“Sexy Tanaka-san” mangaka Ashihara Hinako found dead, days after she criticized drama version for not being faithful to her manga

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Many are shocked about the announcement that “Sexy Tanaka-san” manga artist/writer Ashihara Hinako has passed away.

On the 26th, Ashihara took to X and wrote, “About the drama ‘Sexy Tanaka-san’. I thought about it a lot, but I decided that I would have to write the script for episodes 9 and 10 of this drama. After consulting with Shogakukan about the circumstances and circumstances that led to this incident, we have decided to share the details.”

She revealed that when making the drama into a drama, certain conditions such as ‘be sure to be faithful to the manga’ were not kept, and explained that she ended up writing the script for episodes 9 and 10 herself. Ashihara would write, “If it is not faithful to the manga, we will make thorough additions and revisions”.

Ashihara wrote, “The original author will prepare everything from the synopsis to the dialogue so as not to affect the future of the unfinished manga. In some cases, the original author may write the script”.

She explained that the decision was made with the consent of the drama production side. However, during the production process, plots and scripts that were largely adapted from the manga were submitted many times, and she was constantly left wondering, “What happened to the ‘conditions for dramatization’ that I had originally communicated?”.’ Repeated additions and revisions continued.

As a result, Ashihara revealed that the scripts for episodes 9 and 10 were written by her rather than the scriptwriter who was in charge of episodes up to episode 8.

Ashihara also revealed that the deadline for writing the script, which is not her main job, and the serialization overlapped, resulting in a result she regrets.

Ashihara said, “I wanted to write a script for episodes 9 and 10 that would satisfy everyone, but since the serialization deadlines overlapped. I think some of you may have been dissatisfied with the scripts for episodes 9 and 10. To be honest, I still don’t know what the best decision was, but once again, I sincerely apologize”.

Screenwriter Aizawa Tomoko, who was in charge of the drama’s script and Nippon TV were criticized.

Aizawa, the original scriptwriter took to Twitter back in December 2023 (around the time of the finale) to write the following post (which was later deleted), “In the end, I am an original author who also wants to write a script.  I was confused because this was a request and I had never experienced this before, but unfortunately I decided to suddenly become involved in the project”.

After the final episode aired, Aizawa revealed, “I received a lot of comments and DMs about the final episode”, and once again she explained that the script was not written by her. Furthermore, she said, “This incident made me think deeply about the state of drama production and the significance of being a scriptwriter. I am telling myself that I must make use of this bitter experience and continue to do my best in the future”.

On the 28th, Ashihara deleted the post, saying, “I didn’t mean to attack anyone. I’m sorry”.

On the 29th, it was announced that she has past away, According to interviews with investigators, she was found dead in Tochigi Prefecture. According to several news reports, circumstances of her death appears to be a suicide.

On the official website of the drama, “Sexy Tanaka-san”, a memorial message was posted that read, “We have received the news of Ashihara Hinako’s death, and we would like to express our deepest condolences and condolences to her. When Nippon Television proposed a film adaptation, we discussed the production of the script while receiving the opinion of the original author, Ashihara-san, through Shogakukan, the original agent, and finally decided on the script for which we received permission. We are grateful to Mr. Ashihara for his efforts in producing this work”.

Manga mangaka, especially those whose work were made into dramas and live action films took to X.

Ninomiya Tomoko, known for “Nodame Cantabile”, wrote on her social media, “It’s painful… It’s too painful. I remember the day I cried and realized that I was the one who valued her work the most, and I couldn’t stop crying again. There are people who are trying to blame someone right now. I really want them to stop”.

Morikawa George, author of the boxing manga “Hajime no Ippo!” wrote, “I saw some extremely disappointing news.I had been watching the progress of my fellow industry members’ grief, but I never expected something like this to happen.  I know how they feel and it hurts my heart.  It has happened many times in the industry, but this time there is no going back. Anyway, It’s unfortunate”.

Suetsugu Yuki, who is known for writing the original story of “Chihayafuru”, which was made into a movie starring Hirose Suzu, was at a loss for words when writing about her own X, “Wow, that’s it…I can’t put it into words, Ashihara-sensei”.

Novelist Aizawa Saki, whose own work was made into a drama called “Spiritual Detective Shirozuka Hisui” (Nippon Television) and aired in October 2022, posted on her X (Twitter), “Modifying may be interesting to do so, but I don’t think it should be done without permission. I don’t think everyone involved loves the original work, so it’s quite difficult”.

The main consultation centers for anxiety and worries include the unified mental health consultation dial (0570-064-556) and the Yorisoi hotline (0120-279-338).