Piracy Kills One Piece Simulcast

Thursday, June 04, 2009
By: Thomas J. Mclean

Toei Animation has pulled its plans to stream an online simulcast of new episodes of the anime series One Piece due to an episode being stolen from the FUNimation Entertainment servers and illegally posted online.

The streams were set to begin May 30 at 7 p.m. PDT on FUNimation’s website, only one hour after the episodes premiered in Japan on Fuji Television.

“As a direct result of this illegal act, all U.S. and Canadian fans will be deprived of access to this great anime series for the immediate future,” said a spokeswoman for the project in an e-mail sent out Thursday. “We will use the full extent of our efforts to locate and prosecute the perpetrators and will provide updates in this most serious matter.”

The episode, the first of the new season of the show, was to be followed by subsequent episodes on a weekly schedule.

The project was intended to increase the marketing potential of the series, which is due for release on DVD in the United States June 30 from FUNimation.

Reader Comments

• Wonkey the Monkey :

  Friday, June 05, 2009

  Hmm. I\'m opposed to this sort of copyright infringement, but this is just a spiteful move on the part of FUNimation.
  
  If they really thought the simulcast was a good move for their DVD sales, this piracy doesn\'t change that. I can only assume that they care more about throwing a tantrum over piracy than they do about increasing sales, as canceling the promotion does nothing to help their profits.

• sakuraX :

  Friday, June 05, 2009

  As the article says, this was a decision by Toei, not FUNimation