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Most seasonal and classic anime titles are more accessible than ever these days. Crunchyroll, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and many other streaming platforms offer anime titles for fans to binge-watch. It’s not uncommon for many people to discover their new favorite show after browsing through Tubi or Freevee to watch something that appeals to them. However, there are still certain anime that are notorious for being pirated.
Well-known series like Sailor Moon, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Sword Art Online have been available on streaming platforms for years. Yet, plenty of other popular shōnen, shoujo, and isekai titles are easily some of the most viewed on illegal pirating sites. While these shows are available to watch legally, not everyone may have access to these services. These titles will make fans sail the high seas to get a taste of their favorite franchises.
Streaming on Fandango
The original Fullmetal Alchemist anime from 2003 is a show that most can barely watch on legal streaming platforms. Fullmetal Alchemist is still available to buy and watch on Fandango, but options are limited for viewing it otherwise. The DVD releases for the series have been out of print for quite a while, and buying them online isn’t cheap either. This has caused many fans of the 2003 version to flock to pirating sites to watch the show.
It’s still a shame that there’s no way to experience the original FMA anime. While it deviates heavily from the manga and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the 2003 series still has plenty of memorable moments that newer fans deserve to experience without resorting to piracy. Just as Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is widely available to stream, the same should stay true for its underrated predecessor. Hopefully, the original FMA anime can find an accessible streaming platform fit for the anime series.
Fullmetal Alchemist
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Vic Mignogna
Edward Elric
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Aaron Dismuke
Alphonse Elric
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Rie Kugimiya
Riza Hawkeye
9
People Pirating Anime Can’t Get Enough of My Hero Academia
Streaming on Crunchyroll
My Hero Academia is a popular series that’s only gotten better as time has gone on. The cast of characters is great, the action is stellar, and the voice acting is superb, no matter which dub you choose to watch. It helps that the series is easily available to stream too. The anime is synonymous with Crunchyroll and is available on Netflix, Hulu, Disney +, Amazon Prime Video and so much more.
Related
Is the My Hero Academia Manga Actually Worth Reading?
The MHA manga is absolutely worth reading, offering deeper details and storytelling nuances beyond what the anime adapts.
Unfortunately, MHA‘s popularity makes it a prime target for piracy. MUSO reported that My Hero Academia was one of the world’s most consistently pirated anime in 2023, especially Season 6. Like most popular anime, MHA‘s notoriety can be a double-edged sword for attracting people to piracy sites. Fortunately, demand for more My Hero Academia has led to U.S. distributors promoting the series as much as possible on legal streaming services.
My Hero Academia
- Release Date
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April 3, 2016
8
Solo Leveling Clears the Competition in Views on Piracy Websites
Streaming on Crunchyroll
Solo Leveling is one of the best manhwa anime adaptations in recent memory. The anime has garnered several fans for its spectacular action and likable main character, Jinwoo. The series is widely available to stream on sites like Crunchyroll and has found plenty of success on the platform. However, that still hasn’t stopped people from watching action anime illegally.
Solo Leveling was one of the most-watched anime across multiple piracy sites. While this only adds to Solo Leveling’s notoriety, it’s still unfortunate that many people resort to pirating it. Solo Leveling‘s momentum shows little signs of slowing down. Unfortunately, it’s hard to say if this means that the anime will continue to be viewed in droves on questionable websites.
7
The Eminence in Shadow’s Limited Accessibility Makes it a Prime Target for Piracy
Streaming on Hulu
The Eminence in Shadow has spectacular action and plays on the established tropes of the Isekai genre in a way that feels fresh. Despite the interesting story, new fans will be perplexed about which streaming service to use to watch the series. Depending on the country, it’s possible that there may not be a streaming service available to stream the Isekai anime. For example, North American fans can watch the series on HiDive, but German fans didn’t have any platform that was streaming the series when season 2 was airing.
This accessibility problem only made it vulnerable to being put on pirated websites. Season 1 of Eminence of Shadow was one of the most pirated series in 2022, and the second season continued that trend into 2023. The anime desperately needs more promotion from official streaming platforms. Fans around the world deserve to have the show more widely available, especially so the series can continue to grow its audience.
6
Bleach Fans Don’t Care Where They Watch the Anime as Long as They Do
Streaming on Hulu
For decades, Bleach‘s anime captivated audiences around the world with a distinct style and power system, unlike most other Shōnen anime before it. Fans often joke about how stretched certain seasons of the show were, mostly because of its filler arcs. But no matter what Bleach arc was airing, the Shōnen anime still keeps fans engaged. No matter where people watch it, you can bet that Bleach will always be one of the most viewed shows on the platform.
Illegal streaming sites aren’t an exception to this either. Bleach’s first season quickly became one of the most pirated anime in 2022. The series was already available to watch on platforms like Crunchyroll and Hulu. However, the hype surrounding the anime’s Thousand-Year Blood War arc may have caused fans to pirate the series to be fully caught up. As the Thousand-Year Blood War arc continues to change the anime’s status quo, it’s easy to see why a viewer would go out of their way to watch the latest episodes.
