(Credits: Netflix)

Studios and streaming services have measures in place to prevent leaks, but they’re far from being infallible, as Netflix has discovered after a huge amount of the platform’s upcoming anime content appeared online and started being widely circulated.

The culprits responsible have managed to breach the company’s security and get their hands on full episodes of incoming titles, including Dandadan, Ranma ½, and Mononoke the Movie: Phantom in the Rain, and even the hotly anticipated Terminator Zero created by The Batman writer Mattson Tomlin.

Low-resolution clips started appearing online with visible watermarks and timestamps, and it quickly became the talk of the online sphere. From there, the animated originals began spreading across social media and other internet forums, and the initial dump wasn’t even the end of it.

Several of the watermarks have suggested that the source of the leaks was July’s Japan Expo 2024, with the first episode of Re: Zero – Starting Life bearing the branding of the event. It’s undoubtedly a blow for Netflix, but it’s even harsher for the people who dedicated so much time and effort into creating the shows in the first place.

While many will be understandably thrilled at watching grainy, lo-res versions of shows they’ve been eagerly anticipating, it goes without saying that isn’t the way the creators, animators, or production crews wanted their hard work to be experienced for the first time.

Things went from bad to worse when entire episodes of Arcane’s second season began appearing online after the initial leak, with the next run of the League of Legends spinoff not premiering on Netflix until November. The winner of four Primetime Emmys and five Annie Awards, the popularity of the series ensures that despite carrying ‘For Internal Use’ watermarks, plenty of fans would rather watch it in low quality now than be forced to wait another three months for the real deal.

In a statement shared with The Wrap, Netflix offered its first official comment on the leak, explaining that “one of our post-production partners has been compromised and footage from several of our titles has unfortunately leaked online.” The company is “aggressively taking action to have it taken down,” but as of yet, those responsible have neither come forward nor been identified.

It isn’t even restricted solely to anime, either, with episodes from the third season of Heartstopper also becoming embroiled in what’s comfortably the biggest data breach in Netflix history.