1 year ago, one of the most beloved anime pirate site “KissAnime” was shut down by copyright strikes from Japanese anime rights holders. KissAnime was functional for more than a decade, getting more than 100 million views each month from all over the world.
On August 15, 2021, KissAnime anime announced this news on their Discord server that due to “Strict Copyright Laws” from Japan, KissAnime and KissManga will be shutting down. Here’s the what the KissAnime statement reads:
Our beta server have been taken down, this could lead to the closure of the website. We will make more announcement after we have the decision. All files are taken down by copyright owners. KissManga and KissAnime will be closed forever. Thank you for your supports… Thank you to those years
In case you missed it, Japan now have updated their copyright law to punish those who illegally upload Anime, Manga and other copyrighted work.
Following this new law, a 29 year old man was sentenced to 3 years in pris*n for operating an illegal manga website.
Impact of KissAnime Shutting Down
KissAnime was the biggest pirate anime website. Having than 100 million users each month. Many fake KissAnime clones starting appearing claiming that they are the “original KissAnime” after the original pirate site was shut down. In regards to more illegal websites shutting down, there isn’t a major crack down started yet. Many illegal pirate websites still are online getting millions of views each month.
I feel bad for KissAnime 🙁 I even watch anime in their website