With the internet, anime has become even more accessible through various online streaming platforms. This would include paying for subscriptions so that viewers will be able to maximize their watching experience.
Unfortunately, not everyone wants to consistently pay for streaming platforms because of various reasons. Aside from this, some anime are not available on certain territories. This then creates the need for shows or movies to become pirated, in which this became widespread in the Internet.
Variety released an article listing all of the top pirated shows of 2022 based on the data by Muso.
Notably, the majority of this list is anime. Chainsaw Man Season 1 reigns 2nd place with 13%, followed by Bleach Season 1 with 9%. The Eminence in Shadow Season 1 comes next at 8%, while Spy x Family Season 1 is nearing 7%. The Season 2 of The Rising of the Shield Hero secures the last spot with 6%.
It seems that the anime included in the list are big ones. Chainsaw Man is one of the most awaited and hyped anime in 2022. It also landed in the 9th place in the top 10 anime 2022 voted by the users of MyAnimeList.
The Season 1 of Bleach also made it into the list, which is probably because of Bleach‘s return with the Thousand-Year Blood War arc. Fans are reliving their nostalgia by rewatching the very first episodes of Bleach and marveling at how far the animation has come.
New anime such as The Eminence in Shadow and Spy x Family also garnered attention when they started airing last Fall 2022. In particular, Spy x Family‘s Anya Forger became an internet meme due to her hilarious facial expressions.
The Rising of the Shield Hero also released its long-awaited Season 2, after its 1st Season aired last 2019. It is no wonder fans are so eager to watch it after waiting for at least 3 years.
Piracy in Anime
Piracy is a severe problem the anime industry is facing. This leads to production companies receiving less profit due to viewers watching illegal sites that they are not affiliated with. This puts the anime and manga creators in a precarious situation, hence an international organization addressing piracy was launched last April 2022.
This is operated by Japan’s Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA). It collaborates with various streaming platforms and publishers from over 10 countries. Notably, this includes 32 companies from Japan, the Motion Picture Association from the US, and the Copyright Society of China. Copyright organizations from the countries involved are also participants.
Despite piracy being a crime, there are still a lot of debates online about it. There are articles stating that because of piracy, anime became even more accessible to more people. This is due to the legal streaming platforms’ inability to show the anime in even more territories in some cases. There are some viewers who do not find it convenient to pay subscriptions in legitimate streaming platforms as well.
In other words, from the business standpoint, piracy would mean the loss of profit for anime and manga creators. From the consumer standpoint, piracy gives them the content they want for free.
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