Shonen Jump removes Act-Age from their digital library.

It is always sad when you hear about your favorite creators not exactly being stand-up people. It’s even more horrifying when you learn they have actively been hurting lives in one way or another. This seemed to be the case with Act-Age manga author Tatsuya Matsuki. On August 8, 2020, the 22-year-old author was arrested on the suspicion of sexually assaulting two junior high school girls.

According to Crunchyroll, when presented with CCTV footage of the two incidents in question, Matsuki confirmed that he was the man in the footage. This was met with fairly swift action from all parties involved. Matsuki’s manga series was concluded immediately afterward. While they lamented that a series with such support would be getting the chop, they stated they recognize “the weight of its social responsibility.”

And it looks like they have gone a step further. Viz Media updated their blog recently, going on to say the following.

“Concerning Shueisha’s official statement below, VIZ Media will no longer publish current and future works of Act-Age, including graphic novels and digital volumes, and chapters will be removed from the Shonen Jump digital vault.”

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So, in addition to Act-Age coming to an end, readers will no longer have access to any chapters available on the Shonen Jump app. Personally, I think this a great thing. Sexual assault is bad enough, but sexual assault on a kid is a whole ‘nother level of bad. But it’s hard not to point to another problematic creative. 

Back in 2017, Nobuhiro Watsuki, the creator of Rurouni Kenshin, had his home raided. Watsuki reportedly possessed DVDs featuring naked girls in their early teens. He even went on to admit that he “liked girls in the higher grades of elementary school to the second grade of junior high.”

In spite of this, chapters of Rurouni Kenshin are still for sale through Viz Media. Sure, I guess one could argue that sexually assaulting a child is different from merely possessing child pornography, but I do think if we’re talking social responsibility, a removal of Watsuki’s series would seem in the cards.

Then again, that’s just the opinion of one man. The entertainment industry all over the world is home to many secrets. Now that we’re seeing more instances like these coming to light, I believe it’s important to make it clear this kind of behavior can no longer be tolerated. The swift actions again Act-Age are encouraging, but what of Rurouni Kenshin? Let us know what your thoughts are down below!

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SOURCE: Crunchyroll, (2), Viz Media