How to find the name of a show from an Instagram Reel

Published 20 October 2026.

Short answer: read the caption first, then open the comments and look for someone asking "name?". The answer is usually in the replies under it. CommentSift can't open Instagram links, because Instagram doesn't let apps read its comments. Instead, copy the comments yourself and paste them into CommentSift's comment box. It reads them and tells you the name.

Find it by hand

Read the caption. If it's cut off, tap it to see the rest. Clip accounts often put the show's name, or a hashtag with it, in the caption.
Look at the hashtags. Next to general tags like #anime or #kdrama there is often one that is the show's name.
Look at the sound. Reels show the name of the sound or song they use. On some clips, the sound is named after the show.
Open the comments. Look for "name?", "title?" or "what's the name of this show?". Open the replies under them. That's where the answer usually is.
Check the pinned comment. Some creators pin the name at the top of the comments.
Look at the creator's other Reels. Clip accounts often post several parts of the same show, and another part may have the name in its caption.
Still nothing? Screenshot a clear frame and search it with Google Lens.
Check the name you found. Look it up on AniList (anime and manga) or Wikipedia to make sure it's the right show.

Find it with CommentSift

CommentSift works for Instagram only one way: you paste the comments. You don't need the Reel's link.

Step 1: copy the comments

Instagram changes its buttons and menus from time to time, so yours may look a little different from what's written here.

Open the Reel and open its comments.
Find the "name?" comments and open the replies under them. You don't need every comment: the questions and their replies are enough.
Press and hold on a comment. If your phone shows a Copy option, tap it.
No Copy option? Try opening the Reel in your phone's web browser instead of the app. In a browser you may be able to press and hold on the words, then drag the handles to pick more. Instagram may ask you to log in to see comments.
On a computer, open the Reel on instagram.com. There you can usually select a whole stretch of comments at once by dragging over them.

Your phone can only hold one copied thing at a time. So copy one comment, paste it into CommentSift, then go back for the next one. Put each on its own line.

Copying doesn't work at all? You can type what you see. Put the question on one line and each answer on its own line under it, like in the box's example.

Step 2: paste them into CommentSift

Open CommentSift.
Open the box called On TikTok, Instagram or another app? Paste the comments. It's under the Find the name button.
Paste the comments into it.
Tap Find the name in these comments.

What happens if you paste an Instagram link

In the link box at the top: nothing starts by itself, the way it does for a YouTube or TikTok link. If you tap Find the name, CommentSift says "That doesn't look like a YouTube or TikTok link." That's expected. CommentSift can't open Instagram links at all, so paste the comments instead.
Left in the link box while you paste comments: that's fine. CommentSift leaves the Instagram link out and reads only the comments you pasted.
Shared from Instagram to CommentSift: CommentSift opens, but it can't read the Reel. You still need to copy and paste the comments.

What a paste looks like

This is a made-up example, not a real Reel or real comments. What you copy may look a bit different, but it shows the idea:

made_up_fan.01
name??
3d
Reply
27
moon.reader_7
it's Moon Garden Courier
See translation

You don't need to tidy it up. CommentSift skips lines like usernames, times ("3d"), "Reply" and "See translation". A number on its own line counts as the likes of the comment above it. The next few lines after a question count as replies to it, so "it's Moon Garden Courier" is read as the answer to "name??".

Other extra lines, like "12 likes", are read as comments too. They don't name anything, so they usually don't matter. If you get no answer, try again with only the question and the answers under it.

Good to know

If nobody has named it yet, CommentSift says so instead of guessing. It can't check back later for you, because it can't open the Reel. Look again later, when more people have seen it, and paste the new comments.
Also on TikTok? If you find the same clip on TikTok, paste its link too. See how to find a show's name from a TikTok.
Using an iPhone? See how to use CommentSift on iPhone or iPad.

More guides

CommentSift is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Instagram, Meta, TikTok, YouTube or Google. CommentSift uses YouTube API Services.

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