In a new blow against digital piracy, One of the most popular websites to watch anime illegally It has stopped working suddenly. When trying to play any episode, users now find a message. He points out that the episodes of the series are not available due to claims of DMCA.
The massive removal of content was not accidental. According to multiple reports from forums and communities of Discord linked to the site, Crunchyroll was one of the main actors who requested the elimination of the episodes. This adds to a wave of legal actions. Said wave affects several piracy portals, both anime and manga.
Crunchyroll Gives the hard blow against piracy
A moderator of the affected portal’s technical team was blunt:
“Crunchyroll deleted the video server.”
While the streaming platform has not issued an official statement in this regard, elimination request documents at Google and other platforms point to Crunchyroll She is not alone. Among the actors involved in this anti-piracy offensive are:
- Markscan
- Remove your media
- Comeso GmbH
- Anti-Piracy Protection
These entities act on behalf of heavy companies within the Japanese and global anime industry. include names of presses as important as Toho, , GKIDS, , Japan Creative Contents Alliance, , SB Creative, , Toei Animation and Kadokawa Anime. The action scale suggests that it is a coordinated effort. This effort tries to stop the unauthorized distribution of content of Japanese origin.
An almost definitive ending to the site
with more than 11.6 million visits only in April And an impressive number of 39 million in the last three months, , This portal was one of the most used to watch anime illegally. However, server moderators Discord Official have stated that the episodes are “unlikely” to return. One of them even claimed that this situation is “made to last forever.”
This represents a turning point. Although the site had already faced problems in the past, it had never been forced to completely stop its playback functionality. With the video servers down and with no intention of recovering them, it seems that the portal has come to an end. At least in its current form.
The fall of this illegal site is not an isolated case. In recent weeks, other portals have also felt the pressure. The most prominent is mangadex, a popular online manga reading platform. This had to Remove more than 7,000 titles After receiving multiple requests for DMCA.
The team behind mangadex He has clarified that He has no intention of becoming a new crunchyroll. However, it now operates under the administration of Namicomi. This will allow you a more orderly management of legal notices. This change seeks to protect the site from future legal reprisals. In addition, it seeks to improve its response capacity to copyright claims.
likewise, Reaper Scans, a Webtoons and Manhwa scan platform, was Completely closed after a lawsuit from Kakao Entertainment, a powerful South Korean company. other platforms like Oktoon, , Noonootv and TVwiki have also been pointed out. The operator of the latter will be Court next May 26 for charges related to the illegal distribution of protected content.
The end of an era?
Although many users of pirate sites justify their use due to lack of regional availability or economic barriers, The anime industry has begun to adopt an increasingly aggressive stance to protect your licenses. companies like Crunchyroll, , Netflix, and Disney+ They are investing in simulcast, dubbing in multiple languages, and almost simultaneous premieres with Japan. This reduces the “justification” margin for consuming pirate content.
At the same time, legal tools, such as DMCA notices, server locks, and international copyright protection agreements are being used more effectively. The result is a progressive purge of illegal platforms. These for years were the main resource of millions of anime fans.
For many fans who used these illegal portals as their main anime source, this closure is a hard hit. However, it can also represent an opportunity to rethink how we access and support this industry. With more legal options available than ever, many free or with accessible plans, the “no other way” argument starts to lose weight.
