Tech advancements still haven't found a way around online leaks, and the latest addition to the list has hit Netflix and the anime community in the worst possible way. The nightmarish development has turned out to be an alarming pit-stop on the international streamer's journey to expanding its anime catalogue.

As fans were counting down the days to the wholesome upcoming official release dates of TV anime shows such as the Ranma ½ reboot, Dan Da Dan, Terminator Zero and other anticipated titles, the unprecedented ordeal broke out on August 6. All hell broke loose when pirated content with blurred watermarks streamed out on sites like BitTorrent and 4chan. With each passing hour since late Tuesday, only more names have expanded the reach of what is now being deemed one of the worst possible anime leaks in history.

Neflix anime breach: Japanese animated projects leaked ahead of their intended official premieres

The long list of leaked content includes the anime adaptations of Rumiko Takahashi's Ranma ½ and Yukinobu Tatsu's Dan Da Dan mangas.

In the former's case, the rebooted anime's first cour was targetted, whereas Dan Da Dan's first two episodes suffered the brunt of the downward spiralling situation. The latter project release was breached two month ahead of its official premiere schedule. Subsequently emerging reported updates noted that all 12 episodes of Ranma ½ anime and Episodes 3-6 of Dan Da Dan have also been leaked.

Theatrical screenings of Dan Da Dan's first three episodes are scheduled to launch in Asia on August 31. On top of that, its English dub was ready to screen the world premiere at Anime NYC on August 24. Its Japanese premiere is scheduled for October 5, following which Netflix will also swoop with the streaming accessibility.

The Netflix leak also heavily impacted Crunchyroll and GKIDS. While the former go-to anime platform is set to simulcast the series with Netflix, the latter has acquired the Science Saru production's digital transaction right. Its acquisition of the various rights to the series also marks GKIDS' first engagement with a newly released anime series.

Meanwhile, the Re:ZERO Season 3 premiere has also joined the list of upcoming leaked anime projects. The 90-minute first episode of the series was scheduled to be exclusively screened by Crunchyroll in July at the Japan Expo in Paris. However, the event was ultimately cancelled for reasons beyond “Crunchyroll's control.” The Re:ZERO episode surfaced online in a much better visual quality than other recent leaks. Including French subtitles, the Season 3 premiere also bears the “Japan Expo 2024” watermark.

Earlier this year, Crunchyroll's Tower of God Season 2 premiere screener faced a similar leaked fate following its showcase at Anime Expo 2024. To make matter worse, several other Spring anime titles of this year, including KonoSuba Season 3, As a Reincarnated Aristocrat and others were also leaked before their official release dates.

Adding to the massive Netflix breach, the entire Mononoke the Movie: Phantom in the Rain - the first of the planned trilogy - was released on torrent websites.

Although Netflix has yet to officially commit to its acquisition, a SAG-AFTRA Signatory Database listing has already seemingly confirmed their agreement for the film's dubbed version. The animated supernatural film theatrically hit its home turf in Japan on July 26. Its international release date announcement is awaited.

According to more recent revelations from the Anime News Network, all episode of Skydance Animation and Production IG's forthcoming anime series Terminator Zero also became victims of piracy. The massy Netflix animation's 8 episodes were slated to roll out on August 29.

Netflix has yet to officially release a statement regarding the unexpected leaks of all highly anticipated titles that were meant to release in the near future.

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