How Do Manga Leaks Happen? Explained In Detail

Manga leaks refer to the unauthorized release of manga chapters or story details before their official publication. These leaks have become a significant concern for publishers and fans alike, affecting the manga industry in various ways. In this article, we delve into the reasons behind manga leaks, their impact, and how to prevent manga leaks from spoiling the reading experience.

Just so you know, the reasons listed in this article are merely speculations and guesses people have made as to how the manga chapters get leaked.

Where Do Manga Spoilers & Leaks Come From?

Leaks by Authors & Artists

Sometimes the author or the publishing company might leak a couple of pages of the latest manga chapter. But why? Why would the author himself leak his manga? Well, it’s to build the hype. Such a leak rarely happens since it’s reserved for some really popular big-name manga. It builds up hype for the manga, making people more interested in upcoming events in the story.

Interestingly, the mangaka can’t leak his own manga without the publishing company’s permission since it’s the company that holds the copyright for that manga, not the author.

Insider Leaks

Someone working at Weekly Young Jump might get their hands on the manuscript before it gets published and becomes available to the public. The leaks could be done by anyone working in close proximity to the manga development process. It could be a company employee or even a person related to the employee.

Thefts & Illegal Buying

Manga goes out on sale throughout Japan on the same day and in order to have copies of the Young Jump magazine ready to go on sale, the publishers need to ship them out days earlier and make sure every region in the country is ready to sell the magazine issue on the official release date.

During the shipping process, the magazines go through the hands of many people like deliverymen and warehouse workers and it would be really easy for them to snag a copy for themselves before it hits circulation. Such middlemen might leak the manga chapters.

The shop owners might leak them as well since they receive copies beforehand for sale on the release date. Someone might sell a copy before the release date for some extra money which is obviously illegal. People who buy it illegally might scan it and upload it online.

Why do Manga Leaks happen?

In terms of why, it depends on the person, but it’s generally done for some sort of personal gain. A person might get paid to leak the manga chapters by some fan of the manga or even by a rival company that wants to smear the competition and put a dent in the company’s reputation, but that’s just a guess as we don’t know the exact reason why manga leaks happen.

It might be done by a massive fan of the series who got their hands on the manga before it got released and just wanted to have some fun by leaking it on the internet.

Related : Manga Scans: Are They Illegal?

Impact of Manga Leaks

Manga leaks have significant consequences for publishers, artists, authors, and readers.

• Financial Loss: If the entire chapter gets leaked online, the fans get access to the chapter for free and might decide to not buy the magazine, leading to a decrease in official sales and ultimately causing financial losses to the publishers.
• Negative Effects on Authors & Artists: If I was a mangaka and the manga chapter I worked really hard on for the past week gets leaked online then I would be pissed. Leaks undermine the hard work the author & the artists put into creating the manga chapter, and if it happens a couple of times, it might impact their motivation.
• Spoilers: Leaks spoil the upcoming manga chapter, especially if something big happens in the chapter. We all know spoilers ruin the entire experience.

How Do You Avoid Manga Spoilers

Let’s say you’re reading a good manga and you’re at chapter 20 while the manga has over 70 chapters, then there’s a high chance that the story might get spoiled for you if you’re on social media like Twitter. There are a few things you can do to avoid spoilers.

• Avoid Social Media: Stay away from social media, especially Twitter which is the spoiler hub.
• Avoid Friends: If your friends are also into manga then stay away from them or avoid conversations about manga.

Basically, kill your social life for a couple of days and finish the manga. Even if you do get spoilers, don’t be disheartened, you’re not alone. It happens to us all.