Kokoro Connect Bullying Incident

[dahl_moon]

Oh God, you croakers

It's regarding a VA named Ichiki Mitsuhiro, who they played a prank on for the purpose of the Kokoro Connect pre-air talk show that was streamed on NicoNico before the series started, in which Ichiki was told he was auditioning to act in the series but then afterwords revealed he was really going to have the job of driving the Kokoro Connect promotional van around cities to promote the show.

The tweet in the yaraon post said that Ichiki will be acting in the actual show after all from episode 14 onward. But the tweet was deleted for some reason. The yaraon blog comment is just, "Huh, wonder why they deleted it? Didn't sound like a bad thing."

And that's the entire story.

I'm reading this from Korean websites, so take this with a grain of salt, but it seems like this "prank" they pulled on Ichiki Mitsuhiro is generating a huge firestorm in Japan at the moment. As bastek66 said the staff put on a "fake" audition for Ichiki, who was rather devastated when he found out during the "talk show" (who wouldn't if your job interview was fake?). They even went so far as create a fake character that is supposed to appear later (I guess this is where the episode 14 onward came from?) Things went south quickly when Sugita Tomokazu, a friend of Ichiki, found out and entered the fray.

King Records is trying to put out the fire but it's getting out of hand; this is a PR nightmare for the series in general. The prank is already listed in Niconicopedia as the Kokoro Connect Candid Camera Affair (ココロコネクトドッキリ事件). This is a very disappointing development.

See also (in Japanese):
http://subcultureblog.blog114.fc2.com/blog-entry-8612.html

[Nico87]

I'm reading this from Korean websites, so take this with a grain of salt, but it seems like this "prank" they pulled on Ichiki Mitsuhiro is generating a huge firestorm in Japan at the moment. As bastek66 said the staff put on a "fake" audition for Ichiki, who was rather devastated when he found out during the "talk show" (who wouldn't if your job interview was fake?). They even went so far as create a fake character that is supposed to appear later (I guess this is where the episode 14 onward came from?) Things went south quickly when Sugita Tomokazu, a friend of Ichiki, found out and entered the fray.

King Records is trying to put out the fire but it's getting out of hand; this is a PR nightmare for the series in general. The prank is already listed in Niconicopedia as the Kokoro Connect Candid Camera Affair (ココロコネクトドッキリ事件). This is a very disappointing development.

See also (in Japanese):
http://subcultureblog.blog114.fc2.com/blog-entry-8612.html

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%B3%E3%82%B3%E3%83%AD%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8D%E3%8 2%AF%E3%83%88-%E3%83%92%E3%83%88%E3%83%A9%E3%83%B3%E3%83%80%E3%8 3%A0-%E4%B8%8A-%E5%88%9D%E5%9B%9E%E9%99%90%E5%AE%9A%E7%89%88-Blu-ray/dp/B008KJJN92/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Just.. Wow. It had four 5-star ratings before shit hit the fan. I was actually thinking about cancelling my pre-order for a second because I thought something serious happened to the series itself, but if it's all because of a prank.. Meh.

[novalysis]

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%B3%E3%82%B3%E3%83%AD%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8D%E3%8 2%AF%E3%83%88-%E3%83%92%E3%83%88%E3%83%A9%E3%83%B3%E3%83%80%E3%8 3%A0-%E4%B8%8A-%E5%88%9D%E5%9B%9E%E9%99%90%E5%AE%9A%E7%89%88-Blu-ray/dp/B008KJJN92/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Just.. Wow. It had four 5-star ratings before shit hit the fan. I was actually thinking about cancelling my pre-order for a second because I thought something serious happened to the series itself, but if it's all because of a prank.. Meh.

Well, apparently, it's a B List Voice Actor who thought that Kokoro Connect was his big break - before he got trolled, and rather insultingly so.

I have no clue why anyone thought this publicity stunt would have been a good idea though.

Speaking of which, I think the key point of discussion of Kokoro Connect is all about it's characters. It's just a personal opinion of mine, but given the considerable fan-art, and rather comprehensive discussions going on in this thread, especially discussions that are worthy of any character thread that I think (late as it might be), Kokoro Connect might just deserve a sub-forum of it's own.:heh:.

Even if, with the disappointing BD Sales, I don't think this is going to get a Second Season. Especially after this scandal.

[Jmac]

Well, apparently, it's a B List Voice Actor who thought that Kokoro Connect was his big break - before he got trolled, and rather insultingly so.

I have no clue why anyone thought this publicity stunt would have been a good idea though.

Speaking of which, I think the key point of discussion of Kokoro Connect is all about it's characters. It's just a personal opinion of mine, but given the considerable fan-art, and rather comprehensive discussions going on in this thread, especially discussions that are worthy of any character thread that I think (late as it might be), Kokoro Connect might just deserve a sub-forum of it's own.:heh:.

Even if, with the disappointing BD Sales, I don't think this is going to get a Second Season. Especially after this scandal.

*sigh* Why does all the good shows gotta have some sort of scandal behind it? Don't know the details (chrome translate kinda sucks). But yeah 2nd season seems like a long shot now. :eyebrow:

Sad, this show had so much potential too...

[frivolity]

It seems to be exploding out of control. Apparently, Yui's VA, Aoki's VA, and possibly Taichi's VA are under fire for this prank. There have also been calls for boycott of the author's and illustrator's future works.

[GundamZZ]

Those VA are fine. Two VA are targeted because they laugh about the victim on the radio show. They definitely go to far, especially the victim of the prank is not someone who deserves it, such as scandalous super star or political figure.

[circulated story below]
At first, I thought the "fake audition" means that they already had someone in mind(Otome Boku scandal). However, the chosen VA proved to be one of the best candidates at the time. So, the riot went down. This fake audition is simply an attack on a person's name. So, I agree people's comments. I also think they production team needs to do some damage control. They may have to make the apology (to the VA) even public do not buy it.

Besides, the figure from Amazon may not trustworthy. In the past, Amazon had to ban some anime distributors. One particular distributor created pre-ordered and canceled the number of items on Amazon. The amount managed to create over-stock and loss at Amazon's end.

[justsomeguy]

I can't understand what sort of assholes would enjoy raising somebody's hopes, and crashing it down on them, and doing it publicly. I have to say though, that in a morbid manner this incident is more interesting than the show itself because of how much more it reveals about humanity.

[Uberchu]

Kiss goodbye to a second season. I doubt it well sell past 1K.

[Theo]

Little idea what's happening with the shitstorm, but this sounds like the greatest anime premise ever.

[Blonto]

As much as I like the show, I'm glad people are reacting to these guys being asses instead of completely ignoring it. What I don't get is why the hell the creators would do something like this?

[Chaos2Frozen]

As much as I like the show, I'm glad people are reacting to these guys being asses instead of completely ignoring it. What I don't get is why the hell the creators would do something like this?

Still, it's abit extreme if they end up boycotting the LN and it's author who have zero to do with this.

[ivari]

Kokoro Connect Radio Show is as of now, canceled.

[Kakkou]

This is getting a lot more out of hand seeing how /a/ was tweeting pictures of their dicks to Eri Kitamura, to say nothing about 2ch themselves marking her as a potential firing target for supposedly being producer Takahiro Yamanaka's slut. Riya of Eufonius is also listed despite only the other half of the group, Hajime Kikuchi, being a total asshole.

Well, it's certainly going to be interesting what all this leads to by the end of the day...

[Chaos2Frozen]

I wouldn't say 'interesting'... After all these are the same type of people that had pressured Kannagi's author into bad health, I'll bet more than half of them are just doing this for shits and giggles and don't actually care about the victim.

[Kakkou]

Well, I didn't mean interesting in an amusing way. I'm certainly not really pleased at the overall reaction since this is turning to be more of a hate bandwagon by the hour. It's already been a huge stain on the names of those involved and some jobs are likely at stake, overzealous anger is only going to make things worse, with shits n' giggles seekers not helping one bit. KitaEri being involved in this despite her innocence is already a bad start.

[Dextro]

This is getting a lot more out of hand seeing how /a/ was tweeting pictures of their dicks to Eri Kitamura, to say nothing about 2ch themselves marking her as a potential firing target for supposedly being producer Takahiro Yamanaka's slut. Riya of Eufonius is also listed despite only the other half of the group, Hajime Kikuchi, being a total asshole.

Well, it's certainly going to be interesting what all this leads to by the end of the day...

Oh come on! Really? Those douchebags just keep loosing whatever reason they had by doing that sort of crap. The "safety" of anonymity strikes again. *sigh*

[erneiz_hyde]

This is what happens when anons of the internets gets involved. Well, quite frankly I'm a bit depressed hearing this news. Is there a chance that this whole fiasco is still within "script" which is probably cooked by our alleged victim there? (/in denial)

While I condemn those involved in this mean prank, I hope anons know when to stop (faint hope, I know), lest they are no better than these pranksters themselves. I'd say there is enough damage as of now, so hopefully things cool down soon enough. Maybe not. Whatever.

[frivolity]

I agree, nothing new over here, just lots of people following the herd, much like many other internet fads.

[MUAHAHAHAHAHA]

Have they issued an official public apology? Is there a chance that might help to quench public anger? While the actions of the studio are regrettable, blowing this out of proportion isn't going to help anything. The public has the right to condemn, but they should not misuse it. Seconding Chaos2Frozen, I think only a handful of people are actually concerned about the victim, while the rest merely joined in the condemnation for the sheer fun of it - it's that excitable feeling elicited from being part of a larger group that is morally and ethically right and is currently punishing a group of people for serious misconduct. One can't help but to feel powerful.

