🗾 Japanese Reactions to Zunpick's Commentary Video: "Foreigners Finally Understand Why Japanese People Hate Piracy — The Difference Between Japanese and Western Values Is Bigger Than We Thought” (English Dub Available)

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[What Happened] Recently, on social media platforms such as X, the issue of illegal distribution of Japanese works—such as manga and anime—has frequently become a topic of discussion. In particular, some Japanese manga artists have been subjected to intense insults and online abuse from foreign users for refusing to authorize pirate editions, drawing attention to the apparent lack of criminal awareness among certain foreign users. Reactions I can at least understand someone saying, "Sorry, but I've been secretly reading it..." What scares me are the people shouting, "It's our right! We're actually helping by promoting it!" Even if it's just on the surface, at least acknowledge that what you're doing isn't right and act a little apologetic. To use a sexual crime analogy, it's like saying to a victim, "Doesn't that just mean you're attractive? You should be happy!" or "You enjoyed it, didn't you?" without any malicious intent. That's the kind of garbage we're talking about. Sure, emotional trauma and financial damage are different, but when you reframe it like that, it really does sound awful. Some people even say, "It's the woman's fault for dressing in a way that excites men." Apparently there are countries where that argument actually works and the woman gets punished instead. That's terrifying. What's even worse is that there are people who say creators should be paying pirate site operators because piracy helped them gain overseas fans. I absolutely hate that mindset. The arrogance is unbelievable. A living embodiment of "the thief who cries foul." It's nothing more than criminals rationalizing their own crimes. No wonder crime rates are bad. If you tell publishers and authors to accept piracy, of course they'll refuse. Before Japan decides to get serious about the issue, maybe people should teach their own anime fans some manners. I can understand, "I know it's wrong, but nobody's around and nobody's watching, so I'll jaywalk this once." What I can't understand is someone shouting, "Ignoring traffic signals is our right! Why should we be punished?" At that point all you can say is, "What?" I'm not saying it's okay if nobody finds out, but if you're going to break the law, at least do it quietly. Once you openly admit it, people are naturally going to criticize you. Before subscription services and streaming archives became common, people in rural Japan often couldn't watch certain shows, so illegal uploads existed here too. But it never became a culture of "It's our right!" I don't think many of them even understand that manga creators receive royalties. Piracy means those royalties don't get paid, causing real harm to authors. In American comics, creators are often more like salaried employees, while companies like Marvel make most of the money. Maybe they've convinced themselves that it's okay to "steal from corporations." Pirate users are not "customers." In Japan, someone who hurts the creator of a work they supposedly love and feels no remorse is not called a fan. They're called an enemy. It's like a textbook example of shameless entitlement. All we can do is keep repeating the truth: "Regardless, in Japan people like you are called thieves and criminals." Breaking into someone's house through the back door and then claiming, "I'm a customer," is ridiculous. Being called "backward" by people who openly defend piracy doesn't mean much. They don't just paint companies as villains; they treat the creators themselves as villains too. I'd rather a series stay popular only within Japan than have it supported through piracy. I watched the arguments on X in real time and it gave me a headache. "We made it famous by watching it for free!" The entitlement is unbelievable. Nobody asked them to do that, and even if legal options existed, people like that would never pay anyway. That's like saying, "Shoplifting is the best promotion. If people like the taste, they'll buy it later." Except they just keep shoplifting forever. Some people say, "It's Japan's fault for not translating and releasing it in our country." But those same countries often ban manga while screaming, "Japanese manga encourages crime!" I'd like them to recognize how little freedom exists in their own countries before criticizing Japan for lacking freedom. Anime and manga culture was created for Japanese audiences. It was never obligated to expand overseas. Peeking into works made for Japanese people, spreading them without permission, and then claiming, "Overseas fans are supporting anime!" is completely insane. These people pirate even officially translated works like Dragon Ball. Excuses like "Piracy was our only option" can be safely ignored. Publishing manga and producing anime are businesses. If the product is stolen, the business stops working. Studios go bankrupt and the anime and manga people love disappear. That's what Japanese fans hate. They demand better treatment for animators while refusing to pay and consuming stolen content. If something isn't sold in your country, maybe that's because people there keep consuming pirated versions. Why would companies expand into a market that won't generate profit? "By