[Ashihara Princess Miko/SEXY Miss Tanaka/Japan/Manga/Live Action]The body of Ashihara Princess Miko, the author of the Japanese comics “Sand Clock” and “SEXY Tanaka Miss”, was found in the Kawaji Reservoir in Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture on January 29. The police determined that it was Suicide case. On January 26, Princess Ashihara issued a long statement reprimanding the crew of the live-action version of “SEXY Miss Tanaka” for not respecting the original work when adapting it. She said that she took over the writing of the last few episodes because of this, but the negative reviews of the work have not been reversed, and she apologized to fans. The publishing house Shogakukan, which holds the copyright of “SEXY Miss Tanaka”, held an internal briefing meeting the day before yesterday (6th) and stated that it will not announce the details of the incident involving Princess Awara to the outside world at present.
This response sparked outrage in the manga industry. Higa Aloha, the author of “Polar Bear Café”, Yuki Suezugu, the author of “Kana Card Love”, Hidemine Sato, the author of “Umizaru”, Sannoji Kurata, the author of the serial version of “The Monologues of the Medicine Girl”, and ” “Reprinted” author Matsuda Naoko and many other cartoonists have spoken out to disclose the unfair power in the industry. While the publishing house collects 90% of the stamp tax, the original cartoonist cannot guarantee that the work will not be “magically altered”. Some cartoonists announced that they will no longer Will cooperate with Shogakukan again.
The manga “SEXY Miss Tanaka” by Japanese manga artist Ashihara Princess was adapted into a Japanese drama. Many fans thought the adaptation was poor. (Picture/taken from X@ashihara_hina)
“SEXY Miss Tanaka” by Princess Ashihara tells the story of an ordinary-looking office worker who transforms into a belly dancer after get off work. It has been serialized since 2017 and will be adapted into an NTV live-action TV series in October 2023. After the series was aired, the audience was dissatisfied because the plot of the manga was significantly changed. Afterwards, screenwriter Tomoko Aizawa posted on social media that she was only responsible for the plot of episodes 1 to 8, and the last two episodes were adapted by Princess Ashihara herself.
Japanese cartoonist Princess Ashihara posted a message at noon on January 28, 2024, saying: “I didn’t mean to attack, I’m sorry.” After that, she disappeared from the world. (Picture/taken from X@ashihara_hina)
On January 26, Princess Ashihara published a long article explaining the reason. She said that since the original work was not finished, she had requested that the series be “loyal to the original work” before the adaptation, and she provided the adapted plot outline and lines to prevent the manga from being affected by the series. However, the TV station did not respect the request, so it could only take over the writing of the last two episodes. Unfortunately, it was unable to turn the tide. Screenwriter Yuko Aizawa’s previous adaptations of works such as “Mystery” and “The Locked Room” were considered by comic readers to be “modified” original works and were called “original work crushers”. This incident has attracted a lot of attention. Less criticism from fans. Princess Ashihara later deleted the post and explained that she did not mean to “draw attacks.”
Shogakukan stated that it will not disclose the details of the Awara Princess Miko incident (wiki)
The producers of the TV series later stated that all adaptations were authorized by the publisher, while Shogakukan held an internal briefing on February 6, stating that because Princess Awara had deleted all her social media records before her death, “in order to respect the legacy of the deceased,” no The details of the incident will be disclosed, and Shogakukan and NTV will maintain a friendly relationship.
This approach caused dissatisfaction among industry insiders and attracted many cartoonists to speak out: Matsuda Naoko, the author of “Reprinted”, asked Shogakukan to explain the incident in detail on The author Sannoji Kurata said that his painting version was more faithful to the original interpretation, but the animated version did not follow suit; the author of “Aozora Paper Plane” Mizuhata said that he can only get 10% of the royalties from all publications; “Polar Bear Café” (also known as “Polar Bear Café”) Higa Aloha, the author of “White Bear Cafe”) pointed out the unequal rights between publishers and cartoonists in “Never give in to cartoonists!”
Higa Aloha even used this to disclose in detail on She even found out after the animation was aired and the editor asked her to supervise the peripherals. She said that she had done rigorous research for the character, but even the basic structure of the polar bear was wrong in the animated version. At that time, she posted a message on Twitter to express her dissatisfaction, but was pressured by the elementary school staff to delete it. Later, she decided to stop publishing it indefinitely in Shogakukan until it was transferred to Shueisha to re-serialize it a year later.
The author of “Umimon” Sato Hidemine also published an article after the Awara Princess Mingko incident, recalling the unfair treatment he received during the film and television version of his work. (webpage Screenshot)
Hidemine Sato, the author of “Umimon”, also did the same after the Awara Princess Mingko incidentPost a message, recalling the unfair treatment he received during the filmmaking of his work. He said that cartoonists usually sign a copyright management entrustment contract with a publishing house, and the publishing house decides on the use of the works. Although the contract stipulates that use must be approved by the cartoonist, the publishing house rarely abides by it. He said that he was asked to stamp the film contract without asking anything clearly. At that time, the royalties for the original “Umama” were less than 2 million yen (approximately HK$104,710). Without his knowledge, the second part of “Sea Monkey” began to be promoted. He urgently stopped the live-action version of the sequel, and the producer was willing to increase the copyright royalties. However, after experiencing a series of incidents such as unauthorized interviews by TV stations and the publication of related books without permission, he decided to find a lawyer to intervene. Since then, the “Sea Monkey” movie has disappeared from TV and the Internet.
