“COVID Killed HorribleSubs” — Popular Anime Torrent Website Shuts Down

Not long ago, Kissanime, one of the biggest anime streaming pirate websites, decided to pull the plug and forced anime lovers to look for alternatives.

Today, another big provider of pirated anime content has decided to shut down its operations. “We have grown way beyond what was originally imagined. But… as the cliché saying goes, all good things must eventually come to an end,” HorribleSubs, the famous anime torrent website, writes on their homepage.

The anime website cites the Coronavirus pandemic and the difficulty it caused in giving time to projects as the reason behind the closure. “You could technically say COVID killed HorribleSubs,” writes HorribleSubs.

HorribleSubs originally started as a subtitle distributer for anime. However, soon it began distributing copies of anime and gradually became the number one pirated anime destination.

While COVID might be the real cause, copyright holders have also thrown wrenches at their operations over time. Last year, the site was targeted by several big names, including Disney, Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount, Warner, who filed an injunction. The anime site was ultimately blocked by several local ISP’s in Australia.

A similar situation happened in India back in July: Following an injunction, several local ISPs were ordered to block over 118 pirate domains, and among the list were Kissanime as well as HorribleSubs.

Also Read: 5 Free Anime Streaming Sites To Watch Anime Online And Legally In 2020

Now that HorribleSubs is gone, anime lovers are bound to try out several HorribleSubs alternatives. Nyaa.si and Animetohso are quite famous in the category, due to their easy-to-use interface.

In the comments below the parting post, HorribleSubs said it will keep the official Discord channel and might post about future updates and projects. It also said it will be coming up with a more detailed explanation at a later date.