[Sheba]

From what I gathered, the more worrying thing is that it is not the first time that Yamanaka have pulled this over Ichiki. Which is all the more flabbergasting because apparently that guy can do pretty much the fuck he wants, because this being Japan, Ichiki is supposed to endure and take it with a smile.

And props to Sugita for standing up to Ichiki, I share his disappointment over the (directly) involved people.

This should serve as a cautionary tale for those still believing that the seiyuu business is all candies, smiles and rainbows.

[Klashikari]

What is actually baffling with this whole affair is that all responsible parties just added insult to the injury: it isn't really surprising to have dirty deals, unpleasants incidents behind the scenes, but making it publicly and even pushing it is just disgusting.
Frankly, we still have no idea who is the "culprit", but some people really digged their grave big time, particularly Terashima who just couldn't stop making fun of Ichiki the whole frigging time, even if the latter managed the break the ice by pulling a calm "I will never forgive you" at the end of the event. If that wasn't enough, his comments during the kokoro connect radio segment just confirms the impression he -really- enjoyed that.

Likewise, that member of Eufonius made that comment completely out of the line: I mean, he isn't even involved in the seiyuu industry, is he? That was more than just beating the dead horse, that is flat out malicious.

The seiyuu industry is already too much of a "survival to the fittest", so having such kind of public incident is really beyond bad taste. That's even more disturbing when you consider the fact that Japanese arguably don't like public humiliation (save if the broadcasted program has the said purpose: usual silly mini games etc).

[Chaos2Frozen]

Could someone explain to me why Kitamura Eri is being burned for a show she's not even in?

[sa547]

^
Yeah and I heard some bunch of nuts trying to firehose her Twitter account with spam.

Amazing, and I thought this only happens in mainstream entertainment (we call this as "crab mentality", that is, a loser maliciously dragging down a successful person).

From what was described, it's a complete shitstorm, and unless a public apology is issued (and some Japanese are supposed to do this if they screw up), the backlash will damage the reputations of everyone else involved.

BTW, I recognize Ichiki -- he's Yuuki Fukuzawa.

[erneiz_hyde]

Cmiiw, but I heard it's because KitaEri is alleged as Yamanaka's ehm...you know...

Dunno if that's true.

[Marcus H.]

And so it begins, the greatest shitstorm of our time.

It's often things like this that bring out the true colors of our idols... and this also teaches the parties involved about dealing with people who act like this behind the camera.

They, especially KitaEri, are lucky. If the Hell Correspondence really existed, one of them would be sent straight to Hell.

[Kakkou]

Could someone explain to me why Kitamura Eri is being burned for a show she's not even in?
Because she's rumoured to be producer Yamanaka's favourite (or in 2ch's own words: his slut). She apparently gets frequently casted in his shows and he retweets her on twitter and etc. That's roughly the gist of what I managed to find.

[Chaos2Frozen]

So, what? They're just carpet bombing everyone in sight? If they're doing this to her, I cannot imagine what's going on with the regular VA cast that are actually on the show.

[Kakkou]

So, what? They're just carpet bombing everyone in sight? If they're doing this to her, I cannot imagine what's going on with the regular VA cast that are actually on the show.
This is a.... special case, cause the ones attacking her are really just /a/nons being dicks (pun intended). She may be listed as a target by 2ch but the whole dick incident is purely on this side of the internet (4chan).

[erneiz_hyde]

Well, you know how it is. Nothing new with internet anons doing things like this. The sad thing is that we can't really do anything about it until the flames died out by itself, at which point the casualties would well fall beyond the original intended targets.

[s07195]

So then what's gonna happen to the franchise now? I really hope they take care of this incident in a satisfying way...

[Marcus H.]

^ Not very good news.

http://i.imgur.com/m5SLu.jpg

[Chaos2Frozen]

This is a.... special case, cause the ones attacking her are really just /a/nons being dicks (pun intended). She may be listed as a target by 2ch but the whole dick incident is purely on this side of the internet (4chan).

Well, you know how it is. Nothing new with internet anons doing things like this. The sad thing is that we can't really do anything about it until the flames died out by itself, at which point the casualties would well fall beyond the original intended targets.



Then I stand by what I've said-most of these guys don't really give a damn about the real victim.

[Key Board]

I wasn't there when it happened, but to my understanding..

The Kitamura Eri thing is actually actually someone using the whole situation and using it to grief Kitamura Eri

and since some people who are experiencing mob mentality don't bother to verify information, they follow along

why Kitamura Eri? someone who is unrelated to Kokoro Connect scandal you say?

because someone doesn't like Kitamura Eri very much, and it has only gotten worse after Madoka aired. Don't bother trying to explain internet hate.

[Marcus H.]

A blog translated the content from this Youtube video:

yh2_joRXGXc

Takuma Terashima said that “It was fun seeing a human being break like that”, while Hisako Kanemoto laughed at Ichiki san for not having a role in the anime, and about how he still accepted the promotional manager post in the end, as he doesn’t have a choice. She mocked him, saying something like “Didn’t you want to do this though?(the role) You seemed so enthusiastic about it!”

Looks like the main culprits are the two seiyuu aforementioned.

EDIT: Wow, I left out the T in Takuma's name while bold-tagging it, and it read as "akuma" for a split second. o.o

[MeoTwister5]

I'm waiting for the typical sensationalist internet tabloid rags (i.e. Sankaku) to pick it up and blow it all out of proportion.

[Sheba]

You don't even need Sankaku to blow it out of proportion. What I have seen on 4chan is more than enough. Sankaku will look like slowpoke and Arte TV (the typical cultural channel) in comparison.

[Marcus H.]

^ I'm actually surprised that ANN hasn't picked it up yet.
... Or I haven't found it. :uhoh:

[MeoTwister5]

In any case, Kanemoto Hisako probably just buried her career.

[Marcus H.]

^ Yeah, and to think she just started compared to the others...

And here we go with KitaEri's response on Twitter:

http://0-media-cdn.foolz.us/ffuuka/board/a/image/1346/42/1346421448345.png

"This is a big shock, it's very intense, I'll try to hang on with my work..."

Also, 4chan /a/'s response:

WHAT? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY KITAERI, /a/???

Oh hell no. Leave KitaEri out of this

F#ck any f##### who spams KitaEri. I'm mad.

Too late. I already told these guys but they wouldn't listen.

There was a bullying incident with some VAs that mocked and humiliated another small time VA infront of a live audience, out of /a/'s stupidity they decided to attack Kitamura Eri via twitter and not the main culprits/the main bullies.

/a/'s logic was that KitaEri was liked by the bullies, so if we attack KitaEri this will hurt the bullies - stupid when you consider the bullies have twitter accounts themselves.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Still, it's abit extreme if they end up boycotting the LN and it's author who have zero to do with this.

Exactly...that's the real victim here



More importantly......The idea of a Kokoro Connect van going around cities clocking hundreds of Km in mileage is O__o

http://anago.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/moeplus/1346416369/

2ch thread for anyone interested

This is getting a lot more out of hand seeing how /a/ was tweeting pictures of their dicks to Eri Kitamura, to say nothing about 2ch themselves marking her as a potential firing target for supposedly being producer Takahiro Yamanaka's slut. Riya of Eufonius is also listed despite only the other half of the group, Hajime Kikuchi, being a total asshole.

Well, it's certainly going to be interesting what all this leads to by the end of the day...

The people on those "kuso anime" threads are generally just concentrated hot air...their BS doesn't easily affect saner parts of the fandom

[ivari]

I don't think any site with good sense want to get involved with this. Even Yaraon seems to feign ignorance about the whole incident.

[Chaos2Frozen]

I don't think any site with good sense want to get involved with this. Even Yaraon seems to feign ignorance about the whole incident.

They have for a while, but their post on it just went up.

[ivari]

They have for a while, but their post on it just went up.

Their latest post about Kokoro Connect Radio's cancellation was made in an innocent surprise tone. They should know full well about the reasons but I don't think they mention it at all.

[Cosmic Eagle]

And so it begins, the greatest shitstorm of our time.

It's often things like this that bring out the true colors of our idols... and this also teaches the parties involved about dealing with people who act like this behind the camera.

They, especially KitaEri, are lucky. If the Hell Correspondence really existed, one of them would be sent straight to Hell.

Ok...seriously...what's wrong with Eri Kitamura? There's no proof she's related to this at all...

the ones who need to roast in hell if any are the scum in the Internet.

I just hope Riya isn't affected too badly...she's a damned good singer. And isn't even involved in this as well

[Klashikari]

The trainwreck could have been controlled if the production commitee of the anime made the right decisions (either not making it public or/and making public apology right from the get go).
Doing nothing will make people even angrier as the time passes, since they are basically in a "search and destroy" mode.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Actually, when you think about it, the Japanese penchant for pulling pranks on public TV is very common...it's easy to see how they could have overstepped the line then realized it only too late. It's what happens when you have too little self-control.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Ok...seriously...what's wrong with Eri Kitamura? There's no proof she's related to this at all...

the ones who need to roast in hell if any are the scum in the Internet.

