Pirated Anime And The Evolution of Streaming Anime and Manga
‘KissAnime’ and ‘KissManga’ have officially been taken down by its own creators. AniRadioPlus published a short article on the matter and I was taken aback. I always knew there would be a time when Japan would seriously crack down on the pirates who upload content to their streaming and publishing sites; so to me, this move didn’t just come out of nowhere, it just happened so fast.
With Japan’s parliament passing their laws against the illegal upload of pirated film, books, and academia, people are receiving larger fines and longer jail times (with this taking effect by January 1, 2021). With ‘KissAnime’ and ‘KissManga’, this may be the starting point for the end of many pirated streaming sites.
But do we still need pirated anime’ and manga?
FACTS…..
Let’s look at the facts….at the end of the day these pirating sites existed to provide a need for fans at a very rapid pace and while there’s plenty of anime and manga that do not get officially translated into English, the time it takes for the show to go from initial release to localization into other languages is unforgivably long. Given our current era of ‘on demand’ content, at the end of the day, the people most hurt by pirating content are the anime companies and possibly, the creators.
Short of everybody learning Japanese, there must be a medium for fans to get all the Japanese media content instantly at a low to no cost.
As a longtime fan and watcher, I’m starting to see a very interesting system at play.
One, you have ‘scan-lation’ groups and ‘subbing’ teams that go out of their way to translate anime and manga all for the love and sake of the community and its growing. It’s actually through one of those earlier groups I was able to get into Naruto, One Piece, and Code:Geass. When Naruto released on Toonami, the original show was already entering its pre-Shippuden filler arcs; at least it felt like it at the time. Even YouTube, which has a plethora of free anime’, has started to crack down on those fan-subs as well as more and more anime’ are becoming officially and legally available via licensed streaming sites…..which brings me to two…
Thanks to main streaming sites like Cruncyroll and Funimation and other networks, Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, more anime has been accessible to wider audiences more than ever. These companies are now taking over as the true holders of anime streaming as these pirate sites are going down and this is where it gets very tricky….. which brings me to three….
Now fans can start picking and choosing which sites to spring for and this will cause many to lose out on potential shows to watch as streaming anime’ now comes with a cost. For example, I’m paying for Netflix, VRV, disney +, Amazon Prime Video, and the internet to watch them all to gain access to these sites. I’m always down to support my favorite networks and shows, but the cost is breaking my wallet every month….
What needs to happen and hopefully soon, is that someone should create a website or app that has a complete library of all the anime and manga for a fee of under $15-$20 per month and let it be accessible on an international basis. This could be one way studios could get funded and make the anime community more inclusive for all. From niche anime’ shows to historic titles, this site could be the go to place to watch ‘everyone’s’ favorite anime as it’s getting harder to get a hold of the physical copies and almost impossible to watch older titles on screen.
Is this really a problem? Can this be solved? Until it is…. pirated sites like KissAnime will be one of many ‘pirated ways’ some fans will continue to consume anime on a large scale.
But What About Manga?
Manga distribution companies are also meeting the high demand with new releases on multiple sites as well. Manga apps, too, have exploded onto the scene, and I absolutely love it! You’ve got VIZ, Pocket Comics, Webtoon, Tappytoon, Mangamo, Tapas, Manga Reader, Manga by Crunchyroll, and so much more! It can be overwhelming at times, but it has also opened the fandom to more artists, authors, and content creators. As my digital library far exceeds my physical one, my only concern would be hard drive space rather than shelf space; Without having to worry about the costs of printing, shipping and distributing, manga companies can focus more on digitizing their backlogs for fans, rather than worry about printing new ones. For some manga sites, there is a paywall for some issues; around $1 - $3 per chapter each week for your favorite story. If you’re reading 20 new chapters a week, it does add up and can take a large bite out of your wallet over time. This happen to me when I’m too vested in a story.
We, as fans, need to ask ourselves this question:
‘Should we continue to support the pirates or should we support the creators by heading toward the new streaming channels and distributors’ ?
In my opinion, anime’ and manga companies should think like a pirate, survey what is being scanned, translated, and downloaded. Once they see what’s popular and in demand, they can buy and license said anime’ and manga as soon as possible. This will help expose more fans to different works legally and assist the creators financially in the process. Very soon, pirate streaming will be no more and in a blink of an eye, it will disappear ,just like Napster.
My advice, I would switch before those prices go up, that way you can get locked into the savings. Pirated streaming was great but like all anime’ and manga, t’ll all end and just be another chapter in the history of entertainment sharing.
