If you checked out MangaDex this week and noticed a lot of your favorite series disappearing, you’re not the only one. More than 700 manga were suddenly removed in what is being called the largest manga purge to date. This was a direct move from the manga industry targeting piracy, and it really changed the way people could read manga online.
On May 14, 2025, MangaDex users began seeing entire series removed from the site, without any warning. This was due to a DMCA takedown that targeted over 700 manga titles. People on Reddit and the manga forums were quick to notice that this was on a scale never seen before on MangaDex.
The site moderators described the event as “unprecedented.” Fans immediately began tracking down the missing manga and sharing the lists online. Some rumors have gone so far as to suggest that 25% of all MangaDex chapters have been deleted, although this has not been confirmed.
What is certain is that a large number of series have just disappeared. There are still many series listed on the site, but if you click on, there will be nothing to read, just a blank page.
Who is behind this?
Most people probably don’t know but mangadix is the embodiment of passion for the entire manga medium and preserving its history for non-Japanese people. It is a site that encourages admired translators to share thousands and thousands of specialized works with the world.
– Ams 🦋 (weeb_ams) May 15, 2025
This removal process was not random. It was the result of a group of publishers, from Japan and South Korea, working together. Key names participating include Square Enix, Kodansha, Shueisha, Shogakukan, Kakao, and Naver. Furthermore, an anti-piracy company called Kameso helped organize the takedowns, using a more systematic, automated approach.
Other companies mentioned include Legend, Webtoon, One Peace Books, Mag Garden, Manta Platform, Toya’s Dream, and others. Almost every major publisher was part of this. It’s the clearest sign yet that the manga and webtoon industry is getting serious about piracy.
Which manga was removed?
The Mangadex sweep is likely one of the biggest losses to the Internet in years
—Mlickles May 15, 2025
Some of the most famous manga disappeared in this wave. Series like Akira, Bleach, Dragon Ball, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, InuYasha, The Apothecary Diaries, My Dress-Up Darling, Golden Kamuy, Claymore, 20th Century Boys, Blue Box, Black Lagoon, Solo Leveling, The Quintessential Quintuplets, At that time I was reincarnated as a slime Now missing from the site.
Even currently popular manga have been hit, including those that don’t have official English translations yet, such as Kingdom, 100 Girlfriends, Grand Blue, and Skip and crash. The takedowns didn’t focus on just one type of series or popularity, they hit almost everything.
Why is this happening now? The global manga boom is the main reason. In the past, publishers would sometimes ignore scan sites (fan translation), but now that more people are buying manga digitally around the world, publishers see casual reading as a threat. Groups like Japan CODA (Content Overseas Distribution Association) We’ve been fighting piracy for a while, but this latest action represents a big step forward.
MangaDex has always tried to avoid problems by sticking to fan translations that were not officially available in English, but for publishers, this is no longer enough. Recently, other websites focusing on webtoons have also been attacked. It’s a sign that any site that shares unlicensed manga or manhwa is now a target.
MangaDex has dealt with legal threats before. This isn’t the first time MangaDex has faced DMCA takedowns. In 2019, VIZ Media forced them to temporarily close and change domains. The site has also been blocked in countries such as Indonesia, Italy and Russia. But nothing has hit as hard as this crackdown in 2025.
Fans are disappointed and upset and trying to figure out what to do next. On Reddit and other forums, people are sharing the missing series, asking for help, and talking about how much they rely on MangaDex to read manga that isn’t sold or translated in their country.
For some, there is now no legal way to read some manga. People search for new sites, talk about ways to preserve and archive chapters, and discuss the larger issue: how to preserve old or rare manga when it’s not available anywhere else.
Many fans are concerned about older, niche manga disappearing forever. Without unofficial sites, these addresses could be lost forever. That’s why there’s more talk about the need for better legal access and ways to keep manga culture alive.
What’s next? No one knows for sure. MangaDex may be trying to change the way it operates, but more removals or even shutdowns seem possible. The demand for manga isn’t going away, so readers and scan groups will likely move on to other sites or find new ways to stay involved.