I just hope Riya isn't affected too badly...she's a damned good singer. And isn't even involved in this as well

On a less important note but still something I'm concern about is how this would affect the impression of the two characters those two VAs play. I don't know the VAs well enough to care about them but goddamnit why did they have to pull this crap before what seems to be a big Yui-Aoki episode from the preview!

If the whole Hirano Aya thing taught me anything is that there's a large number of people who can't separate VAs from the characters they voice.... =_=

[Kakkou]

I just hope Riya isn't affected too badly...she's a damned good singer. And isn't even involved in this as well
Riya's probably safe, but Eufonius' name as a whole is likely tarnished by Kikuchi being such a douchebag.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Riya's probably safe, but Eufonius' name as a whole is likely tarnished by Kikuchi being such a douchebag.

Well you know....for bands, the most public face is the vocalist. In most minds, the vocalist IS the band....

[Nico87]

What I'm worrying about is what will happen to the franchise now. The 17 eps are supposed to cover the first four novels, and if they made Kokoro Connect knowing that they'd make a second season aswell, stuff might get weird.

* They try to end the franchise with episode 17 with an abrupt (and shit) ending that wasn't really supposed to be there.

* They wait for proper sales figures which will probably not be very high compared to their initial expectancies, leaving us with a possible open ending in episode 17 with nothing else coming in the future if they decide to not do a second season.

* Nothing changes at all <- the best but least likely outcome in my opinion.

[s07195]

What I'm worrying about is what will happen to the franchise now. The 17 eps are supposed to cover the first four novels, and if they made Kokoro Connect knowing that they'd make a second season aswell, stuff might get weird.

* They try to end the franchise with episode 17 with an abrupt (and shit) ending that wasn't really supposed to be there.

* They wait for proper sales figures which will probably not be very high compared to their initial expectancies, leaving us with a possible open ending in episode 17 with nothing else coming in the future if they decide to not do a second season.

* Nothing changes at all <- the least likely outcome in my opinion.

I don't think they will change plans even if there was a second season in mind, as the original novel end of the fourth novel was a good place to end the anime as well.

A season 2 is probably not likely, even without this incident. There are 2 arcs left to animate and 2 compilations of short stories, so it's not exactly fitting for a second season in the first place.

[Chaos2Frozen]

What I'm worrying about is what will happen to the franchise now. The 17 eps are supposed to cover the first four novels, and if they made Kokoro Connect knowing that they'd make a second season aswell, stuff might get weird.

* They try to end the franchise with episode 17 with an abrupt (and shit) ending that wasn't really supposed to be there.

* They wait for proper sales figures which will probably not be very high compared to their initial expectancies, leaving us with a possible open ending in episode 17 with nothing else coming in the future if they decide to not do a second season.

* Nothing changes at all <- the least likely outcome in my opinion.

Volume 4 is a good place to stop, and it's not just my opinion- pretty much anyone who had read the LN would tell you that.

I wouldn't be surprise if that was the plan in the beginning; after all not every show gets a proper conclusion like Shana- most of them probably ends up like FMP, stuck in limbo.

[Nico87]

Oh, that's good to know. Kokoro is gonna be the first anime I import that's not a box set!

[sudolicious]

even went so far as create a fake character
Actually had to laugh out loud at this, now te people at the station are staring at me with a strange gaze ;_;

I'm surprised this incident got so huge, yeah it's fucked up for the seiyu himself, but who cares? It's not like they tried to shove down hidden advertising our throats or anything else, heck, the VA in question wasn't even that popular IIRC.

[Horse]

Actually had to laugh out loud at this, now te people at the station are staring at me with a strange gaze ;_;

I'm surprised this incident got so huge, yeah it's fucked up for the seiyu himself, but who cares? It's not like they tried to shove down hidden advertising our throats or anything else, heck, the VA in question wasn't even that popular IIRC.

... but the stunt was used as part of the promotion, no?

[Sheba]

@sudolicious

It's a huge PR disaster for every parties involved.
I mean will Ichiki get big roles because he have worked his ass off for them or because those casting him do it out of sympathy? And the two other seiyuus who made fun of him, and added salt to the wound, they have shot themselves in the foot as far as their careers goes.
Yamanaka is likely going to pull a karma houdini, him being a producer and all, he is one of the people who makes the call regarding anime projects. The others? They are in for a long ride.

Bottomline, it's callous, petty, tasteless and a colossal waste.

[Klashikari]

Actually had to laugh out loud at this, now te people at the station are staring at me with a strange gaze ;_;

I'm surprised this incident got so huge, yeah it's fucked up for the seiyu himself, but who cares? It's not like they tried to shove down hidden advertising our throats or anything else, heck, the VA in question wasn't even that popular IIRC.
It absolutely doesn't matter if the seiyuu in question is popular or not: it was a senseless stunt that was completely unecessary, especially if you consider the context.

That "prank" was completely premeditate, since it isn't even about a seiyuu being shot down for not being good enough for a given role: that role was bogus to begin with, going as far as having an audition along with fake sketches etc.
That alone is basically a humiliation by itself, but it goes as far as dragging the said person to public shame, whereas he was working earnestly to get that role, and even cancelled few projects for this.

That's pretty much as if you were trying to get the job you really wanted, went through 2 annoying interviews, and basically got a spot in a staged TV broadcast to realize that everything was a lie, and you are given a street sweeper job instead. If you add the insulting mockery on stage and after the deed with tweets and radio event, I really don't think the magnitude is "exaggerated".

They turned him into a promo monkey, who is asked to go through all over Japan with a damn itasha, for the promotion of a series he even can't take part of it. For that kind of stuff, you would rather use people who are -hired- for that, not a damn VA you don't care.

[Hell_ping]

I think most can agree that the two seiyuus just kissed their careers goodbye (or if not, they'll likely be extras at best). As for the director, he can call the shots all he want, but he will have a black rep on him for the rest of his life.

I know I'm not really one who should say this, but the lack of responsibility I'm seeing here has disillusioned me more and more nowadays. I know that hard work doesn't always give full rewards or even any, but it's like pulling a chair away when someone's trying to sit down. Pretty much every single industry has the survival of the fittest concept going on, but washing dirty linen in open public is just disgusting, and actually harping on it makes it worse. Offering a bogus position would be like "Hi, here's your birthday cake" and smashing it into the birthday kid's face. It's never a pleasant thing. Think of the guy, think of his family, think of his friends. Can you imagine how shameful it will be for Ichiki-san to have to go around to every single interview, and then the interviewers (who may not be the sharpest tools) will say something like, "Oh, so you're the one who got the bogus position in the KC prank last time?" He will probably never be able to try out for another seiyuu audition ever again because of this incident, especially since almost everyone in the anime industry knows about this.

I have nothing to say about the anons. There is a reason why I prefer to use my nick even on imageboards, to make sure I remain responsible for what I say/type. I have to express my regret to Ichiki-san and KitaEri over this incident, that not only are people pricks, but that legions of fans don't even try to find the truth for themselves.

[sudolicious]

... but the stunt was used as part of the promotion, no?No argument here, but why would this offend us/the Japanese audience? We actually could have a good laugh about this as well and move on. I get that the Japanese are especially very sensitive about all sorts of things, but again, how does this negatively effect any of us? That's why I mentioned hidden advertising as one example, I could understand people being annoyed by stuff like the kamogawa incident, but this is something completely different.

And the two other seiyuus who made fun of him, and added salt to the wound, they have shot themselves in the foot as far as their careers goes.

Bottomline, it's callous, petty, tasteless and a colossal waste."made fun of him"? They laughed and made a few sassy comments on the show, I wouldn't take this completely serious and don't think they meant any harm by it.

I still agree that it was completely uncalled for and tasteless, but seriously, are all of you and the jap audience saints? Who doesn't enjoy some schadenfreude once in a while, it was a silly prank, no need to get upset. I could've slightly understand if it was a popular seiyu with a strong fan base or if it would affect the show negatively... But well, as I said the audience is probably just a bit over sensitive

[Sheba]

But well, as I said the audience is probably just a bit over sensitive



Nope. We, the more moderate people here, are just manifesting a little empathy. In the context of the seiyuu industry, everyone started small so, popular or not, it's something that should not be done ever. Especially in a society where "public face" is a very big deal.

PS: about the schadenfreude thing. Yes it happens, we all had this moment in our life, but what the two guys did is to make it worse. I dunno about you but this:



Takuma Terashima said that “It was fun seeing a human being break like that”, while Hisako Kanemoto laughed at Ichiki san for not having a role in the anime, and about how he still accepted the promotional manager post in the end, as he doesn’t have a choice. She mocked him, saying something like “Didn’t you want to do this though?(the role) You seemed so enthusiastic about it!”



It just don't sit well with me.

[Guardian Enzo]

More than anything, this just makes me sad - it's pathetic that there are people in this day and age who consider this kind of thing funny, and suitable for a "prank". This is basically a middle school bullying incident with all the requisite ugliness and bile, played out in front of a worldwide audience. The real victim here is Ichiki-san, who endured this kind of humiliation not because of anything he'd done, but for the pathetic amusement of others.

Now that said, I think a couple of conclusions seem reasonable. First, why would you argue for a boycott of the author and illustrator of the LN - who had nothing to do with this? Or Kitamura Eri, simply for being a favorite of Yamanaka? That reaction says as much about the dysfunction of the fan community as the prank itself does about the people who perpetrated it. And second, KC was very unlikely to get a second season irrespective of this - pre-orders weren't looking good and while surprises do happen, it's very unlikely the numbers were far enough off to make a difference. We were always going to get one season (+ the BD extras) and that was going to be it. Don't blame the lack of a sequel on this ugliness.

