"Operation Animes" -- an anime anti-piracy collaboration effort between Japan and Brazilian authorities -- has confirmed the shutdown of 15 more piracy sites, worth a total monthly average visit count of roughly 120 million.
Via Yomiuri, Japan's Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA) announced it had orchestrated the shutdown of 15 anime piracy sites in Brazil. The sites had evaded detection previously through measures like geoblocking Japanese IP addresses, making revenue through advertisements to primarily Portuguese-speaking anime fans. CODA acted on behalf of complaints by Toei Animation (One Piece, Dragon Ball), Toho (Jujutsu Kaisen, My Hero Academia) and Bandai Namco Filmworks (Gundam, Code Geass). CODA doesn't list all 15 sites but says they averaged 7.95 million monthly visits from August to October 2024, or a monthly combined figure of 119.25 million over that period.
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Anime Copyright Infrigement Causes 15 More Sites Like Bakashi TV to Shut Down
These sites included bakashi.tv, said to be the third-most visited anime piracy site in Brazil. It had around 8.3 million visits in October (via Similarweb). Accessing the site now leads to a message that reads, "THIS WEBSITE HAS BEEN CLOSED DUE TO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT," alongside the CODA logo. CODA adds that these 15 site closures were voluntary, and follows its knock-and-talk tactics that see it attempt to negotiate with piracy site operators. Its extended comments highlight the rise of piracy in Latin America and call on anime fans to use legal means to enable the anime ecosystem to thrive.
"We want fans of Japanese content, including manga and anime, all over the world to know that the ecosystem for Japanese content will function healthily and continue to evolve and develop if they enjoy content properly," CODA states. "To that end, CODA aims to create a healthy market in which legitimate content can be delivered to fans overseas and will continue to take effective measures to properly protect copyrights. This activity was carried out as part of a project commissioned by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry."
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Latest Operation Animes Shutdown Follows More Anti-Piracy Wins From Japan, Brazil & Korea
The shutdowns in Brazil follow previous Operation Animes wins. In April, CODA's joint international operation with Korea's COA and Brazil's Ministry of Justice and Public Security saw 11 homes raided for investigation. CODA then announced in August that it had shut down 16 piracy sites worth 100 million monthly visits between September 2023 and August 2024. Japan's latest update follows a government move to build an AI system to automate anime piracy site identification and shutdowns.
Meanwhile, anti-piracy efforts in Korea remain ongoing. The Korean government recently bestowed awards to anti-piracy champions in the country, including Interpol's Hong Seong-jin, who has worked closely with copyright enforcement to protect the country's intellectual property. In a sharp statement, he said that the most rewarding part of his job is seeing maximum sentences handed out to pirates who harm content creators. He added, "I will make sure that the copyright infringers in my case folder are caught and made to pay the price."
Source: CODA via Yomiuri