Watch Anime for FREE here! - My thoughts on piracy, copyright laws, and paying for art.

Recently, Japan has passed stricter copyright laws and has caused many websites hosting pirated anime to be taken down.

It's no surprise that piracy in anime is a big issue but more than the taking down of these various websites I want to explore the backlash from this action.

I scoured various comment sections to get a working understanding of why people are outraged. Based on my "quality journalism" I was able to identify three generalized reasons why.

1. There is no legal website that has all of the anime the same as kissanime, et al.

I think this is a fairly good point. (I don't know with the other legal platforms that are dedicated to anime only.) I was thinking of rewatching ReLIFE but searched on Netflix, iFlix, and Prime Video. (American Prime Video has it but not PH.) So for someone like me who has a tendency to watch shows that are not part of the latest and greatest this season or just strategically pick which one to watch it's frustrating, especially when I already hyped it up in my mind.

2. I can't pay for subscriptions.

I understand this point the most. I've been there. There were artists and such that I've wanted to support but couldn't because for whatever reasons you don't have money. (i.e. a minor, unemployed). In some circles, (IN WHICH I AM IN NO WAY ADVOCATING IN THIS TEXT) it is acceptable to pirate something as long as in the future you will support the creator, such as paying for the item they pirated. I would definitely discourage this for those who can pay for it.

3. I don't want to pay.

Contrasted from the second, I abhor people who say they don't want to pay. Meaning, they have the capability to pay but don't want to. If you've ever feel underappreciated AND/OR under-compensated for your work you should be angry too. These are the type of people who make some sort of reasoning on why they shouldn't have to pay for it such as they will only view the anime once and then they're done, to I can't afford it while proceeding to show off to the internet how much money they're spending on frivolous items. I just want to argue for a bit for the only consuming anime once: We also eat food once, we don't regurgitate our lunch to eat it at dinner. The devaluation of the arts is a long concern of people who even want to get into the arts. How can we have more great anime, music, art, and such? If we, the consumers of the art are voting with our wallets and saying "No, I don't want to support your work. I think your work is not practical" or "I think the joy you gave me should be for free because you are rich (which in reality, not a lot of people in the arts are living sustainable wages because of this exact mindset)."

My thoughts on Japan's stricter copyright law.

We live in an age where sharing things is pretty common. A lot of the anime I know today, I would not have discovered if it wasn't for the various memes and clips shared online. I agree with what Gabe Newell (Co-Founder and President of Valve) said that piracy is a service problem. That's why I placed the lack of a place for consolidated anime in the first place. I would love to pay the creators, even directly so I can watch all of the anime that I enjoy but how can I enjoy it if there's no place for me to enjoy it. (Leering directly a prime video for having ReLIFE region locked for whatever reason.) The best way anime studios can earn more money is by providing a better service than pirates. By having a more complete service compared to the videos that piracy promises. The execution is another story that I am in no way qualified to answer but I think this would be a better step in the right direction.

Let us all start valuing the art that we consume so that in the future we have more art to consume.

Peace, Love, and Omae wa mou shindeiru.