This won't impact my view of the show itself on way or the other - I look at it as a separate incident. But damn, what a needless waste of energy that everyone is focused on something that needn't have ever happened but for the petty cruelty of people with too much time on their hands.

[Tempester]

Takuma Terashima said that “It was fun seeing a human being break like that”, while Hisako Kanemoto laughed at Ichiki san for not having a role in the anime, and about how he still accepted the promotional manager post in the end, as he doesn’t have a choice. She mocked him, saying something like “Didn’t you want to do this though?(the role) You seemed so enthusiastic about it!”

http://i.imgur.com/bYp24.jpg

Why would anyone say something that malicious? Goddammit, I hate Japan so much.

[totoum]

Who doesn't enjoy some schadenfreude once in a while, it was a silly prank, no need to get upset. I could've slightly understand if it was a popular seiyu with a strong fan base

For me to enjoy a prank it either needs to have a happy ending ( like this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nKKqPOiJxI) ) or be pulled on someone who can take it.
I would have found the prank a lot funnier if it was pulled on a star seiyuu,first because it would take some actual guts to pull it (while taking a no name doesn't) and because even if the star doesn't get the role he still would have a career.

[Klashikari]

No argument here, but why would this offend us/the Japanese audience? We actually could have a good laugh about this as well and move on. I get that the Japanese are especially very sensitive about all sorts of things, but again, how does this negatively effect any of us? That's why I mentioned hidden advertising as one example, I could understand people being annoyed by stuff like the kamogawa incident, but this is something completely different.I really can't comprehend your point of view at all: how is that a good laugh? I could have understand if they basically made a very obvious setup up, and just pulling a "you have been had!" right after the audition and talking about other stuff.
That said, the context is entirely different: he was given a prospect of a true job, and was dragged for months into expectations that lead to a public humiliation, painting him as a laughing stock.

I don't get why the seiyuu being popular or not have anything to do with the tasteless aspect of this affair: being unknown in a given industry doesn't warrant being trampled this way: that's like justifying any artist to be dragged in the dirt, because they didn't sell enough at that "given time". What say if other seiyuu got the same treatement years ago, and the same situation arise later... how does it make "less legit" if it is done after their fame? it doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

"made fun of him"? They laughed and made a few sassy comments on the show, I wouldn't take this completely serious and don't think they meant any harm by it. You really didn't get the comment, did you? Terashima and Kanemoto were making fun of him, ridiculing his expectations and even relish on his misfortune. If "it was fun seeing a human being break like that" isn't ridiculing him and being tasteless, I really wonder what's your definition of that.
The radio didn't make this any better, since they had no sense of remorse, and just went ahead with the "how funny it was" knowing full well how humiliating it was.
I still agree that it was completely uncalled for and tasteless, but seriously, are all of you and the jap audience saints? Who doesn't enjoy some schadenfreude once in a while, it was a silly prank, no need to get upset. I could've slightly understand if it was a popular seiyu with a strong fan base or if it would affect the show negatively... But well, as I said the audience is probably just a bit over sensitiveYou don't need to be a saint to be outraged by that.
There is a stark difference between a simple prank usual to silly TV broadcast, and a stunt of this genre. Even with Japanese having countless of this kind of sassy stuff, this one generated a huge backlash for good reason. You really have to consider the context, instead of taking the "prank" at face value.

Especially that it wouldn't ternish the career or reputation of a popular VA, since unless they do jack like Hirano, they have jobs ahead of them. For instance, if anyone else than Sakurai involved with that plagiarism scandal would be dead meat by now. it is due to Sakurai popularity and fanbase along with his performances that could mitigate the backlash of that affair.
A "no name" like Ichiki would be a complete different matter: he will be labeled as a guillible seiyuu, who was bad enough to be pulled a prank on. Even if people knows he is the innocent victim, he will have to drag this for a LONG period.

[sudolicious]

I doubt the accuracy of the translation, but I can't say for sure yet because I'm currently not able to listen to the show for myself. I wouldn't take translations from some blog for totally authentic to begin with though.

Also I think you're overestimating the whole "losing face" thing, teh_pings post especially gave me a good chuckle. You're making it out like he's completely finished and could just as wel commit sudoku

Yes, they pulled a prank on a human being and once again, I of course don't think this was necessary or especially funny. But instead of being a hypocrite and acting like I would give a shit about his personal life or his career - which none of us does - I'm simply saying that we shouldn't make this a bigger deal than it is.

These holy saint attitude is really starting to annoy me, you're blowing things out of proportion

[Sheba]

The whole "losing face" deal is much more important in Asian societies. As for "why caring", I'll answer, what's wrong with putting ourselves in his shoes and feel for him? I think even the more morally bankrupt anons and 2channers might feel a little sorry. Which may explain the reactions over the whole affair, some being inappropriate and disproportionate (the KitaEri tweeter spam).

EDIT: In TVtropes lingo, this would have been called a Kick the Dog moment as far as those behind the deed are concerned.

[Xacual]

I just felt like putting it out there, don't blame /a/ for the idiots that spammed KitaEri. There's a group that loves making /a/ look bad and it was them that took advantage of some idiots in the thread last night and did the spamming. Honestly the whole situation is stupid as hell though the only reason she was targeted was because apparently the 2ch thread kept mentioning her in connection.

I really wish things like this didn't happen though, it's just absolutely terrible to do to some poor guy hoping for a gig, especially when you find out this isn't the first time they pulled this kind of prank on him too.

[novalysis]

Collateral damage all over the place....

This incident, I think, won't be soon forgotten. It's a shame that the actions of a single producer has possibly ruined Silver Link as a whole, since I thought that this studio was on an upswing before this incident broke out.

[Klashikari]

I doubt the accuracy of the translation, but I can't say for sure yet because I'm currently not able to listen to the show for myself. I wouldn't take translations from some blog for totally authentic to begin with though.So, you are doubting the translations before checking them by yourself (assuming you have decent japanese knowledge, that is)? Sorry, but some obvious statements can't be mistaken, and I doubt Ichiki's "許せないよ" was thoughtless after all of this.
Yes, they pulled a prank on a human being and once again, I of course don't think this was necessary or especially funny. But instead of being a hypocrite and acting like I would give a shit about his personal life or his career - which none of us does - I'm simply saying that we shouldn't make this a bigger deal than it is. Hypocrite? it seems you can't believe people would be pissed off by that, as if they actually "don't care". Don't project your own view of that affair on other people, who might be a bit more empathic than you are. Frankly, I have no idea how Ichiki is feeling, and I'm in no position to determine that. What outrages me the most is how the one(s) behind this mess didn't even bother to apology and drag this thing to public, as if it was "really" funny or not tasteless enough to be hidden. I'm sure I'm not the only one, although it is definitely not the only way to see this whole mess. So thinking people are all hypocrite and making it more than it is is just a displaced remark.

[sudolicious]

The whole "losing face" deal is much more important in Asian societies. As for "why caring", I'll answer, what's wrong with putting ourselves in his shoes and feel for him? I think even the more morally bankrupt anons and 2channers might feel a little sorry. Which may explain the reactions over the whole affair, some being inappropriate and disproportionate (the KitaEri tweeter spam).
No doubt that losing face in general is a way bigger thing over there than anywhere else, but it's not like he's never going to get another job or his friends would start bullying him or something. Some people here make it out like this was the biggest possible "humiliation" and start spouting about losing his face, when it was just a stupid prank. I'm not saying it won't damage him at all, that's one of the reasons why I stated multiple times that I'm not approving of this as well, but again, he's not gonna be home and jobless and abandoned from society because of this

And of course there's nothing wrong in sympathizing with him, but again, that's no reason to starting blowing things out of proportion

[HandofFate]

Even if you don't personally know the 'random seiyuu', people are still able to have empathy. Especially if ever actually jobhunted in any kind of career.

Doesn't even have to be this 'high-tier' of a position.

A college student trying to land a good internship involving multiple interviews and submitting portfolios only to find out 3months later at the company that it was all fake and a joke, and then getting laughed at is the same thing.

[Dextro]

I doubt the accuracy of the translation, but I can't say for sure yet because I'm currently not able to listen to the show for myself. I wouldn't take translations from some blog for totally authentic to begin with though.

Also I think you're overestimating the whole "losing face" thing, teh_pings post especially gave me a good chuckle. You're making it out like he's completely finished and could just as wel commit sudoku


Yes, they pulled a prank on a human being and once again, I of course don't think this was necessary or especially funny. But instead of being a hypocrite and acting like I would give a shit about his personal life or his career - which none of us does - I'm simply saying that we shouldn't make this a bigger deal than it is.

These holy saint attitude is really starting to annoy me, you're blowing things out of proportion

If you don't see anything wrong with this situation than would you be happy to come to a job interview? I can offer you a very nice pay for very few hours of very simple work. You'll just have to deal with our company's bureaucracy for a couple of months while we work things out. But It's totally legit I promise, there's even this nice bridge I'm willing to give you. /s

You just don't do that kind of thing. It's literally evil, there's no other way to put it! (and yes, I meant to use "literally" there).

PS: how would one go about committing "sudoku"? Do you write numbers on your limbs? :heh:

[novalysis]

I think, in the longer run, whether Silver Link, or indeed the Producers will apologize for this fiasco depends on whether they think this would damage the prospects future productions. Truth is, the longer this goes on, I'd think the more likely that the embargo would go beyond not just Kokoro Connect, but all of Silver Links other works in the pipeline.

