Manga ‘Act-Age’ Canceled After Writer Arrested For Indecent Acts With Minors
by Sage Ashford
Act-Age co-creator Tatsuya Matsuki was arrested over the weekend under suspicion of assaulting minors. As has been reported by multiple sites, the twenty-nine year old mangaka was found sexually assaulting an under-aged girl on June 18th. Later that same day, Matsuki assaulted yet another girl. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department managed to figure out Matsuki was responsible by analyzing CCTV footage, and Matsuki himself has also confessed to the crime.
At a time where Shonen Jump has had problems getting manga to last longer than a year, Act-Age was one of the longest-running manga they had, premiering in 2018 and maintaining a decent enough level of popularity for an anime to be worked on. Nonetheless, Weekly Shonen Jump quickly canceled the manga after confirming the allegations as true. Both Viz and MANGAPlus have decided not to publish the last chapter of the series, chapter 123.
MANGA Plus’s statement:
It is extremely unfortunate to have to end a series that has received so much support from so many readers in this way. However, this decision was made because of the nature of the incident, and because Weekly Shonen Jump recognizes the weight of its social responsibility.
We offer our deepest regrets and apologies to our readers. This is a difficult time for Usazaki Sensei, but the editorial department offers Usazaki Sensei our support and encouragement for future works.
Information about graphic novel volumes and related publications and events will be announced as they are decided.
August 10, 2020
H/T: WSJ_manga
