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Crunchyroll is intensifying its battle against piracy, with its latest target being an anime torrenting application called Hayase. The streaming service has issued a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice, seeking to eliminate the app, which facilitates unauthorized access to its anime catalog.
According to a report by Torrentfreak, Crunchyroll’s takedown partner, MarkScan, has urged GitHub, a popular platform for hosting software, to remove links related to Hayase. This application is frequently configured as a tool for streaming pirated anime. The DMCA notice states, “We have found material on your service that promotes, directs to, or enables the ongoing infringement via Hayase. Hayase enables unauthorized access to anime content, an activity which is well established as copyright infringement under applicable laws and relevant case law.”
Previously known as Miru, Hayase offers anime fans a sleek media player interface for streaming. However, it does not host any content itself. The software includes a disclaimer clarifying its role, stating, “Hayase is purely a torrent client and media player. It does not provide, index, host, or link to any content sources, torrent files, or unofficial repositories. Users are fully responsible for sourcing their own content legally and in compliance with their local laws.”
Popular Anime Torrenting Client Hayase Faces Crunchyroll Takedown Requests
Image via CBR
Hayase, formerly known as Miru, gives anime audiences a clean media player interface to stream their content, but it doesn’t actually host any of the content itself. A disclaimer from the Hayase software explicitly spells this out for its users, saying: “Hayase is purely a torrent client and media player. It does not provide, index, host, or link to any content sources, torrent files, or unofficial repositories. Users are fully responsible for sourcing their own content legally and in compliance with their local laws.”
The fact that Hayase doesn’t explicitly host any infringing content hasn’t stopped Crunchyroll or MarkScan from trying to stop the release of the software. The team behind Hayase revealed to TorrentFreak that GitHub had not provided them with a list of the alleged infringed content, which Crunchyroll’s original takedown notice referred to in an appendix. Despite this, the developers chose to remove the contested files.
For those who currently use Hayase or were looking to find the software, it remains available elsewhere from GitHub, with download links still available on its official website. Installed applications have also not been impacted by Crunchyroll’s DMCA takedown requests, and it’s likely that the software will continue to work even if new downloads are eventually disabled.
Crunchyroll Ramps Up Anti-Piracy Efforts After Discontinuing Free Anime Streaming Tier
As 2025 draws to a close, it appears that Crunchyroll is gearing up to be even more vigilant in its anti-piracy measures heading into the new year. Two weeks ago, the company announced the end of its free ad-supported tier, putting its entire library of anime content behind a mandatory paywall starting in January.
The news is likely to disappoint anime fans, especially after recent news saw Disney, Hulu, Netflix and other major streaming platforms pulling back on their new anime content. With Crunchyroll continuing to have what many fans view as a monopoly on anime streaming, the loss of the free ad-supported tier will make legally watching some series more difficult for some viewers, with Hayase and other potentially illegal alternatives becoming all the more appealing.
Back in November, Crunchyroll continued to flex its legal powers and joined forces with Netflix and Disney to go after a major piracy platform, VidSrc. The crackdown saw over 200 domains blocked by local internet service providers in India. As other streaming giants see their anime libraries dwindling in 2026, Crunchyroll’s own footprint in the anime community is only likely to grow larger.