It is really, really tragic that a story of the quality of Kokoro Connect would be ever more associated with this incident. More so are the attacks on the LN author and illustrator. What's next? Attacks on his publisher?

Basically, this fiasco will nuke quite alot of people's careers, it seems.

[Xacual]

PS: how would one go about committing "sudoku"? Do you write numbers on your limbs? :heh:

4chan joke, intentional misspelling of seppuku of course :p

[Klashikari]

I think, in the longer run, whether Silver Link, or indeed the Producers will apologize for this fiasco depends on whether they think this would damage the prospects future productions. Truth is, the longer this goes on, I'd think the more likely that the embargo would go beyond not just Kokoro Connect, but all of Silver Links other works in the pipeline.

It is really, really tragic that a story of the quality of Kokoro Connect would be ever more associated with this incident. More so are the attacks on the LN author and illustrator. What's next? Attacks on his publisher?

Basically, this fiasco will nuke quite alot of people's careers, it seems.
The bandwagon effect is indeed another problem that will combine itself with the damage already done to the "actual victim". I still don't get why Silver Link commitee doesn't do any single thing, considering the lack of intervention implies a tacit "nod" to this mess, or a claim they aren't responsible for it (which is surprising, considering japanese society model is quite prone to make a company take the whole responsibility of a single employee mistake), so having this dragged for more than a day doesn't bode too well with Japanese.
With that context in mind, There is nothing that would justify or excuse this mess, but at the very least, a simple public announcement would quench a bit people anger, even if they won't buy it at 100%.

At this point, it will just have a snowball effect, and I can't say it will be a nice sight, considering it has already started with Kitamura.

[kenshinflyer]

Takuma Terashima said that “It was fun seeing a human being break like that”, while Hisako Kanemoto laughed at Ichiki san for not having a role in the anime, and about how he still accepted the promotional manager post in the end, as he doesn’t have a choice. She mocked him, saying something like “Didn’t you want to do this though?(the role) You seemed so enthusiastic about it!”

Plain horrible. I can see two stunning careers going down the drain...

[Tyabann]

Terashima is already fairly established (and male, which helps more than you'd think in a situation like this), but Kanemoto... yeah, her career's dead as of now. :heh:

[Sheba]

Yeah, I totally forgot the part where it sucks more to be a female in Japan.

[kenshinflyer]

In any case SILVER LINK is a great company--they'd better do something to clear this mess (at least) or risk getting axed to infamy.

[Student no.0]

Really frustrating situation here. I'm sad to hear something like this is involved with one of my favorite shows this season, but I feel even more sorry for that VA who got humiliated in such a way...

Takuma Terashima said that “It was fun seeing a human being break like that”, while Hisako Kanemoto laughed at Ichiki san for not having a role in the anime, and about how he still accepted the promotional manager post in the end, as he doesn’t have a choice. She mocked him, saying something like “Didn’t you want to do this though?(the role) You seemed so enthusiastic about it!”

:/

[Haak]

It's incredibly disappointing to learn that the VA's were laughing at him, especially Hisako because I was close to becoming a fan of her. Now I can't help but see her in an entirely different light.

I still aim to enjoy the show as much I can though.

[Ithekro]

Plenty of jackass actors in American...probably no different anywhere else. As long as they can act the studio and the audiance usually don't care.

[Utsuro no Hako]

Why would anyone say something that malicious? Goddammit, I hate Japan so much.

Let's be fair -- American hidden camera shows have done far, far worse. There was one on the SciFi channel where they'd make people think they were about to be murdered. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl8lnZjMcos)


I would have found the prank a lot funnier if it was pulled on a star seiyuu,first because it would take some actual guts to pull it (while taking a no name doesn't) and because even if the star doesn't get the role he still would have a career.

Even then, calling someone in to a fake interview isn't funny unless the job they're applying for is ridiculous. Getting Jun Fukuyama to read the husband role in an NTR hentai anime would be hilarious. Getting him to read an ordinary script and then telling him he doesn't have the job, not so much.

No doubt that losing face in general is a way bigger thing over there than anywhere else, but it's not like he's never going to get another job or his friends would start bullying him or something. Some people here make it out like this was the biggest possible "humiliation" and start spouting about losing his face, when it was just a stupid prank.

Humiliation doesn't just come from the nature of the prank, but in how many people see it. How many people listen to these kinds of radio shows? I assume it's in the thousands at least. So, yeah, being rejected for a job and then made fun of by your peers in front of that many people would be a major humiliation.

[SirWence]

@Cosmic Eagle - You're using common sense - The Trolls and insane fans (and ill just call them 'celeb VAs') are all being well 'stupid' and the prank was 'stupid'- I dont think common sense is going to fit in to well with them sigh -its a real shame too - I do think the fan legion should take a step back and actually look at the situation

[Kirarakim]

Just heard about this incident..to embarrass someone like that for a laugh that is just despicable to me.

edit: Although what is happening with Eri Kitamura, very hypocritical. Lets bully someone who has nothing to do with this?

[erneiz_hyde]

No doubt that losing face in general is a way bigger thing over there than anywhere else, but it's not like he's never going to get another job or his friends would start bullying him or something. Some people here make it out like this was the biggest possible "humiliation" and start spouting about losing his face, when it was just a stupid prank. I'm not saying it won't damage him at all, that's one of the reasons why I stated multiple times that I'm not approving of this as well, but again, he's not gonna be home and jobless and abandoned from society because of this

And of course there's nothing wrong in sympathizing with him, but again, that's no reason to starting blowing things out of proportion
Most bullies thinks what they're doing is just a laughable stupid prank, not necessarily so with the victims, where one could be scarred for life. I wonder what you would consider to be "of proportion". The way I look at it, our reaction here has been far more civil than how the anons who terrorize those involved reacted. Most of us condemn such reactions and actually hope things would die down without much damage. You sure you aren't misdirecting these complaints towards those anons instead? It's them who are blowing things out of proportion and are being hypocritical about it.

[Blonto]

I can't see how anyone would see this "prank" as fun, except maybe people who've never wanted a job.
Unfortunately reason lowers with numbers, so any bandwagon is bound to pick up jackasses. I'm sorry for the innocent folks that got involved.

[KholdStare]

This prank isn't very funny at all. Although I have to say, it would also be disappointing if Terashima and Kanemoto end their careers because of this incident. They shouldn't have said what they said and should apologize publicly, regardless of how many people will forgive them for it. It was probably a spur of the moment thing and they are both good seiyuu, so I hope they can bounce back from this.

Erm, what's the connection to Kitamura Eri?

[Ichuki]

This prank isn't very funny at all. Although I have to say, it would also be disappointing if Terashima and Kanemoto end their careers because of this incident. They shouldn't have said what they said and should apologize publicly, regardless of how many people will forgive them for it. It was probably a spur of the moment thing and they are both good seiyuu, so I hope they can bounce back from this.

Erm, what's the connection to Kitamura Eri?

I also agree with this as well, for Kitamura Eri it is rumoured she was Yamanaka's favourite hense she is getting flamed as well and I also wonder what would happen to other characters Hisako Kanemoto have done because of this too.

[Guardian Enzo]

As vile as this so-called "prank" is, I also have a hard time saying anyone's career should end over it. It's a mistake, a stupid one and a serious error in judgement, and the discussion shouldn't even start until a full and unreserved public apology is given. But is it a mistake worthy of having a career ended? I don't quite see it, and no one despises bullying more than me.

As for Kitamura Eri and the author and illustrator, they don't even belong in the discussion. That's just stupid on the face of it.

[Rahzel]

I wasn't there when it happened, but to my understanding..

The Kitamura Eri thing is actually actually someone using the whole situation and using it to grief Kitamura Eri

and since some people who are experiencing mob mentality don't bother to verify information, they follow along

why Kitamura Eri? someone who is unrelated to Kokoro Connect scandal you say?

because someone doesn't like Kitamura Eri very much, and it has only gotten worse after Madoka aired. Don't bother trying to explain internet hate.

That's exactly what it is. People are using this incident to justify bulling a seiyuu idol for having a sex life. That's all there is to it. Even had she been made aware of plans for the event before it took place, what could she have done about it? Regardless, Kitamura Eri is too big a name for her "secondary" involvement in this incident to have much of an impact on her career or sales. Kanemoto and Terashima, however, may very well be finished.

It's a real shame, because I really enjoy Kokoro Connect. It's my second favorite new series this season (Jinrui being the first). What really irritates me is that the main orchestrator of this event, Yamanaka, will likely come out mostly unscathed.

As for the setup, playing a prank on a celebrity and having their peers tease them over it isn't uncommon for Japanese variety shows. I've seen some pretty intense scenarios involving AKB48 idols. The difference here, of course, is that it was taken too far and it impacted his life and the resulting "PR" position only served to further humiliate him. To be honest, I'm pretty sure Yamanaka has it in for Ichiki, as this isn't the first time he's pulled a tactless public stunt on him (AND KitaEri, for that matter).

As for the consequences of all this, I'm worried it may put Silver Link in dire straits financially. I'm going to be very upset if Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya gets canned. Losing the anime would be bad enough, but it would also dash any chance of Illya finally getting a high quality figure anytime soon.

