KissAnime and KissManga have gone offline forever

While Pirate Bay is probably the biggest pirate site in terms of resources, KissAnime.ru and KissManga.com were the most visited. KissAnime never announced any official figures and it never will. After years of struggling with content publishers, a court has finally ordered the site is shut down, TorrentFreak reports.

Fans are furious because KissAnime - despite all its illegality - was one of the better sources to watch the anime online.

It must be said that piracy and copyright infringement in any form is unacceptable. But on the other hand... Anime lovers in many countries really have nowhere to go to watch their favourite series.

Let us explain. The two largest platforms for anime lovers - Crunchyroll and Funimation - are fortified with fierce geoblocks. The latter, for example, is not available in Europe at all, even if you use a VPN. Crunchyroll, on the other hand, is available in many countries, but its offering radically differs from country to country. Netflix has recently been doing its best; it even produces its own animated series to meet demand, however, this is just a tiny drop in the ocean in terms of the series that are released each year in Japan and around the world.

Anime fans simply have nowhere to legally read and watch their favourite content, and that's what has made sites like KissAnime and KissManga so popular. We only hope that the closure of illegal services will spark the opening of new streaming platforms dedicated to anime or at least the lifting of regional blockades. Otherwise, fans will think they have no choice but to find another illegal site and enjoy themselves there. Until that site is also closed and the fun begins all over again.