Is it sinful to watch anime online for free?

[OrangeFalcon]

Hi everyone,
I have been trying to determine if it is theft or not to watch shows for free on streaming websites like animefreak or watchcartoononline? The reason I’m confused is that on watchcartoononline they state on their legal disclaimer: “We do not promote any illegal conduct of any kind.” “Watchcartoononline.COM is an online service provider as defined in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.” “We take copyright violation very seriously and will vigorously protect the rights of legal copyright owners.”
Are they just saying this to try and conceal the illegality of their online activity?
Also, if it is a sin to watch streamed shows online, is it a mortal one, as it is a sin directly against the seventh commandment?
Thanks for taking the time to read my question.
God Bless.

 

[Joe_5859]

When it comes to watching stuff online, it’s all about permission. If the appropriate person/entity has given permission for their work to be distributed thusly, then there is no problem. If not, then there is a problem.

I’m not familiar with the sites you mentioned, so I cannot really comment on where they might fall. I know with YouTube, they also put up a disclaimer like that, but that doesn’t prevent copyrighted material from ever being posted. It just means that they’ll take it down if it gets reported.

 

[ProdglArchitect]

My personal opinion on the matter is that there’s no real way to know if they have permission or not, so it’s not really up to you to determine the legality of it.

If you are looking for a good, legal site to watch anime on, crunchyroll is pretty good, and they have a big selection or stuff you can watch for free.

 

[ActingCatholic]

My personal opinion on the matter is that there’s no real way to know if they have permission or not, so it’s not really up to you to determine the legality of it.

If you are looking for a good, legal site to watch anime on, crunchyroll is pretty good, and they have a big selection or stuff you can watch for free.

It’s actually pretty simple. If there aren’t any ads and you’re not paying for it, it is highly likely that you don’t have the owner’s permission to watch it. Artists deserve to get paid for their work.

 

[ironchapman]

Hi everyone,
I have been trying to determine if it is theft or not to watch shows for free on streaming websites like animefreak or watchcartoononline? The reason I’m confused is that on watchcartoononline they state on their legal disclaimer: “We do not promote any illegal conduct of any kind.” “Watchcartoononline.COM is an online service provider as defined in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.” “We take copyright violation very seriously and will vigorously protect the rights of legal copyright owners.”
Are they just saying this to try and conceal the illegality of their online activity?
Also, if it is a sin to watch streamed shows online, is it a mortal one, as it is a sin directly against the seventh commandment?
Thanks for taking the time to read my question.
God Bless.

As a general rule, legal licencors will mark their videos in some way, whether by watermarks or displaying the logo at the beginning. There are also ad breaks in the videos, although these can be removed in some services by paying for a subscription. In other words, legal licencors and feeds usually have a way of informing you of such.

If a show was ripped from a TV/DVR and posted on the internet, it is a pirated & thus illegal feed (with maybe a rare few exceptions). Anything fansubbed is similarly illegal (with the same parenthetical caveat). A ripped feed of a site like Crunchyroll or Funimation is also illegal. While a site like watchcartoononline could in theory have legal content on it, it is almost always ripped feeds.

Some legal streaming sources:

–Crunchyroll
–The Anime Network
–Anime News Network
–Funimation (and Funimation’s Official YouTube Channel)
–Viz
–Hulu (which frequently hosts Viz and Funi stuff)
–Netflix
–Crackle
–Occasionally, the Japanese video site Nico Nico Douga will upload an official stream of an anime for English or other non-Japanese users.
–Sometimes, an anime studio will upload one of its titles to Youtube. This isn’t often, but it happens. Trigger, for example, uploaded Little Witch Academia to Youtube recently.

Generally, if it isn’t posted by one of those sources, it’s not legal.

 

[suko]

Some legal streaming sources:

–Crunchyroll
–The Anime Network
–Anime News Network
–Funimation (and Funimation’s Official YouTube Channel)
–Viz
–Hulu (which frequently hosts Viz and Funi stuff)
–Netflix
–Crackle
–Occasionally, the Japanese video site Nico Nico Douga will upload an official stream of an anime for English or other non-Japanese users.

