SHOGAKUKAN and DAIICHI COMIC BUREAU EDITORS issue a statement in regards to “Sexy Tanaka-san” mangaka Ashihara Hinako’s death

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Shogakukan updated its official website on the 8th, and in response to the death of Ashihara Hinako , the creator of the manga “Sexy Tanaka-san”, all the editors of the Daiichi Comic Bureau, the on-site editors, posted comments.

SHOGAKUKAN

On the occasion of the passing of manga artist Ashihara Hinako , we would like to express our respect and gratitude for her great achievements during her lifetime, and respectfully pray for her soul.
With her passing, she deeply apologized to readers, writers, and all concerned parties for the concern she may have caused.

Regarding the live drama adaptation of “Sexy Tanaka-san,” the group in charge of Mr. Ashihara’s requests were faithfully and faithfully conveyed to the drama production side, and the production was completed. However, it is extremely regrettable that this situation has occurred. In order to prevent such a tragedy from happening again, we are currently conducting an investigation and will work to prevent it from happening again.

In addition, there is a statement from the Shogakukan Daiichi Comic Bureau, to which the “Anekei Petit Comic” that Ashihara-sensei contributed to. I hope you enjoy reading it.
We appreciate your continued understanding and support for Shogakukan’s publishing activities.

Shogakukan

DAIICHI COMIC BUREAU EDITORS

To all writers, readers, and everyone involved

All of us, the editors of the Daiichi Comic Bureau, are deeply saddened by the news of Ashihara Hinako’s passing, and are deeply remorseful.

This message was written by our on-site editors.

As you can imagine after reading his work, Ashihara-san was a very sincere and kind person.
And she was always a fair person.

It goes without saying that the rights called “copyright” include “copyright property rights” and “moral rights.”

While “copyright property rights” are rights to protect profits, “author’s moral rights” are rights to protect the author’s heart.
Including the “right to maintain identity” to protect a work from being altered without the permission of the author, “right to maintain reputation,” “right to display name,” “right to publicize,” “right to request abolition of publication rights,” and “right to request modification, increase or decrease.” All of these rights do not require a contract, and all authors have important rights called “author’s moral rights.”

This time, Ashihara-san, who insisted on the rights of the original author that should be protected, died a tragic death.

At the beginning of Volume 7 of “Sexy Tanaka-san”, which was released before the drama aired, a message from Ashihara is posted on August 31, 2023, “How did you deal with the fact that the original work was made into a drama before it was completed?”

She wrote: (Since it is still in the middle of its serialization, I think there are pros and cons to it, but I have made sure to revise the characters, plot, etc. that I felt deviated greatly from the original work.)

(As for the original development at the end of the story that doesn’t exist in the original work, and the necessary arrangements to get there, I write everything from the synopsis to the dialogue. It will probably be recorded after episode 8. 〉

As an author, I was told things that were completely natural and true, but sensei said, “I think that was probably extremely annoying…”.

It is natural for the author’s wishes to be respected, and this is by no means a selfish or annoying act.
We should not be in a situation where we need courage to raise our voices to protect rights that should be protected.
I regret that even though we were editors, we were able to make people feel this way.
In order to prevent original authors from feeling like this again, we must make sure that everyone is aware of the absolute rights that authors have, known as “author’s moral rights.” Authors’ wishes must be respected and that it is natural for them to express their opinions. I believe that spreading awareness that this is the case is the core of preventing it from happening again.
Of course, I don’t want to simplify the situation if this is the only cause.
Were there any other causes? Couldn’t we have done more?
Rather than placing responsibility on individuals, we will continue to conduct this verification as an organization.
In future adaptations, we will put the priority of protecting the original author first, and we will propose a better format for the negotiation process between the drama production side and the editorial department.

I am also aware that there are some doubts about whether Shogakukan was properly communicating the intentions of the author Ashihara, to the drama production team.
To briefly explain the matter, Ashihara’s comment dated August 31, 2023 was written nearly two months before the drama broadcast start date, October 22, 2023, and Judging from the chronological order that 7 volumes were released before the drama started, I think it is true that the intentions were conveyed to all the staff working on the drama production.

Of course, it was our editors and media representatives who conveyed the Author’s wishes to the drama production side and were at the negotiating table.
We communicated our intentions to the drama production side, and the script was revised until the original author was satisfied with it, and the drama version of “Sexy Tanaka-san” was aired with content that reflected our intentions.

There are certainly words that the teacher drew specifically for the drama.
I hope that all the viewers and readers who found the drama interesting will continue to love the drama version of “Sexy Tanaka-san” with confidence.

Lastly.

To everyone who regularly reads Petit Comic and Shogakukan’s manga magazines and websites, and to the sensei’s who write.
We apologize for causing a lot of concern because we were late in speaking out.
I cannot thank the Petit Comic Editorial Department enough for standing by Ashihara Hinako and believing that we were together.
We will continue to think of countermeasures so that manga artists can create their works with greater peace of mind than ever before, without being complacent by their kindness.

When writing this message, we asked questions such as “Will this end up hurting someone?, “Are these are words that we shouldn’t say in our current position”, “Don’t let this become an expression of our feelings”, and “We have all been thinking carefully about how to avoid this” and “Write calmly.”
However, no matter what, please let us also say that we miss you.
I miss you, sensei.