Manga's Top Publisher Is Hammering Down on Piracy As New Subpoena Targets Major U.S. Leakers

Piracy has become a big issue in the anime and manga world. The most popular series in the Shōnen Jump line of magazines are consistently ripped from the pages and delivered onto social media days before a new chapter's scheduled release. These leaks are typically high definition scans or even just photos taken of whatever is the most anticipated release of the week. And while many fans look forward to seeing the events of their favorite series just a little earlier than they should, not everyone is happy with leakers.

Thousands of unsuspecting manga readers are bombarded with unwelcome spoilers each week, and have made their disapproval of the practice known. Fortunately for those unhappy with the leaks, it's been revealed that Shueisha, the publisher of all Jump magazines, has filed a subpoena specifically targeting leakers of Weekly Shōnen Jump titles who are active on X.

Shueisha Targets X Users Responsible for Shōnen Jump Leaks

Shueisha is Cracking Down on the Unauthorized Distribution of Jump Titles

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Over the past few years, it seems that the social media site, X, has become the main hub for sharing leaks of popular manga. Finally, Sheuisha has begun cracking down on accounts that post scans or photos of copyrighted material to large follower counts, filing multiple takedowns of large accounts over the last few months. The most recent, which surfaced thanks to X user AsarathaHS, is targeting other users of the site, going by spoilerplus and mangaraw_jp.

The subpoena demands that X remove any copyrighted materials originating from the two accounts, and supply any personal information associated with them, presumably for future lawsuits. Specifically named is Eiichiro Oda's One Piece, which has long been the subject of leaks alongside other popular titles like Jujutsu Kaisen. X account spoilerplus has been deactivated for some time, while mangaraw_jp is still active, but has not posted on the site since December 2024.

Following recent reports that VIZ Media and Toei Animation have combined to request nearly half a billion takedowns of URLs on Google, it seems that piracy in the anime and manga world has reached a tipping point. And this latest subpoena filed by Shueisha likely will not be the last.

Publishers Are Cracking Down on Manga Piracy Worldwide

Several Large Companies are Fed Up With Piracy

Piracy has unfortunately been a long-running practice in the manga sphere, with publishers like Shueisha aware of the thefts, yet being largely unable to take action against those involved. This changed in 2024, however, when Japanese authorities arrested and prosecuted two individuals directly involved in the distribution of copyrighted material. Several international leakers were named in the investigation, which led to a mass exodus of leakers on social media sites.

Related Watch Out: Japan Is Spending $2 Million on AI to Squash Anime Piracy Japan is finally taking the initiative to squash anime piracy for good with plans to develop an AI-powered piracy detection system worth $2 million.

This most recent filing by Shueisha is just another in a long line of recent actions taken by large companies that are sick of the piracy of their properties. The battle against leakers will continue to rage on, and for fans that are tired of seeing their favorite series spoiled on a weekly basis, the strict position taken by Shueisha is surely a positive sign that the times may be changing.

Source: AsarathaHS on X