Another legal one to add to the list that I just found out about a few days ago is viki.com - it has some of the more obscure (less known ones) on there. The main problem though is there are series that have eps that aren’t fully translated. I guess the shows on there too are actually translated (legally) by any anime fan, so the translations from what I can tell from watching Grenadier on there, aren’t quite the best.

And one last one to add if you live in the U.K. or Ireland: anime-on-demand.com/

 

[Razanir]

My personal opinion on the matter is that there’s no real way to know if they have permission or not, so it’s not really up to you to determine the legality of it.

If you are looking for a good, legal site to watch anime on, crunchyroll is pretty good, and they have a big selection or stuff you can watch for free.

I add a test that if the company has removed some videos but not all, then the ones remaining are fine. Like Disney removed “So the Drama” (Kim Possible movie) from YouTube, but not the rest of the series, so I’m assuming they’re fine with the other episodes being available.

 

[ActingCatholic]

I add a test that if the company has removed some videos but not all, then the ones remaining are fine. Like Disney removed “So the Drama” (Kim Possible movie) from YouTube, but not the rest of the series, so I’m assuming they’re fine with the other episodes being available.

This only holds if the channel is managed by the person (or company) who owns the content. Disney can’t monitor every user on Youtube.

 

[Razanir]

This only holds if the channel is managed by the person (or company) who owns the content. Disney can’t monitor every user on Youtube.

Well what if the other episodes were available from the same user? I see where you’re coming from, but when those are the only (KP) videos from the user that got removed…

 

[ActingCatholic]

Well what if the other episodes were available from the same user? I see where you’re coming from, but when those are the only (KP) videos from the user that got removed…

There’s no explicit evidence to indicate that Disney has given this youtube user distribution rights. Assuming that Disney’s inaction implies consent is faulty logic. At the end of the day, several artists created a product that you’re now accessing without any compensation to the artists. That’s not just.

I’ve seen this in action. There’s a mashup DJ who I follow. He’s made somewhere around 200 tracks, and he has received one cease and desist letter. That doesn’t mean that he has been given permission to distribute the other 199 tracks, it just means that there was one track that the record companies thought they were losing enough money on to justify paying someone to write him a cease and desist letter.

 

[ironchapman]

Animesols.com is another legal anime provider. It’s also completely crowdsourced for funding, which makes it very interesting. It’s only for old anime (70s, 80s, 90s), though.

 

[Ganulous]

I have been having a similar problem. I watched watchcartoononline.com for a long time before realizing the legal issues it might have, ergo the moral issues I might have for watching it. I want to watch Naruto, which isn’t available on crunchyroll for free. I tried Hulu, but it never really loads Naruto and always just loads the ads. Am I required to buy Naruto on DVD to be morally sound?

 

[suko]

I want to watch Naruto, which isn’t available on crunchyroll for free. I tried Hulu, but it never really loads Naruto and always just loads the ads.

Only the ads load on Hulu? Are u from another country outside the U.S.? That might be why if u are.

As for CR, u could ask for Guest Passes in the Guest Pass thread. Granted, u can only use 10 passes within a 6 month period or something like that, but u can get a lot watched utilizing them. But you’d also want to make sure that your country actually has legal access to Naruto first.

Here’s the link that shows u all the animes that the country that u currently are residing in, has legal access to: crunchyroll.com/videos/anime/alpha?group=all

Am I required to buy Naruto on DVD to be morally sound?

Personally, I think being part of a Christian means doing our best to follow the rules of the country that we reside in, whether we like it or not (and I know it can be difficult sometimes), so long as it isn’t unjust and conflicting with our faith.
And it’s good to keep in mind, too, that at the end of the day, anime is just entertainment.

 

[Ganulous]

Only the ads load on Hulu? Are u from another country outside the U.S.? That might be why if u are.

As for CR, u could ask for Guest Passes in the Guest Pass thread. Granted, u can only use 10 passes within a 6 month period or something like that, but u can get a lot watched utilizing them. But you’d also want to make sure that you’re country actually has legal access to them first.

