Toei Seeking Legal Action Over Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero Leaks

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is now making its way through theaters across Japan, and it turns out so much of it was leaked online that Toei Animation is now considering taking legal action against those who illegally uploaded those clips. Before Dragon Ball Super came back to theaters earlier this Summer, it was originally scheduled to release this Spring before Toei Animation was subject to a surprising hack that led to the several-month delay of the film. Although the wait for its international release has been that much shorter, fans are still very anxious to see the new feature as soon as they possibly can.  

According to new report Toei (as detailed by Cinema Today in Japan), the studio found over 3,000 instances of illegally recorded footage and uploads of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero on platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and more just ten days after the movie released in Japan. As Toei explains, this is about ten times more than the illegal uploads for Dragon Ball Super: Broly over four years ago. Now Toei is looking into taking legal action with both civil and criminal cases potentially being on the table. 

Toei noted that they have already reached out to the respective platforms to request to remove the illegally uploaded footage and leaks, and as fans are aware of at this point, copyright law is a lot tighter in Japan than it is in the United States. It’s just as illegal to record and distribute footage of a film, but it’s led to some major consequences across Japan as there have been several notable instances of those recording footage of films such as Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie – Mugen Train most recently too. So while fans might be anxious to see the film as soon as possible, it might be better to wait patiently. 

Thankfully it won’t be too much longer until Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero kicks off its international releases as the film hits North America on August 19th. It will be releasing in other regions on the day before, and others in the days that follow, but it’s still going to be quite a Summer for everyone involved. As for what to expect from the movie when it hits, Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment officially tease Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero movie as such:

“The Red Ribbon Army was once destroyed by Son Goku. Individuals, who carry on its spirit, have created the ultimate Androids, Gamma 1 and Gamma 2. These two Androids call themselves “Super Heroes”. They start attacking Piccolo and Gohan…What is the New Red Ribbon Army’s objective? In the face of approaching danger, it is time to awaken, Super Hero!” How do you feel about Toei potentially considering legal action? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments!