Otaku Culture

Major anime piracy sites go down

In recent weeks, there has been a notable increase in actions against websites pirated anime streamingwhich led to the closure of several popular platforms operating in Vietnam. Notable among these sites is AniWave.to, formerly known as 9anime, which received an astonishing 170 million monthly visits.

AniWave.to, along with other related sites such as AnimeSurge.to and Anix.to, has decided to abruptly close its doors, issuing a farewell message that surprised many of its users. In the announcement, the site operators noted that “Now that everything has improved… it is also time to say goodbye… It is difficult to part with something in which we have invested so much effort and passion, but it is something we must do“. This message ends with advice that resonates throughout the anime community: “If possible, use paid legal services. It is something we should do to show our respect for content creators and producers.“.

This type of message is nothing new in the world of pirated streaming. The same farewell tone was used by Fboxz.to, another popular site linked to Fmovies, which also recently closed down. Fboxz.to has accumulated over 55 million monthly visits in recent months, but has now decided to cease operations, urging its users to support content creators through legal platforms.

The wave of closures appears to be linked to coordinated actions by authorities and organizations such as the MPA (Film Association) and ACE (Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment), who see Vietnam as a key point in the fight against online piracy. This is not the first time that Vietnam has been at the center of these operations; in 2018, the website 123Movies, also originally from Vietnam, was shut down following an international operation. Now, the same fate seems to be happening with the websites linked to Fmovies and AniWave.

These closures are leaving a significant mark on the pirated anime streaming scene. With the disappearance of these platforms, millions of users are left without access to free content and are forced to opt for legal alternatives. As more information emerges, it will be interesting to see how the situation evolves and how it affects the anime community as a whole.

Below is a list of sites that have closed so far, sorted by monthly traffic volume: