MyAnimeList CEO Suggests How to End Manga Piracy

The popularity of anime and manga in the West is at an all-time high, and MyAnimeList CEO Atsushi Mizoguchi believes the time has come to take serious action against piracy. His suggestion? Deliver faster and broader access to official translated manga.

According to Mizoguchi, manga fandom outside Japan has historically relied on pirated versions and scanlations. But with services like MANGA Plus and K MANGA now offering simultaneous translated releases, readers have finally begun to enjoy legal access — and the response has been mostly positive.

MyAnimeList CEO Suggests How to End Manga Piracy

Still, Mizoguchi says this isn’t enough. He proposes building a more complete digital distribution platform, one that reflects the variety of manga available in Japan.

“Japan has over 500,000 digital manga titles, but only a small portion has been translated into English. And proper localization goes beyond just translating dialogue — visual and sound effects also matter,” he explains.

Mizoguchi stresses that defeating piracy will require collaboration across Japan’s publishing industry, with a focus on faster and larger-scale translation efforts. Currently, most official translations are only made when overseas publishers license them, which limits the volume of releases.

While localization is costly and skilled workers are scarce, Mizoguchi remains optimistic. He insists that a centralized service offering a wide range of translated manga could finally curb piracy in a meaningful way.

His message is clear: fighting piracy isn’t just about punishment — it’s about access, speed, and quality.

via Você Sabia Anime