated content - and the legal risks involved.

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Helpful Guides and Resources

Anime Nfo - Contains a directory of anime and manga including fan submitted reviews and episode guides. There is also a database for which groups are fansubbing which anime (here)
AnimeSuki - Database of new unlicensed fansubs.
Anime News Network - Daily news in the anime community including licensing updates.
Anime On DVD - Database of everything DVD related.
Anime Blogger - Contains the most recent updates to around 400 anime blogs.