20-05-2025
Is Mangadex shutting down? Popular Manga Scan site kills ‘700 Titles' after massive DMCA notices
MangaDex, popular manga scanlation website, was compelled to delete 'approximately 7,000 titles' in select languages after a series of DMCA takedown demands last week. It has now addressed a number of community concerns, including the handling of takedown pleas and the procedure for contesting a takedown request on MangaDex.
Numerous Japanese production companies and publishers have attempted to curb the illicit circulation of manga and anime in recent years. For instance, Shueisha has taken numerous steps to prevent leaks and piracy of its well-known manga magazine, Shonen Jump (One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen).
Many firms have joined forces to shut down prominent websites in an effort to fight piracy. In Japan, this effort is linked to the founding of CODA. However, just shutting down websites is not a simple solution to the problem of piracy. Governments and numerous associations have been collaborating to prosecute pirates.
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MangaDex confirmed it will not be shutting down, stressing that it will keep enhancing the site's functionality, and will not turn into Crunchyroll.
This highlighted how Crunchyroll started out as a pirate website before taking down the majority of its titles and obtaining a legal license.
MangaDex also described how it has partnered with NamiComi, a rapidly expanding platform for manga and comics submissions, which "accepted to take management of the site and its domain; no transaction was performed." MangaDex explained that its core team was small, which contributed to the delay in the release of this FAQ.
'The recent shutdown of various aggregators has driven an accelerated growth of MangaDex. While we have historically received low volumes of takedown requests, that number has increased to such a degree that we can no longer handle it ourselves. NamiComi has the necessary legal framework to move forward and ensure the long-term sustainability of MangaDex,' it said, as per Anime Corner.
According to Similarweb, MangaDex received 68.8 million monthly visitors in April, a 31% increase over the 52.6 million visits in February.
Additionally, MangaDex described the recent regulation modifications it made to combat 'excessive profiteering.'
Notably, Reaper Scans, a well-known webtoon and web book website, recently shut down after receiving a cease and desist notice from Kakao Entertainment. Reaper Scans was chastised for paywalling content that was illegal.