Here’s the link that shows u all the animes that the country that u currently are residing in, has legal access to: crunchyroll.com/videos/anime/alpha?group=all
Personally, I think being part of a Christian means following the rules of the country that we reside in, whether we like it or not (and I know it can be difficult sometimes), so long as it isn’t unjust and conflicting with our faith.

No, I’m from the US. Hulu is just bad for me. I may look into the guest pass. It just really aggravates me because I know that I have no ill intent by wanting to watch Naruto, and it really doesn’t seem like it would be a bad thing to watch it on a website that offers it for free. It just seems so minor that it shouldn’t be sinful, but at the same time I can’t allow myself to watch it illegally if it IS sinful.

 

[suko]

No, I’m from the US. Hulu is just bad for me.

U can try using other browsers if the one u are currently using isn’t working right on Hulu.

Also, try clearing your browser’s cache. Sometimes, that can fix odd problems like the one that you’re currently having.

 

[Kamaduck]

No, I’m from the US. Hulu is just bad for me. I may look into the guest pass. It just really aggravates me because I know that I have no ill intent by wanting to watch Naruto, and it really doesn’t seem like it would be a bad thing to watch it on a website that offers it for free. It just seems so minor that it shouldn’t be sinful, but at the same time I can’t allow myself to watch it illegally if it IS sinful.

I thought Naruto was free on Crunchyroll…?

You have to pay for the most recent episode, but you should be able to just wait a week and watch it after everyone else.

 

[suko]

I thought Naruto was free on Crunchyroll…?

You have to pay for the most recent episode, but you should be able to just wait a week and watch it after everyone else.

Yep, that is correct for the Naruto Shippuden series!
But I get the feeling Ganulous may be talking about the original Naruto series, which actually does require a Premium membership. ^.^

It just really aggravates me because I know that I have no ill intent by wanting to watch Naruto, and it really doesn’t seem like it would be a bad thing to watch it on a website that offers it for free.

It’s good to keep in mind that certain laws were put into place for a just reason.

Illegal streaming sites do not bother to follow the rules; they do not have to give a single cent back to the anime studios, do not ask for permission to obtain the license to legally stream shows (like CR does ~ which costs them a lot of money), illegally rip the shows from legal streaming sites (such as CR), and on a whole, are counter-productive to the industry since many people go to these sites instead of supporting legal streaming sites like CR or Funi that actually support the anime studios, which in turn, allows them to make more animes for us. I have read, too, that many anime studios, sadly, in the past several years have had to lay off workers or file for bankruptcy for the very reason of illegal sites/piracy.

So if u ask me, I don’t think it is right to support illegal sites that blatantly disregard just laws. And by choosing to go to one of these sites that willing do these kinds of things is like saying that one agrees with their illegal methods and that one supports them in what they’re doing.

Also, if one looks at the catechism, specifically on paragraph 2240: it states that Christians “obey the established laws” of their nation, except, as paragraph 2242 puts it:

The citizen is obliged in conscience not to follow the directives of civil authorities when they are contrary to the demands of the moral order, to the fundamental rights of persons or the teachings of the Gospel. Refusing obedience to civil authorities, when their demands are contrary to those of an upright conscience, finds its justification in the distinction between serving God and serving the political community. “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” “We must obey God rather than men”

Having said all this, it is good to keep in mind, as I said in my previous post, to keep anime in its proper context: a simple form of entertainment; although, a pretty good one I’ll admit , but it’s not, imo, something that calls for us to stand our ground and fight against civil authorities by disregarding the law to satisfy our desire for entertainment.

No, I’m from the US. Hulu is just bad for me.

If the other things that I had mentioned earlier didn’t help to resolve the problem, I would suspect the problem is with how you’re connected to the Internet. An easy thing u can try is to disable your firewall (ZoneAlarm/Norton 360, etc) and see if that helps. If not, there might be something wrong with your router (if you’re using one), and perhaps it may need to be reset or re-configured.

Hope this helps!

 

[manishswain326]

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