The anime industry has dealt a new decisive blow against commercial piracy. On April 16, 2026, KADOKAWA officially announced that the Tokyo District Court issued a guilty verdict against the operator of a website that published unauthorized, detailed transcripts of series and films, with the third season of Overlord (Overlord III) being one of the main affected works.

The responsible individual, a corporate executive, was sentenced to one year and six months in prison (suspended for four years) and fined one million yen. Despite the defendant denying the charges and fighting the case until the end, the court ruled in favor of the producers thanks to the joint effort of KADOKAWA, Toho, and support from the Association of Content Distribution Abroad (CODA).

The profitable business behind the texts

According to case details, the illegal activity took place between January 2023 and February 2024. The operator’s business model was highly calculated: they hired external writers to draft precise and exhaustive transcripts of complete story arcs. These texts, which included character names, exact dialogues, actions, and background descriptions, were published alongside images captured from the anime.

The main goal was to attract a large number of visitors seeking to quickly consume the story, thereby generating huge advertising revenue. It is worth noting that this effort to dismantle the network had already yielded results in July 2025, when one of the writers hired to draft the texts received a final conviction and a fine of 500,000 yen for their participation in the scheme.

A message of reassurance for true fans

Capitalizing on the legal victory, KADOKAWA reaffirmed its commitment to copyright protection, emphasizing that such legal actions are essential for creators to receive the economic benefits they deserve and for culture to continue growing.

However, the company was careful to make an important distinction: this case focused exclusively on large-scale copyright infringement for profit. KADOKAWA explicitly clarified that these measures are not aimed at ordinary fans who share their thoughts, theories, or comment on their favorite works on social media or forums. The goal of Japanese producers remains to punish commercial operations that profit from copying others’ efforts without paying for the corresponding rights.