It's no secret that Chainsaw Man was one of the most highly awaited shows of 2022. So it's no surprise that thousands of fans tried to watch the anime on ... alternative platforms. A new report confirms that Chainsaw Man is the second most pirated show of 2022, second only to the Game of Thrones spin-off series House of the Dragon.
Variety teamed up with the piracy research firm Muso on a special report on content piracy. The report confirms that Chainsaw Man had the second biggest share on piracy demands at 13%. That only 4% less than the first season of House of the Dragon.
Interestingly, Chainsaw Man isn't the only anime that got pirated last year. The top ten list shared by the report actually has four other anime shows. This means that anime made up 50% of the most pirated shows last year.
The full list is as follows:
- House of the Dragon Season 1 – 17%
- Chainsaw Man Season 1 – 13%
- Running Man Season 1 – 12%
- Rick and Morty Season 6 – 12%
- Moon Knight Season 1 – 9%
- Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Season 1 – 9%
- The Eminence in Shadow – 8%
- The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 1 – 7%
- Spy x Family Season 1 – 7%
- The Rising of The Shield Hero Season 2 – 6%
Piracy has been a major problem for anime considering that some shows are not readily available outside of Japan.
Chainsaw Man follows Denji, a poverty-stricken boy who makes a contract with a small devil Pochita to become Chainsaw Man. Working with the Public Safety Devil Hunters, Denji fights against devils and vows to defeat the Gun Devil. The second season of the anime has not yet been officially announced. Stay tuned for more updates on this story.
House of the Dragon has already been renewed for a second season and is expected to begin production next month. However, the series is now expected to return on HBO until sometime in 2024.
Related: Crunchyroll Cancels Expo 2023 to Focus on International Festivals
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