watching pirated content, we're preventing money from reaching people who exploit creators. This will save underpaid creators!" Sorry, but are you an idiot? Piracy doesn't pay the original creator a single cent, so demanding gratitude is unbelievably condescending. Before AI translation became common, countless games simply said, "Japanese is not supported." Japanese fans who wanted to play them bought foreign versions, translated them themselves, or petitioned companies to release Japanese-language editions. What have you done besides pirate them? If it's not being sold officially, then you're not considered a customer. Maybe ask yourself why. Even if the salary of piracy supporters were reduced to zero, they probably still wouldn't understand. They constantly say, "Pay animators and manga artists more!" while consuming nothing but pirated content that gives creators no money. The contradiction is obvious. The moment you break the law, you're no longer a fan. It's like trespassing onto a farmer's orchard, stealing fruit, eating it, then telling your friends, "That orchard's fruit was amazing! You should steal some too!" If that's acceptable, it's no wonder their religion struggles to gain followers in Japan. It's basically free-riding on infrastructure. The work continues to exist because people pay the rights holders, while pirates simply skim the benefits from the side. Japanese and overseas fans aren't paying to entertain piracy users. Go ahead and try doing that with Disney's intellectual property. If someone can only access a work through piracy, are they really buying its figures and merchandise? The original work isn't even officially available, but somehow they're supporting the merchandise market? How exactly do you think the creators of your favorite works make a living? If you founded an anime distribution company, then maybe you'd have a reason to brag. Why are you bragging about piracy? Surely nobody needs to be reminded at this point that "breaking the law to satisfy your desires" isn't acceptable... right? "Why are Japanese people angry about piracy?" What kind of brain even comes up with that question? In American comics, creators often receive very little from collected volume sales. In Japan, manga sales directly benefit the creator. People say Japanese underestimate foreign customers. It's the opposite. Foreign customers often underestimate and disrespect Japanese culture. I don't think it's possible to truly understand people whose civilization teaches them that taking from others is acceptable. Overseas revenue is basically a bonus stage. Successful works are already successful in Japan before they become popular abroad. If all you do is scream that corporations are evil instead of building something sustainable, maybe that's why Disney is one of the few globally dominant entertainment IPs. Imagine cooking a meal at home for your family. Then some random stranger sneaks in through the back door yelling, "Why won't you feed me?" steals the food, and starts handing it out to others. You'd want them to stop immediately. The whole thing makes no sense. Wow, I never knew that overseas it's apparently legal to dine and dash as long as you're promoting the restaurant. People who read without paying, complain when their expectations aren't met, and do nothing but send criticism are not customers. If you truly respected creators, you couldn't defend piracy. The reality is that these people only care about themselves. If your first instinct is "I can't get it, so I'll steal it," then you probably don't hesitate to shoplift either. If you're stealing from authors, you're not a manga or anime fan. Corporate revenue contributes to Japan's economy and tax base; stealing it is effectively stealing from the country and its people as well. Whatever criminals say is ultimately just criminal nonsense. You can practically see the arrogance of assuming Japanese companies must be as corrupt as the companies in their own countries. "It's rotten... It ripened too fast." If government regulations prevent you from watching something, complain to your own government. It's wrong to shift the burden onto Japan. They say all this, but honestly, anime could remain a niche hobby enjoyed only in Japan and that would be perfectly fine. Thieves seem incapable of understanding shame. Maybe it's a cycle. Honest citizens trust companies, so they pay them, and companies in turn reward creators fairly. Meanwhile, dishonest citizens assume companies are corrupt, refuse to pay, and then companies become even more profit-driven because they receive less support. "We're promoting it for you!" The audacity is off the charts. Supporting piracy is basically no different from supporting the trade of stolen goods. Years ago, there was a fan crazy enough to send a creator a letter proudly saying they read the work through piracy. Piracy doesn't pay the creator, it destroys their motivation, and eventually it kills the work itself. Original Reactions ( ･ˇヮˇ･) < That’s all for this time! What do you think? If you found this post interesting, please consider leaving an upvote, a comment, sharing it, crossposting, subscribing to r/JapanReacts , and following me! Requests for future reaction topics are also very welcome. Please leave them in the request thread! ( ･ˇωˇ･)ﾉｼ＜Looking forward to seeing you again in the next post!

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