The Real Problem Behind Manga Leaks Explained

Manga is a billion dollars business. In the United States, you don't have to look hard any more to find Japan's top comics. Social media and technology have made manga a global powerhouse as sales are booming across the world. In the United States, over half of graphic novel sales are thanks to manga, and that percentage is growing. Of course, this kind of popularity has led manga leaks to explode online, and publishers are pushing back.

Today, that pushback was made clear as authorities in Japan arrested three foreign nationals over manga leaks. The trio were apprehended on charges of copyright infringement, and the Kumamoto Prefectural Police are looking for others. This arrest is just one of several in the past five years that have gone after manga leakers in particular, and there will surely be more.

It isn't hard to see why intellectual property like manga is being so closely guarded. Copyright theft is no joking matter, and in other entertainment mediums, it isn't tolerated. For decades, movie and music piracy has been forced underground while manga leakers have sparked global trends with their spoilers. Now, publishers like Shueisha are pushing back as they say it is doing real damage to manga creators.

"The fact that works are being read for free has resulted in a situation where the authors are not receiving fair profit," Minya Tomishige, Shueisha's head of IP, shared in a statement following the arrest of three suspected leakers.

"We believe that taking pictures of manga works without permission and leaking them on SNS constitutes an infringement of copyright, and we ask that such behavior be stopped. It is an unforgivable act that could shake the very structure of the industry itself."

According to Shueisha, there is obviously a monetary loss involved with copyright infringement and leaks. While spoilers can raise the visibility of a manga, it can also dissuade readers from checking out licensed version of the series. These official editions bring revenue to Shueisha, and those earnings are what bolster a manga's profile. From the pay of its creator to the size of its staff, money is what dictates how a series is treated behind the scenes, and leakers wrongly influence that data.

To make things worse, manga leakers are becoming mainstream. The industry's popularity has led to an influx in leakers, and the sheer number of them make spoilers hard to miss on social media. According to Shueisha, it has received 1,000+ complaints in a week's time by readers impacted by spoilers. As you can imagine, they want Shueisha to prevent leaks from cropping up online, and one deterrent is legal action.

As manga continues to grow, the war between leakers and licensers will change. Publishers like Shueisha are game to go after those disseminating leaked content. However, for every leaker struck down, it seems three more appear in their stead. Publishers may need to lock down security amid production to keep leaks from going live. After all, online-only titles like Chainsaw Man rarely face leaks thanks to their digital security. The cracks are coming from within the house, so manga publishers may want to reexamine production/retail flaws as the War on Leaks continues.

What do you make of the manga fandom's embrace of leaks? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!