Just when
we thought Shogakukan couldn't sink any lower after it was
discovered that they protected and covered up for child molester Shoichi
Yamamoto, the publisher decided to grab a shovel and keep digging their own
grave. Cornered by internal investigation, they have just confessed that
the Manga ONE app had literally become a haven for criminals:
they also secretly hired Tatsuya Matsuki, the infamous and
canceled screenwriter of act-age.
The
Shameless Return of the Act-Age Author
For those
who don't remember, Matsuki was arrested and convicted in 2020 for harassing
and performing indecent acts against a high school student, which led to the
painful and immediate cancellation of act-age, also ruining the
work of illustrator Shiro Usazaki. It was clear to the industry that this guy
should never set foot in a publishing house again, but the editors of Manga ONE
didn't seem to care.
In August
2024, a publisher contacted Matsuki to offer him a job. He was given the
pseudonym Itsuki Yatsunami and assigned the story of the
manga Seisō no Shinri-shi, illustrated by Kaoru Yukihira (who,
according to the publisher, knew of Matsuki's past and accepted the risk).
Shogakukan's official excuse for using a false name is spectacularly cynical:
they claimed that they did it "out of consideration for the victims, so as
not to revictimize them when they see their real name." In other words,
they tried to sell a vile corporate cover-up as an act of empathy.
Frieren,
Rumiko Takahashi and the Mass Boycott
Obviously,
no one believed the story of "rehabilitation and empathy". The
revelation that Shogakukan had not one, but two child abusers
operating under pseudonyms on the same platform, provoked uncontrollable fury
from the community and the creators themselves. The boycott is no longer just
about independent authors; The heavyweights have jumped ship.
At the time
of writing, industry giants such as Frieren: Beyond Journey's End and
untouchable classics by Rumiko Takahashi (such as Maison Ikkoku and Ranma
1/2) have mysteriously disappeared from the Manga ONE catalog. Creators are
withdrawing their works en masse so as not to be associated with a company that
protects predators.
The PR
disaster is of such magnitude that Shogakukan had to indefinitely
postpone the ceremony of the 71st Shogakukan Manga Awards scheduled
for this March 3, knowing full well that no decent mangaka would want to get on
his stage at this time.
