On July 3, Kodansha posted an apology for the criticisms made by Akane Shimizu, the author of the manga ``Cells at Work!'' on X, regarding the handling of the editorial department at the time of the serialization. He admitted that the medical supervision system and drawing environment at the time of the series "were not able to be implemented appropriately." On the same day, Shimizu also reported that he had received a letter of apology and said that he was proceeding with discussions with Kodansha.
The apology was made in response to Shimizu's comments on X from July 1st to 3rd about the medical supervision system during the serialization of Cells at Work, the drawing environment, the response of the editor in charge at the time, and the credit notation of derivative works after the serialization. Kodansha admitted that despite receiving multiple requests from Shimizu to improve the environment during the serialization, they were unable to implement measures such as establishing a medical supervision system and arranging assistants to create an environment for the drawings.
It is also said that prior confirmation with Mr. Shimizu was not appropriate for the credit notation of some spin-off works and visual derivative publications after the series was published.
Regarding the editor in charge at the time, Shimizu explained that he was no longer in charge. The company also stated that it is taking the issue seriously as ``an issue with the editorial department's management and supervisory system,'' and continued discussions with Shimizu to settle the matter in the past. Regarding Shimizu's current support system and the progress of new projects, the company explains that they have been able to create an environment that respects Shimizu's wishes.
What is the content posted by Mr. Shimizu?
From July 1st to July 3rd, Mr. Shimizu posted a summary of the incident on X based on documents and memories from the time. According to the report, before and after the series began in 2014, the editor in charge explained that ``medical supervision would be included,'' but the first volume of the book, released in 2015, did not mention the name of the supervisor, and there were many errors in the content, which led to criticism from readers.
When I asked for improvements to the supervisory system in response to this, the editor in charge responded, ``It's okay because it's a basic manga.'' After that, he made repeated requests for improvement, but to no avail, and he developed trichotillomania and depression. He also revealed that he attempted suicide during his hiatus from 2018. The resumption of serialization in 2021 was intended to end the series, and it is said that the series ended due to stress.
Regarding credit notation, it was pointed out that after requesting separation from the editorial department in 2023, the notation of ``original work by Akane Shimizu'' in the spin-off work was changed to ``cooperation with Shimizu Productions'' without permission. In 2019, it was discovered that his own name had disappeared from the ``Cells at Work Encyclopedia'' published in 2019, and instead the name of the Sirius editorial department had appeared on the front.
When Mr. Shimizu checked the credit notation, the editorial department explained that Mr. Shimizu was dissatisfied with the supervisory system, so they took steps to remove Mr. Shimizu's name so as not to cause trouble in the event that a mistake was made.
In response to the publication of the apology letter, Shimizu posted on the 3rd, ``I have been presented with a letter of apology from the editorial department, so I would like to report it.'' He expressed his gratitude to those involved for their sincere response, and said, "We will continue to respond calmly to the discussions with Kodansha." Furthermore, he said, ``The current editor in charge is a very talented and honest person, and he never breaks his promises,'' indicating that he has a good relationship with his new editor.
On June 15th, Shimizu also disclosed in X that she had been diagnosed with depression, trichotillomania, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the series, and that she had suffered financial and sexual damage from relatives. He explained that this series of posts is ``a completely separate matter from the sexual assault case.''
