For decades, Shueisha's Shonen Jump magazine has been synonymous with the biggest names in manga, and by extension, anime. There are entire video games made up of superstar characters from various beloved series that started in the magazine, so you could imagine they'd be pretty protective of their reputation.
Case in point: Tatsuya Matsumoto, AKA Tatsuya Matsuki, the author behind the popular Shonen Jump series Act-Age, was arrested on August 8 for an incident that occurred on June 18. The 29-year-old writer was riding a bike through Nakano Ward, Tokyo, where he stopped beside a junior high school girl (aged 12-15) and groped her before riding away. The girl contacted the police, who later identified the assailant as Matsuki and believe he was responsible for groping another junior high school girl an hour after the initial incident. Matsuki confessed to the crime after his arrest, saying "overall, there is no mistake."
Matsuki's arrest
Shonen Jump were quick to respond, issuing a statement the same day as his arrest. It said:
“We have received reports regarding the recent incident regarding Tatsuya Matsuki, the original creator of Act-Age, which is currentl being serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump. Our managing editorial department takes these allegations very seriously.
Once we have confirmed the details of the situation, appropriate measures will be taken.
We deeply apologize for the distress this has caused all of our readers and parties connected to the incident.”
Act-Age doesn't have an anime adaptation, but there was a live-action stage play in development that began taking applications for auditions last month. Horipro, the production company behind the play, also commented on the incident:
“In response to reports regarding the original creator, we are currently confirming the details of the situation. We will be making an announcement at a later date regarding the future of the play and the status of the audition process. We thank you for your understanding.”
A few days later, Jump released a follow-up statement clarifying the actions they will take following the news of the author's arrest:
On August 8, Tatsuya Matsuki, the original creator of Act-Age, was arrested.
Our managing editorial department recognizes the severity of what transpired, has confirmed the details of the incident that led to the arrest, and discussed the situation with Act-Age artist Shiro Usazaki. Following this, we have judged that it is not possible to continue serializing Act-Age.
As of the August 11 combined Volume 26/37 of Weekly Shonen Jump, we will be ending Act-Age’s serialization.
We deeply regret that a series that has been enjoyed and supported by so many fans will be ending in this manner. However, we have arrived at this decision in earnest consideration of the social responsibility of Weekly Shonen Jump.
We wish to sincerely apologize for the anguish and distress that has been caused.
This decision is especially painful for Usazaki, but we will be working hard to support her in creating new works in the future.
In addition, we will be discussing what to do regarding currently printed collected volumes of Act-Age and associated events with individual counterpart organizations, and announcing those decisions at a later date.
Unlike most manga, Act-Age was the creation of two people: Matsuki and artist Shiro Usazaki. Shiro's career, as well as those of multiple interns and assistants plus other Jump staff and all those involved with the stage play will no doubt take a hit because of Matsuki's vile behavior. Moreover, fans of the series are disappointed that it had to end prematurely because the author couldn't control himself.
So, what do you guys make of this? Are (or should I say were) you a fan of Act-Age? Was Shueisha's reaction appropriate? Let us know what you think!
