Netflix ‘Aggressively Taking Action’ Against Anime Leaks, Crunchyroll Also Affected [IGN]

Netflix has said it’s “actively taking action” against the massive animation leaks which saw full episodes of upcoming shows like Arcane, Terminator Zero, Dandadan, Ranma ½, and more appear on X/Twitter and 4Chan.

In a statement provided to IGN, a Netflix spokesperson said the leaks were first reported internally prior to spreading online. Crunchyroll was affected too, seemingly to a lesser extent, as the premiere episode of isekai anime Re: Zero also leaked.

“One of our post-production partners has been compromised and footage from several of our titles has unfortunately leaked online,” the Netflix spokesperson said. “Our team is aggressively taking action to have it taken down.”

This is our hard work.
It is meant to be released on its due date, something we, as animators, really look forward to.

It is incredibly disrespectful and just straight up annoying. You think you are doing some kind of service to the community but you are not. https://t.co/UX0lCrZbuZ

— Kass Chapa・アニメーター 🇲🇽❤️🇵🇸 (@kaoyumari) August 7, 2024

Since the initial episodes appeared online on August 6, other shows like Heartstopper Season 3, Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld, and films like Plankton: The Movie, and Spellbound have also leaked.

Netflix’s response comes two days after radio silence on the matter, which led fans to fear that the streamer wouldn’t take action against the leaks at all.

While most of the threads about the leaked episodes — which featured burnt-in time stamps and watermarks as well as unfinished renderings of Arcane episodes — have been taken down on 4Chan threads, screenshotted hyperlinks to said episodes still exist. Fans of any of the mentioned shows may want to be careful of spoilers on social media.

While a vocal minority of fans online called for Netflix to counteract the leaks by releasing the affected episodes early, the majority rallied in support of the shows’ artists and creators to wait until their official release, dodge spoilers, and report accounts spreading leaks — even if that meant doing so until November.

The official release dates for each affected show are as follows:

• Terminator Zero releases on August 29.
• Heartstopper Season 3 releases on October 3.
• Ranma ½ releases on Netflix on October 5.
• Re: Zero Season 3 releases in October.
• Dandadan releases on Crunchyroll and Netflix in October.
• Re: Zero Season 3 premieres on Crunchyroll in October.
• Spellbound releases on November 22.
• Arcane Season 2 releases in November.
• Plankton: The Movie releases in 2025.

Isaiah Colbert is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow them on Twitter @ShinEyeZehUhh.