One Piece leakers have now been taken down online as Weekly Shonen Jump magazine publisher Shueisha is taking some very big steps in cracking down piracy. In the last year especially, fans might have noticed how Shueisha had begun to take some very real legal steps to put a stop to some of the leaks that have been a huge problem for their magazines for a long time. One Piece leaks often not only reveal the newest chapters before their official release, but outside of Japan in many cases through accounts on social media sharing this material as soon as they get their hands on it.
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Publishers like Shueisha have been exploring these legal processes for the last few years, and have made great strides in lessening the amount of materials have been releasing from the magazine early. As spotted by @AsarathaHS on X, Shueisha has taken another major step as they have filed a subpeona against X. Gamma Law P.C., which represents Shueisha, filed these requests in the Northern District of California on Dec. 30 with claims that the publisher’s rights had been infringed by “@spoilerplus” and “@mangaraw_jp” on X.
What Happens Next?
As also noted by @AsarathaHS on X, it seems one of these accounts has already since been deactivated since the subpeona. Shueisha is demanding that X take down all of the infringing materials on each of these accounts, and note series such as One Piece being the major concern. This is following more of Shueisha’s efforts to crack down on piracy in the last couple of years, and now it’s resulting in some very real legal action. As this story continues to develop, we’ll likely see even more of these prominent piracy accounts and sites shutter in the same way (especially as Japan is developing A.I. with the intent purpose of shutting down piracy).
Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs stated in a report in 2024 that pirated manga has cost the industry upwards of 380 billion yen which roughly equals to $2.4 billion USD. With the amount of losses getting higher and higher each year, it only stands to reason that Shueisha and other publishers of its kind want to curb these losses. Manga and anime is becoming more of a global experience with ways to legally read and watch these projects as soon as they hit Japan. It’s been made easier to do both, but piracy remains a huge issue.
Manga Leaks Are Slowing Down on Their Own, For Now
It seems like there has been a natural shift away from manga leaks in recent months too. Major franchises like Jujutsu Kaisen and My Hero Academia came to an end, so that means that only blockbuster hits like One Piece are still under the same kind of “high demand” for material as fast and early as possible. Newer fandoms for popular releases like Kagurabachi have been very outspoken against reading anything other than the official release, so the culture around it all has begun to change for many fans now hip to the many legal options.
Outside of the day of the week, there are fewer and fewer reasons to pirate manga. Shueisha in particular has been working well with Viz Media to release many of their chapters at the same time outside of when they release in Japan, and completely for free. Though back catalogs need a full subscription, fans can keep up with each new chapter without paying a dime through official MangaPlus or Shonen Jump digital libraries in a much higher quality than anywhere else. And as more of these accounts and sites are shut down, even more fans will be drawn to the legal and high quality options.
