With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, people have started many new projects to try and starve off the boredom. TikTok video making, exercising, playing an instrument, or just gaming, there’s hundreds of new projects that people have tried in quarantine. I did something different. I started a google doc that provides links to media that’s legally free.

I got the inspiration from two places. The first was the anime website Crunchyroll, where you can legally watch some anime for free (the site also has a paid subscription option for early access and exclusive content). I had gotten to know the website pretty well over quarantine, watching some free shows with my friends. The second was, ironically, the pandemic itself. I know that a lot of people have had a hard time lately, and I wanted to try and do something to help out, while also remaining legal.

Of course, nothing could quite prepare me for what I was going to find. Now, I went into this project with the expectation that I’d find mostly B-Movies, Mockbusters, and a bit of anime. But, when I went down into the depths of the internet, scoring websites that officially host the material, what I found surprised me.

Now, of course, there are limitations to what I found. If you’re looking for the latest superhero movie, for example, this will not be the place. But, there was some stuff that has a decent amount of credibility and indeed, popularity. Anime wise, it was a goldmine. Attack on Titan, Demon Slayer, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, and that’s just some of what I found on the free part of Crunchyroll. Moving beyond that, there’s four Star Trek movies, the 2004 Phantom of the Opera adaptation, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, and even a My Little Pony movie for the kids.

The best part of it all is, I’ve barely scratched the surface. There’s still plenty of shows and movies that are legally free out there that I have to still add to the roster.

For anyone having a hard time or that just wants to enjoy something free in these dark times, you can find it all here. Completely free, and legal.