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Episode Notes
A new report addressed to the U.S. government has highlighted the growing threat of anime and manga piracy, with the industry's top illegal streaming sites coming into the crosshairs of international piracy watchdogs. According to a recent report by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), anime piracy sites consistently ranked among the top illegal platforms in countries including China, South Africa, India and Vietnam.
The IIPA particularly highlighted the situation in India, noting that of the top 25 piracy sites currently available in the country, 10 are dedicated specifically to anime streaming, while another seven focus on manga. This data indicates that 40% of the most visited illegal platforms in one of the world's largest digital markets are now centered on anime.
Reader Version
In this podcast episode, the host Roos discusses a recent report from the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) addressed to the U.S. government, which highlights the growing problem of anime and manga piracy worldwide. The report identifies anime piracy sites as some of the top illegal streaming platforms in countries such as China, South Africa, India, and Vietnam. India, in particular, stands out with 40% of its top 25 piracy sites dedicated to anime and manga, a shift attributed to the crackdown on traditional movie and TV piracy sites. Over 400 piracy domains have been taken down in India, but the focus is now shifting specifically to anime piracy.
Roos shares his nuanced perspective on piracy, acknowledging both the appeal of free access to content and the ethical issues it raises. He enjoys piracy for the convenience and cost free access but stresses that creators deserve to be paid legally for their work. He sees piracy as a double edged sword: while it satisfies fans, it deprives creators of revenue that could support future productions. Roos emphasizes the need for better legal platforms that genuinely benefit the original creators, rather than just large subscription services like Crunchyroll or Netflix, which he feels may not always fairly compensate the artists.
The report also highlights specific piracy sites targeted in various countries, including HiAnime, 9Anime, AniWatch, and KissKH, which collectively attract tens of millions of visits. Roos points out that this massive traffic represents potential revenue that could support the anime industry if properly channeled. The IIPA recommends placing countries with rampant piracy on the U.S. priority watch list and calls for stronger enforcement measures, including swift takedowns and legal reforms. The economic impact is significant, with Japan reportedly losing around $30 billion to anime and manga piracy in 2025 alone.
Despite these challenges, some legal progress is being made, especially in India, where the Delhi High Court has issued injunctions against major piracy sites, allowing rights holders like Netflix and Crunchyroll to block infringing domains more effectively. However, Roos criticizes these large companies for profiting off creators’ work without necessarily supporting them adequately. He advocates for alternative models that directly support Japanese creators and allow fans to enjoy high quality anime while ensuring fair compensation. Roos also reflects on the frustrations of fans who rely on piracy to access older anime titles that are not legally available in their regions.
He reads a comment from a listener expressing anger that many classic shows remain inaccessible through official channels, which fuels the demand for piracy. This highlights a gap in the market that legal distributors have yet to fill, contributing to the persistence of piracy despite enforcement efforts. Ultimately, Roos calls for a balanced approach that respects creators’ rights while addressing fans’ needs. He envisions a future where the anime industry can thrive through a cycle of mutual support, kindness, and fair financial backing. His goal is to one day be involved in anime production in a way that benefits both creators and audiences, fostering a sustainable ecosystem for the art form he loves.
Automatic Transcript
What's going on? It's your boy Roos. Welcome back again to another episode on the podcast. Today we are reading an article titled More Than 400 Piracy Domains Completely Wiped. Top 10 Anime Streaming Sites Targeted a New US Government Report. We've made numerous amount of episodes on the podcast about this and how the government plans to take down anime websites which are not directly funding official sites slash companies to legalise the animes that are out there. Now, I've once again said I'm on both sides of the coin where I agree that things should be pirated but I also agree that things should not be and in terms of the whole piracy thing I think it's kind of like a big subject slash conversation to be had.
I'll say my piece which is mainly I do enjoy piracy because you can get what you want for free but if the original originators who created those animations slash themes of the anime that I'm enjoying aren't getting paid legally, oh my gosh legally, then I don't agree with it. So, it's like a double edged sword. If you're new here, don't forget to follow the podcast. We are back on being consistent episodically and we are going to catch up on anime news as well as anime manga and just the latest things that come up.
Alright, it says here a new report addressed to the US government has highlighted the growing threat of anime and manga piracy with the industry's top illegal streaming sites coming into the crosses of international piracy watchdogs. According to a recent report by the International Intellectual Property Alliance, also known as IIPA, to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, also known as USTR, anime piracy sites consistently ranked among the top illegal platforms in countries including China, South Africa, India and Vietnam.
The IIPA particularly highlighted the situation in India, noting that of the top 25 piracy sites currently available in the country, 10 are dedicated specifically to anime streaming while another 7 focus on manga. This data indicates that 40% of the most visited illegal platforms in one of the world's largest digital markets are now centred on anime. The IIPA attributed this to the successful disabling of traditional movie and television piracy sites by local judicial orders in the country, prompting the rise in the sharing of anime and manga piracy.
