Do you remember Medabots? If you want to know where to watch Medabots online, we can help you.
Medabots started out during the Pokémon/ Digimon collecting craze of the late 1990s. Unlike those other franchises, the Medabots video games, manga, and anime featured battling robots.
About Medabots
Medabots began in 1997 with a Nintendo Game Boy game that was only released in Japan. Kodansha also published a Medabots manga that same year.
In 1999, Bee Train created the first Medabots anime series. This was soon followed by a sequel, Medabots Spirits (Medarot Damashii).
In the series, there are many different kinds of Medabots, but each one is built upon a basic frame. Various specialized and interchangeable body parts and weapons are added onto that frame. The final, most valuable piece is a medal, which becomes the robot’s “brain.”
Ikki Tenryo and his bot Metabee “robattle” various other Medabot fighters. There’s also the (not so mysterious) Phantom Renegade, a medal-stealing anti-hero who resembles Tuxedo Mask. No one but the audience ever suspects that he’s actually Henry the convenience store bot salesman.
The real villains would be the weirdly-dressed Rubber-Robo Gang, led by the evil Dr. Meta-Evil.
If you want to watch Medabots, you won’t find it at Netflix or Crunchyroll. (I checked both U.S. and Japanese versions of Netflix.)
However, you do have options if you want to stream Medabots online legally.
Where to Watch Medabots (Legal Options)
- RetroCrush
- Tubi
- Amazon Prime
- Bandai Channel
- Discotek Media (DVD or Blu-ray)
1. RetroCrush
RetroCrush only has 26 episodes of Medabots, with some episodes shown out of order. That’s because when Fox Kids brought “the first season” of Medabots to the United States, that’s the order that they were shown in. In reality, Medabots had 52 episodes in Japan, plus an additional 39 for the sequel Medabots Spirits.
Despite this limitation, RetroCrush (part of Digital Media Rights) is about as good as you will find for this series. For another thing, the streaming service has a unique combination of older (hence “retro”) anime.
Pros:
- Can watch some stuff for free, with no subscription or account needed
- An interesting library of classic anime, including some movies
- Didn’t encounter any ads
- One-month free trial of Premium available
Cons:
- Some content requires a Premium account
- Limited language options, depending upon the series
- Only available in the United States and Canada
Price:
- Free access to most content
- One-month free-trial period
- $4.99/ month, or $49.99/ year for Premium, ad-free access
Language options: English dubbed (for Medabots); Japanese with English subtitles available for some shows
2. Tubi
Tubi TV is an American streaming service owned by Fox — i.e., the network that broadcast Medabots in the U.S. The version on Tubi is the same as on RetroCrush.
The main difference is that while RetroCrush is strictly anime-oriented, Tubi offers a more broad selection of TV shows and movies.
Tubi ranked pretty low in my Best Places To Watch Bleach article, so the fact that it ranked higher here demonstrates how few choices exist for this series.
Pros:
- Free, no subscription
- Decent mixture of anime and live-action TV shows and movies
Cons:
- Unavoidable ads (even with an ad blocker)
- Limited to RetroCrush’s 26-episode version
- Not available outside North America, Australia, or New Zealand
Price:
It’s free. You can register using your email, or sign-up through Google or Facebook.
Language options: English dubbed
3. Amazon Prime
Amazon has the same 26 episodes as everyone else. If you have Prime, or if you get a 30-day free trial, you can watch for free. Or you can buy episodes individually, or purchase the full season.
Considering that you can watch the series for free elsewhere, the only reason to buy the episodes would be if you want to watch offline.
Alternatively, if you subscribe to the Anime Store for Amazon Prime in Japan, you can watch all 52 episodes of Medabots. You can also watch the 39 episodes of Medabots Spirits.
Naturally, the Amazon Japan episodes are untranslated. Unlike Netflix, Amazon will let you see the website outside of Japan. But to actually watch, you will need a Japanese billing address to pay for the streaming service.
Pros:
- Free for Amazon Prime members
- Available internationally (although some regional restrictions may apply)
- Japan only: Get all 52 episodes
Cons:
- Buying a season will cost more than other streaming options
- Japanese restrictions beyond a VPN’s ability to fix
Price:
- Free with Amazon Prime account or 30-day trial
- First 8 individual episodes: $0.99 each (SD only)
- Starting with episode 9 HD: $1.99 each
- Full season: $20.99
- Japan only: Included with d Anime Store
Language options: English dubbed; Japanese (Amazon Japan only)
4. Bandai Channel
To be perfectly honest, Bandai Channel is an odd choice for watching anime outside of Japan. But you can do it with the help of a VPN, and the right browser. Chromium-based, high-privacy browser Brave seemed to work for me. Even then, there’s a chance that the video will hang after several minutes. When I tried to watch without NordVPN turned on, the video wouldn’t load.
The episodes are in Japanese with no subtitles. The first episode is available for free. The rest will cost 220 yen to rent individually. You will need a Japanese form of payment.
Even if you only watch the first episode, it does provide an interesting look at the original, unedited Japanese version. Also, Junko Takeuchi (a.k.a. Naruto Uzumaki) voices Metabee.
How to Access Bandai Channel via VPN
This method should work on both desktop PCs and mobile phones or tablets.
- Purchase (or start a free trial of) a VPN. NordVPN works for this purpose
- In the settings, choose Japan as your location
- Fire up the VPN and wait
- Once you’re connected, navigate to Bandai Channel
Pros:
- First episode is free
- Original Japanese version
Cons:
- No translation
- Video player is either geo-locked or janky
Price:
- First episode available for free
- 220 yen per episode
Language options: Japanese
5. Discotek Media (DVD or Blu-ray)
If all else fails, you can always buy the DVD or Blu-Ray disc of the 26-episode first season. Discotek currently holds the license in North America, and the company recommends either Amazon or RightStuf Anime.
Of course, you’ll probably pay more than you would to stream. Discs are region locked.
Pros:
- Get 26 episodes
- Get a physical, permanent copy
Cons:
- Blu-ray is expensive
- Region-locked
- Price may vary
Price:
- As low as $7.59 for a used DVD at Amazon
- $15.96 for a new DVD at Amazon
- $23.97 for the Blu-ray at RightStuf
- $34.99 for the Blu-ray at Amazon
Language options: English dubbed
