So MangaDex Just Got Nuked…
Article at a glance:
- MangaDex, the go-to manga site for millions, just got hit with massive DMCA takedowns—over 700 manga wiped or gutted, with more carnage likely coming.
- Piracy thrives when official options suck—delayed English releases, no weekly chapters, and limited access force fans to rely on sites like MangaDex, which didn’t even run ads.
- Companies have every right to protect their IPs, but nuking fan-favorite sites without offering a proper legal alternative? That’s just fueling the piracy problem instead of fixing it.
Man, first MyAnimeList gets taken over by an AI/NFT company, then we learn that MAL’s new interface that’s in beta right now is horrendous and now MangaDex gets NUKED. What a crazy week this has been for anime-related websites. MangaDex was the KissAnime of the manga. Everyone has read a manga on MangaDex at some point. But the thing is, I don’t think MangaDex was even doing all this for profit. I never saw even a single ad on their website and that makes MangaDex better than so many other websites.
Before I continue, I want you to know that I do not condone piracy. Piracy is bad. But the problem is that people from 3rd world countries like me just don’t have access to proper platforms to read manga on. To quote Gabe Newell, the CEO of Valve/Steam: “Piracy is almost always a service problem, not a pricing problem” and in the case of mangas, this couldn’t be any truer.
But yeah, let’s go over everything we know about MangaDex getting NUKED.
RIP MangaDex, You Were the BEST
Over 700 mangas were either removed completely or had a large amount of their chapters taken down on MangaDex. MangaDex received DMCA takedown notices from multiple companies and this lines up with the desire of multiple Japanese companies to strike down on piracy. Many of these notices came from a company called Comeso which offers anti-piracy services. More mangas are likely to get taken down as more DMCAs roll in. It is a complete bloodbath.
The companies issuing the DMCA takedowns include Square Enix, Nevar, Kodansha, Houbunsha, and more. Certain other websites were hit as well but MangaDex was the major target.
And look, I have no issues with companies protecting their IPs. It is their right to do so and strike down bad actors. But the problem is, most of these Manga companies don’t offer good alternatives to people living overseas who don’t want to buy physical. Secondly, English releases of these mangas are often off by several months, we don’t get weekly chapter updates here. We only get an official English release once a volume is finished and then too, there is a good gap between the Japanese release of the volume and the English release of the volume.
Issues like these are precisely why people gravitate to websites like MangaDex. I have no problem with them DMCA-ing piracy websites but damn it, at least provide us with an alternative for it! If there is a single website that updates chapters weekly with multiple translations available like MangaDex did and you have to buy a subscription for it, people will gladly pay that subscription fee. But we simply don’t have a service like that. That is what infuriates me. They are taking away one option to read the manga without providing a suitable alternative.
That is all for now
I hope you understand what I mean. Not having timely English releases SUCKS. These companies need to understand that. Again, piracy is usually a service problem, and with mangas, this is an undeniable fact. What makes this worse is that MangaDex was a non-profit website, so they were not earning money from the sale of these IPs or something. But yeah, that covers my thoughts on MangaDex getting nuked. Let me know what you guys think in the comments. I will take my leave here. See ya!
Also, check out my thoughts on why Berserk is so hard to adapt here!
