Usogui creator's response to piracy turns fans into haters

Modified Jan 13, 2025 17:00 GMT

Usogui creator's response to piracy turns fans into haters (Image via Toshio Sako/Shueisha)

Toshio Sako, the author of Usogui manga, has been the face of the manga community for the past few days and not for something the fans might be expecting. The author criticized manga piracy sites and stated that fans should avoid reading his manga as it isn't present worldwide in different languages. However, the fans didn't take this with a light heart and waged war against the author.

The main topic of discussion between the fans and the author was how the series was unavailable in different languages, leaving them with no choice but to opt for pirated websites. However, the author wasn't having it with such people and even blocked users, titling them as pirates or supporters of piracy websites.

Disclaimer: Any opinions expressed in this article solely belong to the author.

The X war between Usogui author and fans regarding 'manga piracy'

Baku as seen in the manga (Image via Toshio Sako/Shueisha)

Usogui is a gambling manga series taking place in a fictional world where gambling is an everyday thing. However, to make sure that this act goes without any cheating, Kakerou is established.

However, this organization also has a bunch of liars among it. So, to go against these frauds, Baku Madarame (nicknamed Usogui) gambles his life to make sure these liars get what they deserve.

The manga series started its serialization in May 2006 and ended in December 2017 with 49 volumes in serialization. Despite being one of the highest-rated manga, the series has yet to receive an English publication.

Usogui author criticizing manga piracy sites (Image via X @oshitokosa)

However, given the modern era, the series is present on numerous piracy sites in different languages. So, to address this issue, the manga's author, Toshio Sako, took to X and called out the pirates who read his series illegally.

Fans, who had no choice but to read the manga illegally, argued and tried convincing the author. However, not only did the author berate them for supporting piracy sites (who pay no royalties to authors), but also blocked a few of them.

The war between the author and the fans started after the author's first tweet and is still continuing. Moreover, before blocking users, the author replies to fans' horrid remarks.

Reactions from the fans

Usogui author berating a fan (Image via X @oshitokosa)

To no one's surprise, the fans weren't holding back because the author's comments triggered them. One fan fired back by claiming that stopping users from reading his work was bad for Usogui's popularity. This eventually led to the fans proudly claiming that they were going to read the author's manga illegally.

On the other hand, one fan spoke the words of the author in a mellow way and stated that the author was against piracy. Moreover, the fan even advised fans to not read from illegal websites if Usogui wasn't present in their native language. Interestingly, one fan suggested buying Japanese volumes to compensate for reading on pirated websites.

"Bragging about beating pirates while driving away potential new readers who want to read legitimagely by calling them stupid. You are a filthy mangaka" a fan said

"Got it, I'll make sure to Pirate Your Manga!" another man said

"Man, he's against piracy, plain and simple. If the manga is not officially translated in your country, then don't read it. Piracy harms the work of any manga or book author... it's easy to understand." another one claimed

"If you truly want to read it, then do so in private. Don't take pride in supporting piracy and openly claiming it. At least buy the volumes in Japanese to compensate" another fan said

Final thoughts

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Piracy is in no condition a viable solution. Some authors spend their entire lives writing manga and for their works to be published on websites that pay no royalties to them is just unfair.

Sadly, in the modern generation, people find it hard to face criticism and the Usogui author became the victim of it. Unfortunately, there are hardly any chances for the Usogui manga to get an English release because it might only be popular locally (in Japan), not internationally.

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Edited by Bharath S