The world of anime has been rattled with the revelation that the creator of one of the most popular manga series, Act-Age, has been arrested for “indecent acts with an underage woman”. Confirmed by Weekly Shonen Jump, the victim was between the age of 10-17 years old, understandably making fans wonder whether or not the manga will be continuing, as well as the upcoming anime adaptation and stage play that were in the works to translate the source material into the two live action mediums.
Weekly Shonen Jump shared the disturbing update, putting into question the future of the franchise that is Act-Age following 29 year old mangaka, Tatsuya Matsuki’s arrest for his indecent acts with an underage woman:
We want to clarify that the girl in question was indeed a teenager. This would fall under the victim being between the age of 10-17 years old. Tatsuya Matsuki himself is 29 years of age. The future of Act-Age at this point is unknown, but expect a major announcement by Jump soon. https://t.co/3q54857HZE
— Weekly Shonen Jump (@WSJ_manga) August 8, 2020
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that we’ve seen controversy regarding the creators of the some of the biggest anime creators, as the creator of the samurai epic of Rurouni Kenshin, Nobuhiro Watsuki, was arrested for having pornographic items involving children. With Act-Age having just started with its manga in 2018, with twelve volumes currently released, the future of the series is definitely up in the air as things stand.
The official description for Act-Age reads as such:
“Ever since she was a child, Kei Yonagi has been attracted to the idea of acting, as she has always attentively watched how actions and emotions differ depending on the type of character portrayed. Now a teenager, she is broke, and is the only one able to financially support her young siblings. She starts auditioning for any role possible, without much success.
Her luck begins to change when Sumiji Kuroyama, a renowned director, sees Yonagi’s performance and is amazed by her ability to immerse herself in the role–the so-called method acting. Although she is a diamond in the rough, if she keeps using the same technique over and over, it could lead to her being severely damaged. So, he makes the decision to help polish her, giving Yonagi the opportunity she needs. However, the road ahead of her is far from easy, and she will need to adapt to overcome the various challenges that come her way.”
Tim M. Hill helped bring Digital-Overload from a weekly newsletter to a full-fledged news site by creating a new website and branding. He continues to assist in keeping the site responsive and well organized for the readers. As a writer to Digital-Overload, Tim mainly covers mobile news and gadgets.
