DAISUKI, an anime streaming website, will officially be shutting down it’s services on October 31 according to an announcement on the DAISUKI website.
“We regret to report that Anime Consortium Japan Inc.’s international anime streaming platform ‘DAISUKI’ will be ending service as of October 31, 2017 at 11 a.m. Japan Standard Time,” said DAISUKI in the announcement. “We express our utmost gratitude to all who have used DAISUKI since its start in April 2013. We also apologize for the inconvenience the closure of the site will cause. We would appreciate your understanding.”
DAISUKI also released a schedule on when certain services the anime streaming website offers will be shut down. On July 1, registration for a premium membership shut down; on August 31, users will no longer be able to rent anime; on September 29, DAISUKI NEXT (another app that lets users watch anime and talk to other users simultaneously) will shut down; on October 2, the DAISUKI app will no longer be in the app stores; on October 31, DAISUKI will fully shut down and on December 15, the social media accounts and customer service for DAISUKI will shut down.
Users of the premium membership received their last bill on June 30, and will still be able to access DAISUKI without needing to pay any more until the service shuts down.
Although other anime streaming websites like Crunchyroll and general streaming services that are slowly adding anime to their lineup like Netflix are still alive, the biggest struggle of anime overseas is that some shows aren’t made available for a while due to copyright (Japanese laws are notoriously strict when it comes to copyright, which is why there are a lot of anime shows that aren’t released overseas).
Due to this struggle, many anime fans are forced to rely on illegal anime streaming websites, where fans create subtitles for the show on their own and upload them to them. Some of these websites also have advertisements, meaning that they do get paid a small commission for uploading anime illegally. But, it also allows for anime fans to watch their favorite shows without having to pay for anime streaming websites, and many of them fly under the radar since there can’t be much done about them if they aren’t directly in Japan.
One of the most famous shows streamed on DAISUKI was One-Punch Man, which received critical acclaim for its first season. Other streaming services that also streamed One-Punch Man are Hulu and Neon Alley. While Hulu requires a subscription or a free-trial to even access its website, Neon Alley is another anime streaming service that lets users watch anime for free, but certain anime cannot be accessed without a premium membership (same thing as DAISUKI). So, while there will still be a service where fans can legally stream One-Punch Man, the loss of an anime streaming website is still crucial for fans who want to watch anime legally.
Anime isn’t the only thing that is heavily regulated in terms of release outside of Japan, manga and music also have certain strict restrictions placed on them. Many illegal manga websites have also popped up over the years, and music videos from Japanese musicians are usually uploaded illegally. Although there are fans that may be willing to pay for Japanese content, the heavily regulated restrictions cause people to turn to illegal websites. Also, in return, the author/studio/musician won’t make commission, which further complicates the strict copyright laws placed by Japan.
The shut down of DAISUKI is unfortunate, and hopefully, the anime listed on their website are also available or are added to other legal anime streaming services.
