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Kadokawa USA Orders Halt on Fansub Links for 11 Anime (Updated)
posted on by Mikhail Koulikov
The AnimeSuki.com website has received cease-and-desist notices from Kadokawa Pictures USA that asked the site to remove links to fansubs for 11 recent anime. The titles covered by the notices are Canvas 2 - Niji Iro no Sketch, Wagaya no Oinari-sama, Spice and Wolf, Shuffle! Memories, Rental Magica, Mushi-Uta, Mamoru-kun ni Megami no Shukufuku wo!, Junjou Romantica, H2O ~Footprints in the Sand~, Goshuushou-sama Ninomiya-kun, and the Demonbane television series. AnimeSuki.com collects links for English-language fansubs of anime series that are on the BitTorrent file-sharing network.
As of yet, no American anime licensee has announced plans to distribute any of these anime series. Kadokawa Pictures USA and its Kadokawa Shoten parent in Japan have been making their own in-roads into digital distribution by selling live-action films through BitTorrent's commercial software and testing the file-sharing of anime on BitTorrent. Kadokawa Shoten has also partnered with Google to host anime on Google's YouTube video-sharing service and plans to share ad revenue with selected YouTube uploaders of its materials.
Update: Kadokawa Shoten is offering live-action and anime titles exclusively in Japan on the commercial BitTorrent DNA service for a limited time between June 9 and June 13. The free trial marks the ongoing Interop conference in Tokyo. The anime titles include the first episodes of Mushi-Uta and Mamoru-kun ni Megami no Shukufuku wo!, the entire Romeo × Juliet series from Gonzo, and previews for The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Goshuushou-sama Ninomiya-kun, H2O ~Footprints in the Sand~ episodes 1 and 2, Rental Magica episodes 1 and 2, Kiddy Grade, and the Chou Gekijouban Keroro Gunso 2: Shinkai no Princess de Arimasu! film. Source: animeanime.jp
