Shiro Usazaki, Artist of “act age” Manga, Speaks Up About Author’s Arrest and Cancellation of Series

Amidst all that has happened to the once-promising manga series act age and its now disgraced creator and writer Tatsuya Matsuki, the person who appears to be collateral damage to the incident is series artist Shiro Usazaki. The sudden cancellation of the manga series has not only affected Matsuki, but also the unlucky artist as well—after all, they did not do anything wrong.

This Monday, however, Shiro Usazaki has broken their silence on the issue and has issued a two-page statement on the act-age’s cancellation as well as on sexual harassment.

Usazaki starts their statement by extending “deepest sympathies to the victims” of Matsuki’s crimes, as well as commending them for “bravely [speaking] up about the incident despite their shock and fear”. Usazaki also acknowledges the trauma inflicted by harassment, saying that the scars from such “do not heal naturally”, and even the sight of similar clothing to one’s attacker can trigger traumatic, unneeded memories.

They further elaborate that because act age can possibly trigger these traumatic memories for the victims, they deem the cancellation of the manga series “appropriate in consideration of this possibility”.

Usazaki then thanks fans of act age and apologizes to them for ending the series midway through the story. They also remind fans not to blame or harass the victims for the cancellation of the series, as it is not the victims’ fault and that they were right to speak up about the harassment.

The former act age illustrator further reminds fans that while they sympathize with fans of the manga who might be at a loss at the sudden cancellation, it will be for the best if everyone “will not use that love to turn it into violence” against the victims. Usazaki reminds them to “Please think carefully, consider various perspectives, and be careful with what you say, and to not be fooled by unfounded information.”

Usazaki ends their statement by expressing hope that Matsuki’s victims as well as their families will be properly cared for, and that they live peaceful lives from here onwards.

On August 8, series creator and author Tatsuya Matsuki was arrested by police after committing an indecent act on a female high school student. According to police reports, the junior high school student was walking in the streets of Nakano ward, Tokyo on June 18 at 8:00 PM when Matsuki approached her from behind while on his bicycle. He then touched her inappropriately and fled the scene on his bike. The victim immediately reported the incident to the police, and the suspect was identified using security footage. The police also discovered that an hour after the reported incident, Matsuki inappropriately touched another female student, this time in a road near where the first incident took place.

act-age was launched in Weekly Shonen Jump last January 2018, with the story written and created by Matsuki and illustrations provided by Shiro Usazaki. The series was once considered to be one of Shonen Jump’s current promising works along with Jujutsu Kaisen, which will be receiving a TV anime series this year. The manga was nominated for Kodansha’s 43^rd Annual Manga Awards last year and is set to receive a stage play adaptation in 2022. Shueisha has not stated their plans for act-age’s future projects, saying that they are still in the process of discussing these.

Source: Anime News Network