Niconico — Nico Nico Douga — is Japan's legendary video site: the birthplace of Vocaloid hits, thousands of MAD edits, and the scrolling danmaku comments that TikTok later borrowed. Nearly all of it is unfindable elsewhere, and the platform offers no download button for regular viewers. A downloader makes the culture portable.
How to download a Niconico video
- Open the video on nicovideo.jp and copy the URL — it looks like
nicovideo.jp/watch/smXXXXX. - Paste it into our Niconico downloader and press Download.
- Save the MP4 in the quality offered.
Things to understand about Niconico
- Danmaku comments are an overlay. Your download is the clean video without the flying text.
- Some videos need a (free) account to watch even on the site; those cannot be fetched anonymously.
- Regional playback: a slice of content is Japan-only. If it will not play for you, it will not resolve.
Frequently asked questions
Can I download the comments too?
Comments are stored separately by Niconico; the downloader delivers the video file itself.
Do sm-number links and nico.ms links both work?
Yes — both point to the same videos.
Why do older videos look low-res?
Niconico's economic-mode history means many classics were stored at low bitrates. You get the best stored version.
Preserve the culture
Open the Niconico downloader or paste any link on the home page.
