Kitsu vs Trace Moe

Kitsu's JSON:API-flavored REST endpoint at kitsu.io/api/edge was confirmed live with an unauthenticated anime listing and an explicit Access-Control-Allow-Origin: * header. Reading the catalog needs no account at all; OAuth is only required for actions tied to a user's own library, and the API itself carries no paid tier.

Trace.moe's real search endpoint at api.trace.moe was reconfirmed live — a deliberately broken image URL returned a proper JSON error rather than a network failure, and a real image search (a Gochuumon wa Usagi Desuka 2 screenshot) returned genuine matching-scene data with Access-Control-Allow-Origin echoing the request's Origin. It's free and keyless up to a 100-search/24-hour quota per IP (confirmed live via GET /me, not the 1,000/month figure some third-party write-ups repeat); Patreon sponsorship raises both the daily quota and concurrency.