Bleach
- Release Date
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2004 – 2022
- Network
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TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TVh, TVQ, TSC, BS TV Tokyo
5
No Online Platform was Off-Limits For Fans Watching the Chainsaw Man Anime
Streaming on Crunchyroll
The Chainsaw Man anime had a massive amount of expectations to live up to. The manga has already sold over 5 million copies by 2021 and the anime promised to add even more flair to the first few arcs of the series. When the first season of the show was released, Crunchyroll’s servers famously crashed as fans tried to watch the first few episodes. Naturally, this caused fans to seek other alternatives to watch the series.
In 2022 alone, Chainsaw Man was one of many titles that fans clamored to pirate. It was the 2nd most pirated TV show of that year, only being toppled by House of the Dragon. Ever since then, the series has continued to be watched illegally in droves. The show is ironically accessible on most major streaming platforms, but the demand to see Denji’s adventures still hasn’t stopped. With a hotly anticipated anime movie release coming soon, it’s unlikely that this trend will stop anytime soon.
Chainsaw Man
- Release Date
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2022 – 2022
- Writers
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Tatsuki Fujimoto
4
Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Was One of the Most Pirated Anime Series of 2023
Streaming on Crunchyroll
Jujutsu Kaisen is one of the pillars of modern Shōnen anime and manga. The latter has sold over 100 million copies worldwide as an anime series that’s just as critically acclaimed. The series is also available to watch on most major streaming platforms, making it the ideal show to watch as someone’s first anime. Yet in 2023, data analyst company MUSO revealed that JJK Season 2 was the second most-watched series on pirating sites.
Related
Is the Jujutsu Kaisen Manga Actually Worth Reading?
The JJK anime may have served to expand the fanbase, but anime-only fans should check out the manga for a lot of reasons.
This can be a little shocking for most people who are familiar with the series. After all, how can such a popular show available on most legal video streaming platforms have such high numbers of pirating sites? JJK is in such high demand that many don’t care how or where they watch it. As long as the show is available to watch somewhere, then fans will flock to any website that can allow them to stream the hit shōnen anime series.
Jujutsu Kaisen
- Release Date
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October 3, 2020
- Directors
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Sunghoo Park, Shōta Goshozono
3
Naruto’s High Views on Pirating Sites Still Prove The Anime’s Popularity
Streaming on Crunchyroll
Another highly popular series that is notorious for its high views on pirating websites is Naruto. Whether fans look towards the original anime or Naruto Shippuden, it’s clear that the series remains one of the most pirated anime ever. This is especially true for fans of Naruto’s iconic English dub. Until recently, the full English dub for Naruto Shippuden was unavailable in major streaming sites like Hulu past episode 140. The only other way to watch the episodes dubbed in English would be to buy the DVD sets for the series.
Naturally, this caused many fans to resort to pirating the anime to fully watch the English dub. As great as the Japanese version is, the dub is still an iconic part of the series for many fans. Naruto remains one of the most recognizable anime ever made, so it’s easy to see why people still flock to watch it however they can. Because as iconic as the series still is, there’s no doubt that plenty of its fans got to watch it through unconventional methods.
Naruto
- Release Date
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September 10, 2002
2
Dragon Ball Z’s Popularity Can’t Defend it From Poor Quality Releases
Streaming on Crunchyroll
As timeless as Dragon Ball Z is, the anime community has noticed that the series has a poor track record with its home/digital releases. The DVD sets released in English-speaking territories, known as the “Orange Bricks”, awkwardly crop images to force it into a widescreen format. Other promising DVD releases like the Level Sets were canceled before reaching the Namek Saga. Subsequent releases only doubled down on the mistakes of the Orange Bricks, with many of the backgrounds looking even worse.
It’s this consistent string of failures that has caused many fans to pirate the series. Viewers have noticed that episodes of the series that are available to stream may still suffer from random drops in volume or get stretched between a 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratio. This has been a consistent problem for the Dragon Ball community for years. While there’s no true “definitive” way to watch the series yet, fans still hope that distributors like Crunchyroll iron these issues out sooner rather than later.
1
One Piece Takes the Crown for The Most Pirated Anime Ever
Streaming on Crunchyroll
One Piece‘s legendary reputation speaks for itself. The manga has been going strong for over 3 decades, with over 1100 chapters. The anime is no different, being a staple of the modern shōnen anime landscape and having multiple TV specials, movies, and merchandise to its name. But being one of the most well-known anime series in the world also has its drawbacks. Ironically, the hit anime about super-powered swashbucklers is the most pirated TV show on the planet.
Accessibility lies at the heart of One Piece’s massive piracy issues. One Piece has a gigantic fan-base, with viewers watching the anime from around the world. While platforms like Crunchyroll still air the latest episodes of the series, not every country has access to them. For example, countries like North Korea are banned from watching the series because of laws that forbid foreign TV broadcasts. This has led to many fans turning to piracy themselves to watch the Straw Hats’ latest exploits.
One Piece
- Release Date
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October 20, 1999
- Network
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Fuji TV