Additionally, 2chan has added "Hayate the Combat Butler! Can't Take My Eyes Off You" to their "Banned" list in lieu of this incident. I've yet to figure out how it's even related, but I'm going to be pretty irate if the projects suffers because of this. Leave Hayate no Gotoku out of it, please.

[TJR]

I can't understand what sort of assholes would enjoy raising somebody's hopes, and crashing it down on them, and doing it publicly.

Supposedly, Yamanaka has a history of picking on that seiyuu (among others), so this wasn't exactly a harmless prank that was pulled out of the blue.

Hajime Kikuchi's comments may be egotistical and disgusting, but they sum up the heart of the matter (and are probably shared by countless others who haven't been vocal about it). It's an ugly culture that's perpetuated by people in all sorts of positions, whether they're producers, animators, or seiyuu.

Have they issued an official public apology? Is there a chance that might help to quench public anger?

It's tough because the prank was initiated from the top-down. Even if they were to throw a couple seiyuu under the bus (and yes, the tendency would be to blame a scapegoat and then downplay or deny personal involvement. The idea is to redirect or focus public anger on people who are expendable), it's well known that Starchild's producer, Silver Link's president, and various staff of both companies were behind the stunt.

An apology isn't possible without powerful players admitting guilt and taking responsibility, which would hardly help the two companies.

Because she's rumoured to be producer Yamanaka's favourite (or in 2ch's own words: his slut). She apparently gets frequently casted in his shows and he retweets her on twitter and etc. That's roughly the gist of what I managed to find.

By "favourite", it's a snide suggestion that she sleeps with Yamanaka for roles (in terms of timing, she landed a major role in Toradora! after nearly a year during which no one in the industry would cast her).

Unfortunately, this kind of arrangement happens, so speculation always arises whenever a female VA becomes favoured by a producer/sound director/agency head and enjoys a quick rise to stardom.

Obviously, there's no proof of any wrongdoing, and it's a case of guilt by association. Nevertheless, otaku love to run wild with this stuff.

[Jmac]

^ Not very good news.

http://i.imgur.com/m5SLu.jpg

So... is that BD pre-orders or sales? In either case that's pretty big darn drop-off.

[ultimatemegax]

So... is that BD pre-orders or sales? In either case that's pretty big darn drop-off.
Hourly sales rankings for the pre-order for the first BD volume. Amazon resets their rankings ever hour, so a drop means people aren't purchasing it as much as they were before. This does not count any possible cancellations.

[Jmac]

Hourly sales rankings for the pre-order for the first BD volume. Amazon resets their rankings ever hour, so a drop means people aren't purchasing it as much as they were before. This does not count any possible cancellations.

Thanks for the info.

[vansonbee]

Terashima will not be missed, but Kanemoto will make a nice house wife.

Who is the victim by the way?

[Klashikari]

Ichiki Mitsuhiro (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=19870)

[vansonbee]

Ichiki Mitsuhiro (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=19870)Thanks and woah at his career. Everything basically support type...

I read on his MAL profile, there a certain someone name "Sugita", he is supporting Ichiki. Who is he?

[Marcus H.]

I forgot to post last night, but Yamakan has also posted his opinion on 2ch's "white-knighting" over Eri Kitamura's experience with anons and phalluses.

http://0-media-cdn.foolz.us/ffuuka/board/a/image/1346/41/1346419148284.jpg

>集団によるイジメが大好きなネットの住民が集団によるイジメを批判し
ても何の説得力もございません
>The same people who loves bullying is now trying to save someone from bullying? Yeah right.

[tenton]

Thanks and woah at his career. Everything basically support type...

I read on his MAL profile, there a certain someone name "Sugita", he is supporting Ichiki. Who is he?

Sugita (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=910) is a famous seiyuu. Also knows both Ichiki and Terashima (they're all gamers). He gave Terashima the silent treatment on a recent Bandai Namco live. Sugita's radio show is also one of the places where the bullying was mentioned (Ichiki was a guest)

[Klashikari]

I forgot to post last night, but Yamakan has also posted his opinion on 2ch's "white-knighting" over Eri Kitamura's experience with anons and phalluses.
I don't think he made such references to what happened to Kitamura, considering the timing is a bit off. Rather, he probably refers to his own situation: people who made fun of him.

Which is quite displaced, since he puts everyone in the same lot.

[Eater of All]

Just hope this debacle ends soon, people learn their lesson, the show goes on, and the producer's mom's dog's favorite neighbor (or anyone remotely related to this incident) won't turn out to be a target of hate and boycott.

[Cosmic Eagle]

I doubt the accuracy of the translation, but I can't say for sure yet because I'm currently not able to listen to the show for myself. I wouldn't take translations from some blog for totally authentic to begin with though.

Also I think you're overestimating the whole "losing face" thing, teh_pings post especially gave me a good chuckle. You're making it out like he's completely finished and could just as wel commit sudoku

Yes, they pulled a prank on a human being and once again, I of course don't think this was necessary or especially funny. But instead of being a hypocrite and acting like I would give a shit about his personal life or his career - which none of us does - I'm simply saying that we shouldn't make this a bigger deal than it is.

These holy saint attitude is really starting to annoy me, you're blowing things out of proportion

Actually I do....I do feel for the guy. That is more than not giving a shit

No doubt that losing face in general is a way bigger thing over there than anywhere else, but it's not like he's never going to get another job or his friends would start bullying him or something. Some people here make it out like this was the biggest possible "humiliation" and start spouting about losing his face, when it was just a stupid prank. I'm not saying it won't damage him at all, that's one of the reasons why I stated multiple times that I'm not approving of this as well, but again, he's not gonna be home and jobless and abandoned from society because of this

And of course there's nothing wrong in sympathizing with him, but again, that's no reason to starting blowing things out of proportion

Oh he won't become a NEET forever because of this. It won't make things easier for him though....his reputation, the temporary short term stigma of being the victim of an incident that got quickly out of hand, the fact that a radio show of an anime got shutdown because of him....who'd want to associate with him for these few months?

In any case SILVER LINK is a great company--they'd better do something to clear this mess (at least) or risk getting axed to infamy.

Indeed...why isn't Oonuma and co doing some damage control? They are too good for them to deserve getting any unwarranted backlash like this

[SeijiSensei]

I'll be curious to see the actual sales figures regardless of that Amazon graph. Things like this can sometimes have exactly the opposite effect of what is expected. People might buy the show just because it has become notorious. This event might even increase KC's long-run value as a collector's item, or at least its perceived value at the moment.

[stormtrooper]

Yeah, it's like saying, "What's done is done." Whoever's involved should have learned their lesson. Those not involved shouldn't be worried now.

[Sackett]

As vile as this so-called "prank" is, I also have a hard time saying anyone's career should end over it. It's a mistake, a stupid one and a serious error in judgement, and the discussion shouldn't even start until a full and unreserved public apology is given. But is it a mistake worthy of having a career ended? I don't quite see it, and no one despises bullying more than me.

As for Kitamura Eri and the author and illustrator, they don't even belong in the discussion. That's just stupid on the face of it.

I have a hard time understanding the whole incident. I suppose they could just be jackasses, but I saw one comment claiming that Terashima was friends with Ichiki.

Could this have been stupidity as well? The thought that "any publicity is good publicity" and that somehow this would actually help Ichiki? Yeah, that's stupid, but then I've seen a lot of stupid stuff done by people trying to break into show business, I've even seen a lot of stupid stuff work for breaking into show business.

Might a combination of "it will get him publicity," "stupid stuff like this makes you memorable," combined with a lower awareness for the damaging effect when it's not yourself going through the humiliation leading to someone thinking this was a favor? (A favor in which you also got to indulge your sadist side).

It's hard for me to credit, but as I always remind myself, never underestimate the power of stupidity.

[TJR]

I saw one comment claiming that Terashima was friends with Ichiki.

Not all "friends" mean well or are sincere.

Could this have been stupidity as well? The thought that "any publicity is good publicity" and that somehow this would actually help Ichiki? Yeah, that's stupid, but then I've seen a lot of stupid stuff done by people trying to break into show business, I've even seen a lot of stupid stuff work for breaking into show business.

If that were the case, the controversy would've erupted two months ago.

They pulled the prank because they figured they could get away with it. The producers and fellow seiyuu pegged Ichiki as a naive fool who'd go along with their abuse because he's clueless (as Kikuchi put it, a a hopeless person who's so easy to manipulate because he's desperate to be in the industry and doesn't realize that he'll never make it). The idea was to thoroughly humiliate him and then watch in glee as he went through with their instructions without refusing or fighting back.

And they were right. They nearly got away with it, but something unforeseen (Tomokazu Sugita's reaction to the incident on his radio show) happened............

[Kirarakim]

I have a hard time understanding the whole incident. I suppose they could just be jackasses, but I saw one comment claiming that Terashima was friends with Ichiki.


I don't know if this is true or not but I had "friends" in the past who treated me poorly. But I think a true friend wouldn't do something like that.

As for the publicity thing well they say there is no such thing as bad publicity. I am not sure how Ichiki feels and I am not going to try to speculate. It's possible this might help him in the long run (it's getting him name recognition. Looking at his roles he is probably not a seiyuu people paid much attention to previously).

But even if this might help his career in the long run, I don't think that takes away from the fact that he was publicly humiliated and made fun of by his peers/colleagues in the business. If good comes out of this then I don't think that takes away from the bad. They are separate in my mind.