Until now, more than 400 piracy domains have been completely wiped from the internet in India, effectively neutralising billions of global visits, and now the target has shifted to anime piracy sites specifically. Now, these are sites that I use, HiAnime, 9Anime, AniWatch and more anime streaming sites targeted in 2026 piracy report. While the report does not explicitly name every site in India, it identifies several major anime piracy websites across other countries. In China, the document flagged AllaAnime, while HiAnime and 9Anime were highlighted in Vietnam. The report listed HiAnime, 9Anime, AniWatch and KissKH as key hubs in South Africa.
These four websites were among the country's top 12 piracy sites that drove a combined total of over 40 million visits. 40 million visits, yo. That's a lot of traffic. Now, this is the part where I said, you know, I'm on both sides of the coin. You see this 40 million visits? This could be generated in terms of revenue for those who created those anime sites and line their pockets. Those are things that I believe that's where piracy goes wrong, because 40 million people are watching it for free. But I'd rather the 40 million support the people who created the shows that we are enjoying. Clearly, there's a fan base for this.
The problem is we don't want to subscribe to these websites at Crunchyroll or any other subscription type sites or websites where the money we believe isn't generally going full on to the people who created the animes that we are actually enjoying. The IIPA has recommended that these countries, among others, be placed on the US priority watch list due to the prevalence of rampant piracy. Furthermore, the piracy watchdog also asked for strict actions to be taken, including swift takedown of infringing content, establishing a strong enforcement framework and carrying out legal reforms. The economic impacts of illegal consumption is naturally a primary concern for copyright holders.
In 2025 alone, Japan lost approximately US$30 billion to anime and manga piracy. Do you know how much this amount of money could help the economy, let alone the streets and the people there? The elders within that country are the majority, and it just takes a lot of things to help the economy to grow, especially when you need more and new young people thriving within a country that is quite honestly filled with a lot more old people. Representing nearly triple the losses recorded in 2022, this financial drain has prompted CODA and other agencies to take aggressive action against piracy on a global scale. So it looks like in terms of piracy, we are in trouble.
Now, if we can find a way for websites to, you know, cater to the 40 million people and more, because obviously it's more within the countries that was mentioned, China, South Africa, India. Well, and we can support the actual people doing it. I will do it. I would love to do it. Like I said, my goal for the future is to one day own a production or own something to do with anime, where the money that I'm able to make from the anime would, of course, yes, come from the works of the back of the creators, but also support them. Do you get what I'm saying? When an anime like, for example, I like to use this example because really and truly it needs more work and it should have been executed well.
One Punch Man or Seven Deadly Sins first season came out. It was fantastic. Do you know what I'm saying? Brilliant animation, but they didn't follow up with the next season, making it good in terms of quality. If you're going to do something like that, you need to follow up. Do you know what I'm saying? In terms of quality. And so I want to be the person where I can sponsor them to have the time to have the funds in order to create animation that will then go on to support their works. Funnel the amount of money funnel the works is going to help us in terms of the audience, enjoy their creation and funnel their pockets. We are only helping each other. If we can stay in a cycle of help, you know what I'm saying?
Kindness and support. All right. Despite India making it to the US government's priority watch list, efforts are being made in the country to combat piracy with the Delhi High Court passing landmark rulings in cases involving multiple known anime streaming sites. The court recently granted a dynamic plus injunction against piracy sites, including 9anime and anime Sug, allowing rights holders at Netflix and Crunchyroll to automatically extend blocking orders to numerous sites, redirects or alphanumeric domains as soon as they appear. Prior to that, the court's ruling targeted VidSRC, which often provides the underlying technical infrastructure for hundreds of streaming portals.
Once again, Netflix, Crunchyroll, like I said, this is the part where the 50 50 part comes in. These are the conglomerate big companies that want everything. And I'm not appreciative and I don't support them. All right. If you're talking about investing in companies, probably we should find a company that isn't these two that are just working off the backs of other people's work and trying to make as much money as they can. But at the same time, there needs to be something separate from these two big US based countries, company where it's just like we can support the creators of the animation that the people are living in Japan are doing. Do you know what I'm saying?
Japan has got great works and I don't feel like countries like America or any other parts of the country in terms of the world of continents should have any involvement in taking the rights to produce or, you know, unless unless they're paying them a good chunk of money and the people who create it are getting a good chunk of pay. However, the report noted that these rulings were limited to the Delhi High Court and that similar actions across stats were needed. Additionally, while orders have been passed, infringing domains have remained active long after interim injunctions were granted, with defendants failing to comply with court directives.
Legal attempts by plaintiffs to impose sanctions for contempt or seize administrative control of these domains have effectively been hampered by procedural delays. And there's comments in here. Someone said, yes, please destroy every site where I can still watch 20, 30, 40 year old shows that you cocksuckers have no intention of making available in my region in any way, shape or form. All right, let me read this again. He said, yes, please destroy every site where I can still watch 20, 30, 40 year old shows that you cocksuckers have no intention of making available in my region in any way, shape or form. So from this post, which I still don't understand, I was reading a second time properly.
I believe he's basically saying that these shows are not available in his region and so he can't even watch them. And that is why he's even pissed off. Fair play. If I got that wrong, let me know in the comment section. But I'd also like to know you guys as a point of view and what you guys think