AnimeSuki
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
AnimeSuki (the name comes from the Japanese words anime and suki - "like", or "love") is a website that focuses on providing unlicensed anime fansubs using the BitTorrent peer-to-peer system; AnimeSuki was created by GHDpro on December 26, 2002. [1]. Animesuki is not a tracker, instead, it provides links to many trackers across the web and is perhaps one of the most comprehensive sources of unlicensed anime torrent links. Most of the groups on AnimeSuki use Scarywater as their tracker. It does not list pornography, and "ecchi" episodes are listed with a warning.
[edit] Copyright situation
The site only links to anime that has not been licensed by any American companies. Once a title is licensed it is removed from the site at once, and listed on its licensed list. Still, although none of the files are hosted on the site itself, AnimeSuki could be held accountable for violating copyright law, as linking to sites that themselves break the law has been considered a form of contributory infringement in the United States (Intellectual Reserve v. Utah Lighthouse Ministry).
Though fansubs are technically copyright violations, AnimeSuki's legal page alleges that the WTO TRIPS Agreement specifies that the distribution of copyrighted material is only necessarily illegal when done on a commercial scale, thus making it difficult for anyone besides the copyright holder to prosecute fansubbers. To date, only one Japanese company, Media Factory, has requested its content removed from the site[2]. However, Funimation has also sent them a cease and desist letter concerning several titles, which were promptly removed[3].
AnimeSuki is also known for erring on the side of caution regarding licenses. Even though some series such as Hanaukyo Maids were not initially licensed, AnimeSuki kept them from being listed because of the likelihood that Geneon would secure the rights[4]. Also, AnimeSuki still does not list episodes from the S or SuperS seasons of Sailor Moon, even though all five seasons of the anime are unlicensed in the United States.
The site also provides an online forum where anyone can ask for help regarding anime and BitTorrent issues among other things. It also has a chat on IRC at irc.zirc.org under the channel #Animesuki.
[edit] Reference
- Animesuki Site Guide
- Post by GHDPro concerning Hanayuko Maids Tai La Verite
- ANN article on Funimation Cease and Desist letter
- Animenation article on Animesuki's removal of Media Factory Inc. works
[edit] External links
| BitTorrent (category) | |
|---|---|
| Companies | BitTorrent, Inc. |
| Prominent individuals | |
| Technology | Tracker • Client • Super-seeding • Peer exchange • Broadcatching (BT RSS List) |
| Prominent clients (category) |
Official BitTorrent Client • ABC • Azureus • BitComet • BitTornado • KTorrent • Transmission • µTorrent • Halite
|
| Prominent sites (category) | LokiTorrent • Suprnova.org • The Pirate Bay • AnimeSuki • Demonoid • Mininova • isoHunt • TorrentSpy • Empornium • UKNova |