Now for it being an elaborate scheme to boost his career to begin with. I personally don't think so because the whole thing was very quiet at first. It only came out fairly recently.

[TJR]

Now for it being an elaborate scheme to boost his career to begin with. I personally don't think so because the whole thing was very quiet at first. It only came out fairly recently.

Exactly. Unless Ichiki actually spoke out about what really happened (which they didn't expect given his desire for a big break), fans would just think that the joke was staged.

[Sackett]

Ah, I didn't realize it was a delayed thing like that.


Sigh... I guess they are just jerks then.

[Sheba]

I forgot to post last night, but Yamakan has also posted his opinion on 2ch's "white-knighting" over Eri Kitamura's experience with anons and phalluses.

http://0-media-cdn.foolz.us/ffuuka/board/a/image/1346/41/1346419148284.jpg

>集団によるイジメが大好きなネットの住民が集団によるイジメを批判し
ても何の説得力もございません
>The same people who loves bullying is now trying to save someone from bullying? Yeah right.

I would like to clarify one thing: Anon seems to confuse Yamakan, the fan nickname for Yutaka Yamamoto who is not involved, with Yamanaka, the "ringleader".

[sa547]

Damn, the clusterfuck on both sides of the pond has gone bigger. :|

[kenshinflyer]

Is a lawsuit possible for Ichiki-san, dare I ask?

[Sumeragi]

Lawsuits? Where do you think this is, the US?

[MUAHAHAHAHAHA]

Sugita's actions seriously remind me of Gin from Gintama, though the latter would no doubt give Terashima a kick in the ass rather than a mere cold shoulder.

Anyway, this whole incident has increased my respect for him. I think it's safe to say not many famous seiyuu would stand up for a much less popular seiyuu in this manner (cold shoulder and all)

[Hemisphere]

And that "PR job" they just threw on him? Apparently he has to pay out of his own pocket for his expenses, no funding. Have fun going from Tokyo to Hokkaido out of your own money.

Sugita OTOH proved just how awesome he is. Here's to hoping this incident won't affect Tokyo Encounter, though. I prefer my wisecracking Sugita while playing obscure games.

[Ridwan]

We really wouldn't have heard of this case if it weren't for Sugita, would we ?

[vansonbee]

Sugita's actions seriously remind me of Gin from Gintama, though the latter would no doubt give Terashima a kick in the ass rather than a mere cold shoulder.

Anyway, this whole incident has increased my respect for him. I think it's safe to say not many famous seiyuu would stand up for a much less popular seiyuu in this manner (cold shoulder and all)I believe the majority of VA should understand Ichiki position, because they were low end VA once before.

We really wouldn't have heard of this case if it weren't for Sugita, would we ?
So it was Sugita that tweeted this whole incident out or a fan heard his radio... :uhoh:

[MakubeX2]

This incident reminds me of a similar one that happens 2 years back and it involve the same parties. :-

http://www.famitsu.com/news/201010/28035135.html

Basically it happened on a promo event for the anime adaption of Onii-chan no Koto nanka Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara ne!! hosted by Kitamura, Ichiki and Yamanaka.

In the midst of the event, Yamanaka made a sudden announcement to revealed some recorded lines that borders on the likes from Eroge and H-anime which Kitamura and Ichiki didn't expected.

Ichiki's lines take the blunt with them going "You had not even start to play Doctor And Nurses with your big brother here !" and "I just want to see how a naked girl is like !" boardcasting on a crowded street.

Because this incident survive without people batting an eyelid, they decide to try something even harder hitting. That is how things comes to a head now.

And I must say something about the Japanese mentality being reflected here. Like what a poster said a few pages back, a junior cowering to someone his senior, regardless of the amount of humiliations he must take is something expected in the Japanese society. It's fine as long as it is kept hidden, only when things get blown up like now did they try to mend fences. Too late for that. And I don't see things getting better when all these are over.

[frivolity]

It's pretty much the same in entertainment industries around the world, be it in singing, acting, hosting, modelling, etc. Every budding artist goes through all sorts of incidents before they become famous.

I remember one of the top Taiwanese celebrities related how he was forced to pose with a live octopus on his head in front of a studio audience on a show that was also broadcast live to thousands of viewers.

[MakubeX2]

It's pretty much the same in entertainment industries around the world, be it in singing, acting, hosting, modelling, etc. Every budding artist goes through all sorts of incidents before they become famous.

You are right. Even one of the popular Korean Girl group, T-ara, riding the current K-Pop wave have a bullying controvesy of their own :-

Hwayoung's contract termination and Twitter "bullying"

In July 2012, controversy arose as T-ara members were viewed as bullying Hwayoung through Twitter after their Budokan concert in Japan. On July 22nd, Hwayoung injured her leg after performing on a music program and was put in a wheelchair. T-ara then held their first independent concert on July 25th and 26th at the Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. Although Hwayoung performed during the concert, problems arose when Boram, Eunjung, Hyomin, Soyeon, and Jiyeon started tweeting on July 25th. Because the tweets were focused upon determination and commitment level (although they were not directly addressed to Hwayoung), many fans and netizens began to speculate that the tweets were ridiculing and even "bullying" Hwayoung for a "lack of determination" and causing inconveniences because of her injury.

Hwayoung responded to the tweets with ambiguous messages expressing that she was upset and needed support. Hwayoung's twin, 5dolls's member Hyoyoung, also responded to the incident by sending messages of support to her sister through Twitter. Core Contents Media responded to the whole incident by stating that the members' Twitter accounts had been hacked; however, because most of the members had tweeted on July 25th, the explanation did not add up.

Consequently, on July 28th, Core Contents Media announced that they would be making a major announcement regarding the "bullying" incident on Twitter. On July 30th, Core Contents Media announced that Hwayoung would be leaving the group, "in deference to the complaints by T-ara's staff of 19 people..." Although Core Contents Media's CEO, Kim Kwang Soo expressed that Hwayoung's leave was not caused because of the "bullying" on Twitter, many fans and netizens believe that the incident and the controversy resulting from it were the cause of Hwayoung's contract termination and departure from the group.

Agence France-Presse stated on August 1 that T-ara's official fan club had reportedly lost 6,000 members in the aftermath of the controversy. The group has also lost endorsement deals, been forced to cancel concerts, fan cafes have shut down, petitions and groups to have T-ara disbanded and to uncover the truth behind the scandal have attracted hundreds of thousands of people, netizens have called for the members to be removed from their current television shows, and much more. Core Contents Media also stated that “The upcoming T-ara concert on the 11th has been postponed, the members of T-ara desperately requested for the agency to postpone their first domestic concert on the 11th.” The representative also added, “While talking it over with CEO Kim Kwang Soo, the members stated, ‘In a situation like this, we don’t think we can show fans bright, happy, and lively sides of ourselves on stage. Fans will probably not enjoy seeing us that way as well,’ and requested for the postponement of the concert.”

On August 29, 2012, T-ara released a handwritten apology letter on their official homepage. Although never explicitly mentioning bullying Hwayoung, the band did acknowledge that there were disagreements within the group, and it was their immature actions (especially by bringing internal conflicts public) that led to Hwayoung's expulsion. They ended the letter by apologizing to their families, Hwayoung, fans, and others they disappointed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-ara#Hwayoung.27s_contract_termination_and_Twitter_ .22bullying.22

Remember, Idols are humans too.

[mistress_kisara]

I just heard about this incident today, seriously how stupid are they!? and I like Takuma Terashima as a voice actor. Those who are involved should give a public apology

Just hope this debacle ends soon, people learn their lesson, the show goes on, and the producer's mom's dog's favorite neighbor (or anyone remotely related to this incident) won't turn out to be a target of hate and boycott.

Amen to this

[Kakkou]

Ah, so it's happened. KitaEri deleted her Twitter account because of /a/'s dickspam. =s

[Sheba]

Stay classy, /a/.

[SirWence]

"TV channel listings for Kokoro Connect have changed episode 9's title from 「止まらない止まらない止まらない」 (Can't Stop x 3) to 「気づいてしまって」 (I Realized) "

Think this has any meaning

[Sumeragi]

Probably to fit the episode better. People know who the novel details would get the meaning.

[sa547]

If I'm correct, I think Japanese employers are very strict when it comes to the reputations and/or credibility of a potential employee. In this case, the damage is very severe that some of those involved in this incident may quit voice-acting altogether.

[MakubeX2]

If I'm correct, I think Japanese employers are very strict when it comes to the reputations and/or credibility of a potential employee. In this case, the damage is very severe that some of those involved in this incident may quit voice-acting altogether.

Doesn't mean things will be better off for those involved. Parties on both side will be branded troublemakers and they might be hardpressed for works as potential employers will be too scared to employ them. That's how their society works, peace and harmony for all.

[erneiz_hyde]

So it was Sugita that tweeted this whole incident out or a fan heard his radio... :uhoh: Actually, I'm also kinda unclear how Sugita fit in all this. How exactly did this news came alight again?

Afaik, Sugita didn't tweet or announce any of this, though supposedly he unfollowed Terashi after hearing this from Ichiki (though rumours most likely to be damage control states that Sugita never followed him in the first place). And Sugita seemingly giving Terashi the cold shoulder in his gaming show.

[Athena]

Lawsuits? Where do you think this is, the US?
I laughed hard at this. :heh:
Ah, so it's happened. KitaEri deleted her Twitter account because of /a/'s dickspam. =s

Would this be sexual harassment?

