Popular piracy website OPScans, responsible for leaking many Weekly Shonen Jump manga series such as One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen, has shut down — but not before causing some unwanted attention for with major rival leakers.
Last week, OPScans announced that they will discontinue all unofficial translations of “One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen or other manga in the near future,” according to their post via X (formerly Twitter). . Notably, they also wished pirated translation site TCBScans a good future by linking directly to their X site in a now-deleted post. Naturally, with OPScans and TCBScans being longtime rivals, and TCB seemingly downplaying last week’s closure of OPScans, many on social media saw this as a form of payback.
Related
Shonen Jump releases the first English-language animated manga
A Shonen Jump series known primarily in the West for its memes has become the first manga series to have dubbed animation in English.
OPScans and several other major One Piece & JJK leakers were shut down during construction and following the arrest of two individuals in Japan. These individuals are foreign nationals who were arrested on suspicion of posting the Weekly Shonen Jump manga online before its scheduled release date. It is believed they took advantage of the fact that stores received copies of the magazine days in advance. The arrest was hailed as an important step, receiving praise from both Shueisha and Kodansha.
Manga and Manhwa publishers seek to protect their franchise rights at all costs
OPScans’ shutdown follows recent aggressive efforts by manga and manhwa publishers to protect their intellectual property. Tachiyomi was forced to stop development after the fierce pursuit of the Korean Kakao Group. This follows a police raid in December at one of the “world’s largest comic book piracy sites” in partnership with Kakao, which appeared to be a deliberate exaggeration by Kakao to make all similar websites pay attention. These pursuits are likely to increase in number and intensity as the manga industry continues to grow in appeal and profitability worldwide. For example, it was recently revealed that Kakao’s Japanese manga app, Piccoma, saw one of the highest transaction volumes in the world in 2023.
Related
Anime website made it to the US Government’s most dangerous piracy watch list
A major anime website has put the US government’s Office of the United States Trade Representative on a watch list for “significant copyright infringement.”
While it’s unclear what will happen with TCB, it’s clear that they have a different perception than most other piracy sites. Disputes over the accuracy of official translations occur weekly, emerging just last month in Dragon Ball Super Chapter 101. Many people consider TCB essential in ensuring that the manga author’s intentions are conveyed accurately, while others say that there is no reason to infringe copyright, especially when many manga large receive simulations from experts.
Source: X (formerly Twitter)
