Aniwave, AnimeSuge & Multiple Major Anime Piracy Sites Shutdown Amidst Global Crackdown

In a significant development within the online streaming community, several major anime piracy sites, including Aniwave and AnimeSuge, have been shut down.

Aniwave, previously known as 9anime, and one of the most popular platforms with an estimated 170 million visits per month, announced its closure, citing the emergence of improved legal alternatives as the reason behind the decision.

A message posted on Aniwave’s website reflected on the site’s closure:

“Now that everything has improved… it is also time for us to say goodbye. It is difficult to part with something we have invested so much effort and passion into, but it is something we need to do.”

The message concluded by encouraging users to transition to legal services, stating, “If possible, please use legal paid services. It’s something we should do to show our respect for creators and content producers.

You can check out the entire message in the image below:

The closure message was echoed across related platforms, including AnimeSuge, indicating a coordinated shutdown effort.

Other major sites that have shut down till now include Zoroxtv, Anix, Fboxz and others.

This event follows a broader trend of crackdowns on piracy sites that have targeted the Fmovies network and its affiliates, leading to speculation that this shutdown could be connected to the actions of the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), a global anti-piracy coalition

ACE has been actively targeting anime piracy sites, with a notable recent success being the takedown of Animeflix.

Animeflix, which operated out of Finland and attracted between 7 and 13 million visits per month, was shut down earlier this year. The site, which offered more than 500 anime movies and over 400 series, has now been redirected to the “Watch Legally” page on the ACE website.

More details regarding the shutdowns are probably going to come out in the coming days.

In addition to the actions by ACE, the Japanese Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA) also reported the shutdown of 13 anime piracy sites in Brazil as part of “Operation Anime 2.”

This operation, part of a broader initiative called “Operation 404” in collaboration with the Brazilian government, targeted piracy sites that specialized in Japanese anime content.

The sites, which implemented geo-blocking to avoid detection by Japanese rights holders, were accessible primarily to Brazilian viewers with Portuguese subtitles.

The shutdown affected 16 sites that collectively generated around 21 million monthly visits. Three of these sites were identified as animeshouse.net, animesbr.cc, and meuanime.io.

CODA had previously shut down 36 piracy websites in Brazil as part of this operation.

The crackdown on anime piracy continues to gain momentum globally, with legal actions and coordinated efforts leading to the closure of several high-traffic websites.

However, more such streaming sites are expected to take the place of those taken down.

With major players like Aniwave and AnimeSuge ceasing operations, the landscape of online anime piracy will undergo a notable transformation.

However, it’s not just anime piracy that is facing strict legal actions. Illegal manga reading websites too are under the heat from publishers, especially Kakao and Webtoon, who have ramped up their actions against them.

Kakao recently revealed that it will go after one of the biggest manga piracy sites, whose name was however not revealed.

Source: Torrentfreak