Japanese manga publishers only know how to axe things, and it only caused manga piracy to surge

Earlier this week, Japanese manga publishers took significant steps to combat manga piracy by sending mass DMCA takedown notices to popular manga reader site MangaDex. As of this article’s writing, nearly 1500 series have been taken down from the site according to a list made by concerned fans.

While certainly within their rights to combat piracy, the biggest issue with these latest actions from Japanese publishers is the incredibly niche series being targeted. A vast majority of the series affected don’t have official English translations, or aren’t translated elsewhere on the internet, highlighting the role these publishers play in the surge of manga piracy.

Japanese publishers’ refusal to translate niche titles contributes greatly to manga piracy

List of manga affected by the DMCA takedown to Mangadex. byu/andyarc1995 inmangadex

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Obviously, this interpretation of the latest MangaDex mass takdowns doesn’t invalidate the right of Japanese publishers to combat infringements against their intellectual property. At the end of the day, fan translations are just that, and major publishers like Shueisha, Kodansha, and Shogakukan are well within their rights to take them down. However, what proves their role in the surge of manga piracy is their refusal to officially translate these niche titles.

This essentially creates a scenario where fans are forced to take it upon themselves to translate these beloved series, which aren’t well-known enough to receive official releases. Some notable examples include Boku no Kanojo Sensei, Dorobou-chan, Garaku, Isekai Kenja no Tensei Musou, and many more. All of these series lack official English releases, making fan translations the only feasible way to enjoy them.

This likewise highlights the duality of the latest action against manga piracy by these Japanese publishers. In issuing DMCA takedown notices for the corresponding fan translated series, they inherently recognize that an international fanbase for these manga exist. However, rather than foster its growth by looking the other way, or actively nurture it by officially translating the series, they instead choose to axe any means of international support for it.

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By eliminating international fans’ only possible exposure to the series, it also kills any motivation to support the official Japanese volume release. Many contemporary international manga fanbases, such as for Takeru Hokazono’s Kagurabachi, have shown a willingness to buy Japanese manga volumes simply to support a series. In this way, the fan translations of other niche series could allow for international readers to get similarly inspired to provide official support.

Yet if they have no means of reading the series on their own and forming their own opinions of it, the possibility for this to occur is all but eliminated. This, in turn, also limits the publisher’s ability to gauge a series’ international popularity, thus further lessening the likelihood of an official English release. With all of this in mind, it’s understandable why manga piracy has surged in recent years, as Japanese publishers simply refuse to officially translate certain series.

Final thoughts

While the availability of the medium's biggest series remain unaffected, these latest anti-manga piracy efforts all but eliminate the international availability of smaller, niche titles (Images via Toei Animation, Pierrot)

All of that being said, manga piracy is still illegal at the end of the day despite the benefits it provides to both creators, publishers, and readers. As a result, these Japanese publishers can certainly be criticized for their handling of the situation, but they’re well within their rights, nevertheless.

Unfortunately, this also means that those niche series and fan translations, which were lost in this latest round of legal action, may never be available in English again. Certainly, this is yet another negative of the apparent contemporary mindset of Japanese publishers when it comes to the international availability of their series.

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About the author

Joseph has been working as an anime content specialist for Sportskeeda since the past 2.5 years. Primarily covering his core genre, he also contributes to popular culture writing news stories and cult classic features on older series.

Joseph holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Delaware, United States. His love of anime, combined with his background in literature, influenced his interest in engaging readers through the written word. He maintains complete accuracy in his content by verifying each and every piece of information regardless of how long it takes, and ensure that the output is impartial and free of bias.

Chainsaw Man, One Piece, Berserk, Undead Unluck, Re:ZERO, Tower of God, Jujutsu Kaisen, Inuyasha, and Fire Punch are some of Joseph’s favorite animanga. His exposure to 4kids' Sonic X series, One Piece, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Dragon Ball Z on Toonami fueled his enthusiasm for the medium.

When not dissecting anime plots, Joseph likes to cook, play games, work on cars, browse new music, and watch pro wrestling, especially AEW. He also enjoys ocean-based activities - beach trips, fishing, swimming and watersports.

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Edited by Joseph Brogan