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The anime and manga community is well aware of Manga Mura. A popular piracy website that uploaded the latest chapters of the hottest manga series as and when they were released. This free website was used by fans who either didn't want to pay a subscription fee or didn't have access to websites like Viz and Shueisha's MANGA Plus.
However, Romi Hoshino, a 29-year-old individual responsible for running this piracy website, has been caught. He has been sentenced to 3 years in prison and will have to pay a fine of 10 million Yen. The Japanese authorities will also seize the 62 million Yen in his international account. The illicit website Manga Mura was taken down back in April 2018 after a group of publishers filed a criminal complaint against those responsible for running it.
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Manga Mura’s impact on the manga industry
Manga Mura allowed people to read manga series like One Piece and Berserk, which accounted for massive losses in terms of the revenue that the respective publications could have earned. As per the reports, this website alone was responsible for a loss of more than 2.7 billion USD.
Shueisha Inc. is one of the most popular manga publication companies, known for creating iconic manga series like One Piece, Bleach, My Hero Academia, Naruto, and plenty more. One of their representatives was happy with Romi Hoshino’s arrest. He also had a few words to say regarding this issue:
“If a work that authors have put their heart and soul into can be freely accessed by the public, this would harm the environment in creating interesting works”
This statement was issued by the aforementioned person during a press conference soon after Romi Hoshino’s arrest. This person also hoped that people would stop uploading to pirated websites like Manga Mura in the future. There is no doubt that Manga Mura had a substantial impact on the sales of manga and, in turn, a considerable impact on the manga industry.
Understanding how Japanese copyright law works
As per the copyright law in Japan, only the manga author or the assignee has exclusive rights to distribute and publish their manga. This means that nobody is allowed to copy either a part or the entirety of the manga unless they seek prior permission from either the manga author or the assignee.
Before any manga series is published, both the author and the publisher will secure a document that proves their ownership of the copyright. The creator will own the original copyright, while the publisher will have a license that will allow them to distribute the manga author’s works.
Final thoughts
Manga piracy websites like Manga Mura continue to run and provide fans with free manga content. However, it is obvious that a website like this harms the entire manga industry. Websites like Viz and Shueisha’s MANGA Plus have reasonable pricing and free content on their websites. As fans of various anime and manga series, we must support the creators who put their blood, sweat, and tears into their work.
Stay tuned for more anime and manga news as 2023 progresses.
