There are times when I travel that I can’t access the regular dramas on Viki because I am in a different region where the dramas aren’t available. So I hotfoot it to the illegal sites.
There are times when I want to know if there’s a different translation, a missing honorific, or a more nuanced version. So I scoot to the illegal sites.
But what happens more often is I need screenshots of a particular scene to discuss a detail, but I can only get a useless black image on my streaming site. So I hie me to the illegal sites where I’m free to take as many screenshots as needed.
Those are my reasons for going to illegal streaming sites.
I have paid subscriptions to these sites:
Amazon Prime
Apple+ (the most useless)
Netflix
Viki (Rakuten Viki, to be precise)
Youtube (because commercials bug me)
I downloaded these apps on my phone but have since deleted them:
Viu (useless here in the US)
Hulu (only for the US market. Useless anywhere else in the world)
Here are the illegal sites that I know.
Dramacool (beware of bugs)
Dramanice
Kissasian (the porn ads are disgusting so I avoid this site)
Kisskh (never tried this personally)
Kshow123 (for variety shows)
Watchasian
I’m not going to judge you. I’m sure you have reasons, like I do, for using these unofficial sites.
Hi @pkml3, what an interesting post, in that it comes out of the blue. Do you want to gather more streaming sites for alternatives?
The Dramanice site has many iterations… the one that works better is probably Dramanice.video. However when it did not work well, I was told of Novamovie.net which really has a great selection of Asian and non-Asian dramas and movies. 🙂
On youtube, you just need to install adblock (or ublock) extension. 😉
https://adblockplus.org/en/
It works on a PC or Laptop.
About phones, I don’t know but there should be something else if not.
The best tool should be:
– You are on PC/Laptop
– You get the video (.mkv or .mp4)
– You use a global screenshot program, like Free Video to JPG Converter.
It screenshot the whole drama, let’s say 1 image/seconde, but without subtitles.
https://www.dvdvideosoft.com/fr/products/dvd/Free-Video-to-JPG-Converter.htm
If you want subtitles, well something like print screen but best than that. So you can screenshot certainly what you say you can’t. Use Screenpresso:
https://www.screenpresso.com/fr/telecharger/
Then, ask where to get raw videos. 😉
One of the main reasons why I go to illegal sites before was to take screenshots or to make gifs, too! I also used to torrent my dramas.
But now as I no longer am active on tumblr, I now just rely on Netflix or Viu (and recently Disney+) for my shows. What I don’t like about it is I rely too much on these platforms. I know I am missing out on quite a lot of other good dramas because I tend to stick with these two. I’m unfortunately getting stuck with the mentality that I should make use of my subscriptions, which I honestly feel is bad as it limits my options.
I wish Viki Rakuten is available in my region, too. 🙁 Quite a lot of shows I wanted to watch but not available in the places I’m subscribed, too. For example, that’s my main reason why I haven’t seen Yumi’s Cells 2! I watched the first season on iQiyi but season 2 wasn’t shown there. When I checked only available in Viki!
But honestly before, subscribing to any platform was also too much of a luxury for me so that’s my main reason for using illegal sites. And even now that I can actually afford it, subscribing to three (thinking of cuttingmy Disney+ next month) feels a bit too much already.
Thanks @Packmule3!
Very helpful to get this overview and the following discussion.
I am having to find new ways to access shows I would normally have watched on Viki. Sadly, after years on Viki, after ongoing technical problems with Viki, I have unsubscribed. I hope to get a new laptop (rather than my work IT team administered laptops) and be able to download more of the latest browsers Viki is asking me to use. If desperate I can watch on my Smartphone.
I subscribe to Amazon Prime, Netflix and IQUI. I use Daily Motion, Wetv, and any high quality versions of shows I pick up when I google them – usually via Youtube. I wasn’t aware some of these platforms were illegal. So that is useful to know. I was probably too desperate to catch the latest episode of a given show that I wasn’t willing to check!
@packmule3, I stream Asian crush and IQIYI but both have ads and we have Disney+ that has very little Asian content in the US market. I got Apple+for Pachinko and got Dr. Brain. Disney is going to be making much more Asian content but it seems, only for the Asian market. I think that is foolish because if one looks at demographics, Asians are prevalent the world over and in North America in particular, look at New York City, New Jersey(the Route 1 corridor). California and Cwnada-think Vancouver. I am temp5ed to write them to say that they are missing large markets. If K Pop is a marker, they need to see how profitable the tours are and not just BTS. There is a new Broadway musical called K Pop(that got cricized by the NY Times for having too much dialogue in Korean-have they never gone to the opera).. The music, dramas, and movies are interrelated. This is just a pet peeve of mine. Parenthetically, 5wo Asian markets are opening up in my borough. One did asoft opening and it tied up traffic on our main road. And bubble tea places are opening up all over the place. These streamers also do not pay attention too the fact that Non-Asians have embraced Asian content. Think about Squid Game and Parasite or the fact that AS I an actors like Michelle Yeoh are now mainstream.
My main reason for using the “other” sites is not having access to a show that I want to watch. This can be either it is not available at all or it is not available with English subtitles. The second reason is financial. I cannot afford to subscribe to every streaming service, so there are some occasional dramas that I watch other places because of that reason. I don’t use “other” sites for screenshots or GIFS.
I have subscription to Viki, Netflix, Amazon Prime. I wish VIU was available in the USA because they have a lot of good programs that are not available elsewhere legally, like Scarlet Heart Ryeo. I also try to use the legal streaming sites that have a free option. (Usually free with ads). I have bookmarked many Youtube channels and I take advantage of Kocowa Taste24 option.
Some other sites with free option not mentioned previously are:
OnDemandKorea
OnDemandChina
Kocowa
Asian Crush
WeTV
IFLIX
If you can afford it, a VPN can be helpful to access content. I received a 3 month subscription to Express VPN as a gift one year. The only problem with a VPN is you need to know the region where what you want to watch is available and also sometimes the servers on a VPN can be problematic. Knowing the best VPN service to use is very helpful.
“Other” sites I have used:
Dramacool
Dramanice
Kisskh – I really like this site because it does not have popups.
Myasiantv
Fastdrama
Lakorn Galaxy- this site main focus is Thai dramas but they have now branched out to include Chinese dramas and Japanese dramas.
I have also used various fansubber sites and popular fan upload sites like Dailymotion and Vimeo.
My Drama List is a good resource for finding out where a drama is available to watch. You will often find info in the comments for both legal and other sites.