just another reason why copyright is awful and bad for culture. Much of the manga that get scanlations have never gotten/will never get official english translations, and many that do only got them because of scanlations popularizing the series. This isn't about paying creators, this is about distributors and publishers feeling they are entitled to gatekeep media for their own gain and no one else's. There are pieces of art that are basically lost due to corporate greed, shows made in the last 5 years that can't be bought anywhere no matter how much money you have.
If there is no way to pay for it, then piracy isn't theft.