*Nyaa has been restored. Seems that they migrated their servers & changed their web-address from .eu to .se (amend bookmarks). this may be a temporary solution to an ongoing issue of disgruntled pricks using DDoS attacks but for the moment at least we have our torrents back.
But this whole incident does prove how much people get the shits when free stuff that they are not entitled to is taken away from them.*
Popular anime torrent site Nyaa.eu & some known fansub -such as Commie & Horridsubs- pages have been taken down in confirmed DDoS attack from unknown sources.
Some claim that it’s the Japanese government as part of their latest anti-piracy campaign, others say it’s the same group that hacked Sony & then made a bomb threat against the airline carrying Sony’s US branch CEO, whilst others say it’s merely a group of script kiddies doing it for the LuLz.
At this time it’s uncertain who is responsibility but the fan community is dealing with it in their usual fashion: throwing blame, complaining about how bad the subs are & saying random racist/misogynist things.
Unfortunately, Directed Denial of Service attacks are becoming all to common in this day & age. Their reasons range from political attacks where nations take cyber swipes at each other or groups such as Anonymous trying to take down government websites to the aforementioned Lulz Seekers who just want to watch the world burn.
Whomever begins these attacks for whatever pathetically selfish reasons, they always have unintended consequences.
Several months ago, my favourite manga hosting website Manga Trander was supposedly taken down by a DDoS & hack perpetrated by a pack of so-called fans reacting against the amount of yaoi & similar material on the site; yet were added by people with more malicious means in mind.
Similarly, the sting of the infamous hack on Sony’s PSN in 2011 which caused over 77 million users to have their personal information access is something still fresh in the minds of so many.
The internet is rife with unintended consequences. Often because supposed anonymity means people do not think that they can be easily caught or punished, so they often fire off volleys where they may, hoping that they’ll hit anything. Any chaos that spirals out from there can’t be their fault, so they keep doing it until friendly fire makes a claim on their activities.
This, naturally, is hyperbole but it still rings true.
Whomever is committing these attacks, they will not have the consequences that they wish.
If it’s the Japanese government, the torrentors will move elsewhere & not draw so much attention to themselves. If it be Lulseekers, then they’ll face comeuppance soon enough after they start bragging.
Either way, it’s a drag on an already fractured community that is unneeded.
Plus, if daddy don’t get his anime fix, he may just turn nasty.
And The Geek Shall (Inherit the Earth) 
I can’t say much about this whole ordeal, but it will mean maybe I might not be able to post blog stuff since I do episodic summaries of series. This whole ordeal to me isn’t as threatening thankfully that Tokyo Tosho is still around, but around my circle of friends, it goes from hysteria (one person) to meh, they’ll get fucked eventually.
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Thanks for letting us know TT is still up. It had also been hit by the DDoS when I checked a couple of days ago (probably not big enough to bother with in the scheme of things).
I find the fan panic & the possible reasons for the attacks more interesting than the sites being down. Naturally I find it vexing not able to get the things that I want but they’re free, so shouldn’t have a fit. Unlike some other people out there are doing.
thanks for the follow too.
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As Heinlein and my parents told me: There Ain’t No Such Thign As A Free Lunch, and as you’ve said, things have consecquences.
Pirating the shows had a two fold effect I think. It made Anime go mainstream, it opened up the world to not only the producers, but the market to newer and younger people. But I see this as the natural progression of a market that can be seen as booming. Sooner or later regulations and people concerned about profit margins will start protecting what is theirs.
I mean the news of ride-sharing apps like Uber or Lyft have been recently appearing on Prof. Reynold’s Instapundit, no doubt now that anime studios and distributers have finally gotten ways to bypass the fansub/pirate groups, they will start cracking down so they can push an actual paying business model on people.
I dunno, like you, I’m amused at all this. Granted I’m only watching Rail Wars! atm and blogging it, and only looking forward really, to the Kantai Collection anime.
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As I’ve argued about for years: if you give people immediate access for a good price, you’ll cut piracy right down.
It won’t go away but people who think they are being treated fairly will pay for what they want.
In Australia we have a huge inflation on so many products but anime is terribly priced & we often have to wait a year or two after the original screening for the DVD release.
Madman got smart with basic streaming for free but they then take ages to release stuff & you always have to pay a huge cost for very little ($60 AUSD for 4-12 episodes depending on the series).
It’s natural that some producers will crack the shits & fight back but, as I’ve been researching for my thesis lately, it’s pretty much their own fault for ignoring western demands for so long & losing control with dubbing & other editing (such as the bullshit with stuff like One Piece).
I’ve got about 20 series on the go ATM, only had to drop one from my viewing list because it shat me so much -Momo Peach Girl. It was awful Nothing but bouncing boobs.
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My friend calls says this: “Australian gaming ghetto. Yathzee is right about that.”
And yeah, if you give a service that is cheap (not everyone is rolling in dough) and quickly (and offering both dubbed and subbed for some shows), piracy can go down. Not out, but to the point why bother when you can easily watch it.
As for bouncing boobs. My friend described Rail Wars! as “bewbs and trains”. I was inclined to agree then suddenly a love triangle of near-Macross like proportions happened. And I enjoyed a nicely thawed Tsundere.
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He’s very much right about that. Australian gaming release dates suck. They’re better then they used to be but we missed out on some incredible games in the past -Earthbound being the major one.
I refer to Rail Wars as Otaku’s two true passions: Tits & Trains.
I can get past the sexualisation a bit because is interesing but the feckless male lead shits me (as they always do).
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Hey, at least he acknowledges the girls are chasing him. It could be worse, like Ichika in Infinite Stratos.
Good God most males would KILL for girls of that caliber fighting for his love.
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Yeah, he has some limited awareness of the situation but still lacks of the nads to deal with it without panicking.
Ichika pissed me off beyond belief -especially his constant need to prove that he’s a man in front of women vastly more powerful than he is.
At least the dude in RW knows that he’s weak & does things because they have to be done.
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