Watching anime illegally

[IKilledTheMidBoss]

When watching an anime on a fansite that does not have the owners consent, you are breaking the law. Yet so many people do it. Copyright holders usually don't care and it's impossible to catch even a small number of the people who do it. Still, even if the odds are slim that anyone will be punished, it is illegal. Most do it, either because there is no other way to veiw the desired anime, or because they simply cannot afford to buy anime and are willing to steal it. Note that sites like crunchyroll and hulu have permission to do what they do.

Now, I'm not trying to incriminate anybody, so the questions I ask are purely hypothetical.

If hypothetically speaking, you did watch anime illegally, why would you do it, and would it ethically bother you to know that you're breaking the law?

To answer my own questions. If hypothetically, I did illegally watch anime. I would do it because I lacked the money to buy everything I want, and no, it wouldn't bother me.

Please do not mention or link to any illegal streaming sites.

[So As I Pray]

I have a list of reasons to, none of them really validate it or make it right but I have reasons.

1. I have no money at the moment to spend on physical discs or anything and anything I do have goes into the industry in a different way, like figures.

2. Streaming quality is a**, torrenting is a much better way to get superior and consistent quality.

3. Availability. While you do have stream sites starting to do simulcast s**t, it's not always perfect (Crunchyroll and Kill la Kill would be a solid example, PRODUCTION DELAYS AHOY) or it might just straight up be not available. Or you'd have to wait a week to get low quality of the new episode, and who wants to be stuck behind while people post spoilers.

4. I really don't give a s**t about the industry, and as a western viewer, the industry doesn't give a s**t about me.

[thesupremekaidbz]

I watch most of my anime on streaming sites. Hulu and Crunchyroll don't have most of the anime I like. Also it takes forever for many anime to get a US dvd release. I do buy a lot of anime dvds. I have at least $600 worth of anime dvds.

[Soujei]

I wasn't aware that some sites were streaming illegally.
I really love to support the producers and mangaka by buying the official merchandise, however it's not possible all the time as I'm not rich (pfft). I do buy anime and manga when it's from an anime I really enjoy.

I mainly watch on Crunchyroll anyway, despite the wait.

[Gunzstray]

So As I Pray

As a western viewer, the industry doesn't give a s**t about me.

[T o l3 y]

Boo hoo. People do it with music. People do it with american tv shows. Not just anime. No way to get around it.

Crunchyroll has a s**t selection, but I've been a paid member since March because they have two animes I've never seen but really wanted to (Naruto and One Piece).

I wish they had more selection, but that's why I have Netflix and Hulu plus.

[Notorious Sailor Uranus]

I used to when I live overseas, money was extremely tight back then so yes I did watch it illegally. It was my only form of entertainment. Since I'm in the States I have Hulu Plus and I love it.

[Ashachuu]

Netflix seems to have a pretty decent selection so I havn't been watching illegal as much as of late. But when I did it was because there were not released here in America. I was watch shows as they premiered in Japan and there was no other way to watch the shows. This was even before crunchyroll was legit. Tho I never used them cause I never liked their selection or quality. The one I used (and still do from time to time) is really good quality, tho it seems to be filled with ads way more lately than back in the day. Like an ad will play in the background that I can't find on the page to stop the sound and it's just ughh. lol. Torrents are probably the best solution.
If there's a show I really enjoy (like K-ON for instance) I will hunt down and buy the DVDs or Blurays. I also buy a good bit of figures and plushies so it's not like i'm not helping the industry? But at the same time, I know the industry doesn't really give a s**t.

[Princess of the Crows]

I particularly understand that it is illegal to watch on sites that aren't paying or such to be able to legally stream anime sites. But, there's a few reasons I don't quite feel I have to worry that much:

1. If I want to watch an anime episode, I'll watch the episode without downloading it. If I want to buy it later, I'll plan to do it when I have the money. Though, lately, I haven't been able to really want to watch anything in season.

2. Manga and doujinshi are equally hard to find on legal sites. Unless I want to pay for shonen jump online, I won't be able to read anything new in some cases. I simply read them on the sites they're available and buy them if I like them enough.

3. Unemployment payments only last for so long and I get very little. I have to spend it on things I can get physically and especially has to be worth the price. Eventually I'll buy some anime I like, when I get the chance and it's cheap enough. Even then, it may take awhile with my pile of moves/shows/anime to watch and books to read.

4. As I've been informed by someone who seemed to know their stuff, illegal downloading is one of the few things that isn't as much on the (US) government's mind as people would like to believe (I assume, however, downloading enough to get fines is still something they care about.). However, I have no proof beyond this person, so please do not take it literally.

[Lucidly]

It's easily and quickly available. Simple. If I want to watch something now, I'm not going to wait for legal sites if the illegal ones have it out faster. I also don't like buying actual anime just like I don't like buying anything where the only options are to have it as a digital download or on a flimsy disc. I prefer merchandise.

If Crunchyroll did more streams like Sailor Moon Crystal where it was available for everyone simultaneously, I would probably watch legal streams more regularly.

[Neon Wasteland]

Nytemair is a new VNfag

Anime is ******** expensive. I'm not going to pay over hundreds of dollars for a full BD set of some anime I might not even like because I've never watched it before.

Streaming is pretty bad too. Even when you're watching a 720p stream, it's still only a stream and is inferior to torrents + MPC-HC with the right codec packs installed.


There's also some bad history between Crunchyroll and fansubbers since CR pretty much used to be an illegal stream site that mooched off fansubs, then turned "legit" and screwed over the same people they leeched off of. Also, their staff consist of people like this:




I'd give CR money if they improved on their video and translation quality while also giving subscribers access to downloads of anime episodes for archiving purposes. The only benefits to CR are their "speed subs" but HorribleSubs exists so yeah.

Sourcefed anime club is like ebola.


******** Crunchyroll. Hulu would be alright if the ads wouldn't take as long asthe damn show. The illegal sites have gotten better though some act like there s**t don't stink. I don't have 100 bucks to spend on a Box Set . I much rather torrent and watch them when i want. Also if I really love a series I will buy it and merch.

[The Millenium Walken]

Yeah, well, sometimes you don't have a choice. Some anime are out of print and way too expensive to just buy it off ebay, and some anime just don't exist on legal streaming sites. I just wrote a review of Wolf's Rain, and when I got to the 'availability' portion of the review, I actually recommended illegal streaming. If I wrote a review of Paranoia Agent, I'd make the same rcommendation.

[Albinus of Angers]

Can afford, still wont pay. I'm not going to wait years for dubs, yet there's no English sub service whose variety, quality, and timeliness are consistent enough to pay for. A non-professional group of fans can release subs within an hour of the RAW being uploaded, but the people who are paid to do so can't get their s**t together? I will not reward incompetence just because it's legal.

Consumer supply and demand. We consumers have demands and they're not willing to provide the supply. So we go to people who are. Hate the game, not the playa.

[LegendaryRandomVIllager42]

Albinus of Angers

Can afford, still wont pay. I'm not going to wait years for dubs, yet there's no English sub service whose variety, quality, and timeliness are consistent enough to pay for. A non-professional group of fans can release subs within an hour of the RAW being uploaded, but the people who are paid to do so can't get their s**t together? I will not reward incompetence just because it's legal.

Consumer supply and demand. We consumers have demands and they're not willing to provide the supply. So we go to people who are. Hate the game, not the playa.

Not to mention how often the same non-professional groups will have better subs too.