[Kakkou]

According to the wiki (yes, this incident has it's own wiki now (http://www49.atwiki.jp/kokoro-ijimect/pages/18.html)), the problem came to light when Kikuchi (of Eufonius) was being an asshole towards Halko Momoi and that issue reached Yahoo! News, to which people started probing his Twitter and found a tweet that did not actually quote any names but hinted very strongly at the event in question. From there people started backtracking, piecing together all the hints and the truth came to light.

Would this be sexual harassment?
I would think so, although I have no knowledge of the law. IIRC (and this is just IIRC), the dickspamming came with messages asking her to well, you know, eat them, etc. Apparently according to /a/ they only sent less than 10 dicks to her. *shrugs*

[Kirarakim]

Ah, so it's happened. KitaEri deleted her Twitter account because of /a/'s dickspam. =s

It's amazing they don't see the hypocrisy of their actions in this situation.
But then again it's /a/ so what do I expect.

[Marcus H.]

^ It's because they know that they did not do it. /a/ actually has a group of users, especially those who have tripcodes on, which often spearhead things like that phallic incident with Kitamura Eri. Heck, many people even throw mountains of expletives upon discovering what happened to KitaEri.

"TV channel listings for Kokoro Connect have changed episode 9's title from 「止まらない止まらない止まらない」 (Can't Stop x 3) to 「気づいてしまって」 (I Realized) "

Think this has any meaning

Can't Stop [Bullying] x3 -> I Realized [that Bullying Someone is Bad Practice].

[Hemisphere]

According to the wiki (yes, this incident has it's own wiki now (http://www49.atwiki.jp/kokoro-ijimect/pages/18.html)), the problem came to light when Kikuchi (of Eufonius) was being an asshole towards Halko Momoi and that issue reached Yahoo! News, to which people started probing his Twitter and found a tweet that did not actually quote any names but hinted very strongly at the event in question. From there people started backtracking, piecing together all the hints and the truth came to light.

One of those pieces was Sugita's radio show, which had Ichiki as a guest. Someone messaged Sugita asking about that incident, and he in turn asked Ichiki to clarify. Kind of scary noting how, while listening to Ichiki recount the incident, the usually high-tension Sugita just listened calmly to it all.

Most people believed that Ichiki was in on the joke during the Kokoroco event, but after that tweet from Kikuichi, and the above-mentioned segment in Sugita's radio show, people figured out that it wasn't the case.

[j0x]

one moe anime down...

[Soliloquy]

If possible, I wish this whole incident sweeps over with apologies and move on but this producer should be sacked. Although, I'm expecting he will probably make a clean getaway if he has some influences. I hate this group mentality going on around this business. It's like there are some of them are reverted back to pre-teen mentality.

It's also ridiculous that another seiyuu had to be involved just because she had a connection to the producer. I like anime but some people in this fandom are too childish to deal with. I don't know any hardcore otaku in Japan but sometimes they push things way too far.

[erneiz_hyde]

Btw, that rumour about KitaEri being Yamanaka's favorite...Which part of the internet did that come from? An acquaintance of mine said the folks responsible at 4ch probably couldn't differentiate Kitamura and Kanemoto's name. Was it all gaijins mistaking Japanese names that got our KitaEri to suffer :( ?

So it was like 2ch quoting 4ch who quoted 2ch......

I'm having a headache.

[MakubeX2]

There's no direct indication of Kitamura being Yamanaka's favourite other than he being her producer. It's just a rumour because they have a close working relationship.

[erneiz_hyde]

There's no direct indication of Kitamura being Yamanaka's favourite other than he being her producer. It's just a rumour because they have a close working relationship.
I thought so too...Which is why I ask where did it originate, 4ch or 2ch.

The implication of gaijins couldn't make the difference between "Kitamura" and "Kanemoto" is that their original target was probably Kanemoto, who's indeed involved in the incident (not saying I'll support them if they went and terrorize her instead). And Kanemoto being relatively new, which is probably where the rumour about anyone being Yamanaka's favorite came about.

So, if the rumour was originally from 4ch, probably it should've been Kanemoto being Yamanaka's favorite, but since gaijins couldn't tell the difference, they ended up targetting KitaEri instead.

Sad, isn't it?

[Hemisphere]

I thought so too...Which is why I ask where did it originate, 4ch or 2ch.

The implication of gaijins couldn't make the difference between "Kitamura" and "Kanemoto" is that their original target was probably Kanemoto, who's indeed involved in the incident (not saying I'll support them if they went and terrorize her instead). And Kanemoto being relatively new, which is probably where the rumour about anyone being Yamanaka's favorite came about.

So, if the rumour was originally from 4ch, probably it should've been Kanemoto being Yamanaka's favorite, but since gaijins couldn't tell the difference, they ended up targetting KitaEri instead.

Sad, isn't it?

Gaijins couldn't also tell the difference between Yamanaka and Yamakan, iirc.

[MakubeX2]

I thought so too...Which is why I ask where did it originate, 4ch or 2ch.

AFAIK, it was the denizens of 2ch that start the catcalling of Kitamura being Yamanaka's bitch.

In the degenerated minds of 4chan's thugs, Kitamura is a fair game in regards to her relations to Yamanaka drawing from that comment.

[erneiz_hyde]

AFAIK, it was the denizens of 2ch that start the catcalling of Kitamura being Yamanaka's bitch.

In the degenerated minds of 4chan's thugs, Kitamura is a fair game in regards to her relations to Yamanaka drawing from that comment.
Huh, I guess 2ch started it after all. If I understand it right, according to this page (http://www49.atwiki.jp/kokoro-ijimect/pages/40.html) in that wiki Kakkou linked to, it lists a plan of which products to boycott, and it lists "Kitamura Eri related goods" (along with Hayate no Gotoku, Minamike 4, and that Oniichan show for future products) under Yamanaka.

EDIT: Update, apparently the page got edited over night after I'm asleep. The whole section under Yamanaka which I mentioned earlier is gone.

[Destined_Fate]

Hmm.. That seems pretty vile though it's doubtful the one that brought all this about will face any real issues. Those VA's though seem to have dug a very deep grace with those cruel comments. Glad to see that one of the Vets didn't like what happened and supported the victim when the truth came out.

[gecd]

2ch said "Berserker Itou finally made his move"!
anyone know who this berserker Itou is?:???:

[Utsuro no Hako]

You are right. Even one of the popular Korean Girl group, T-ara, riding the current K-Pop wave have a bullying controvesy of their own :-


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-ara#Hwayoung.27s_contract_termination_and_Twitter_ .22bullying.22

Remember, Idols are humans too.

Too bad, they're the only K-pop group I've found tolerable. But then, I've watched enough VH1 to not be surprised that pop groups are full of back-biting and petty feuds.

KitaEri deleted her Twitter account because of /a/'s dickspam. =s

There is something very wrong with a world in which that sentence isn't gibberish.

[vansonbee]

Hate these fans... or they just want chaos to rile up in the community...

hate it if it effects fairy tails.

[ZODDGUTS]

That's the problem with some pranks, sometimes their taken too far.

[Marcus H.]

Gaijins couldn't also tell the difference between Yamanaka and Yamakan, iirc.

I don't think so. They know Yamakan's Twitter account (@yamacane).

[SeijiSensei]

If I were a public person, I would avoid Twitter at all costs, regardless of what my agent said. Sports figures in the US keep getting into trouble by using Twitter, too. The combination of large egos and a lack of self-restraint can only lead to bad consequences. Besides why exposure yourself to all those bozos who seem to feel the need to harass you if you don't live up to their ridiculous standards. I bet Ms. Kitamura wishes now she hadn't had a Twitter account.

[serenade_beta]

*watches full 30 minutes of event*
(OoO;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; )

W-wo-wow... That was just sick. There was someone saying that the order for the anime going down is bad news, but to be honest, the more the anime burns into flames, perhaps the better for the staff that were sick enough to plan this event. Nothing against the original source, but the anime is a different story.

And you know what is amusing? The only ones laughing were the staff. The victim was trying his best not to panic and the crowd was frozen solid.

SHAME-ON-YOU

OH, and LOL that they apparently tried to control the damage at 2ch only to be found out. IDIOTS.

[XxSleepyxX]

Wow. Whoever thinks they can get away with something like has to be a idiot (Looking down on someone just because your have a higher position will come back to bite you in the ass). Anyone ever heard of karma? Their careers are down the drain anyone who even thinks of inviting will start getting bash by 2ch. All I can say is this sucks for the author. For better or for worse this incident won't be ending any time soon. PR control is close to impossible. This is 2ch. Although /a/ starting spamming dicks i'm pretty sure 2ch can think of something better. Bomb or death threats anyone?

[Xacual]

Although /a/ starting spamming dicks i'm pretty sure 2ch can think of something better. Bomb or death threats anyone?

It's been corrected a few times already. That wasn't /a/, that was a group of trolls that love doing things that will make /a/ look bad.

[Eisdrache]

The irony with these trolls is that they're trying to do something which is already done.

Here's what should be done:
1| Have the careers (in this business) of the responsible people finished forever.
2| Make a public apology
3| Have the outrage stop completely
4| Make Kokoro Connect s2

[Master Assassin]

Has this been here yet?

Kokoro Connect people finally made a formal apology about the fake audition.

http://www.kokoro-connect.com/news/

[MakubeX2]

^
視聴者および関係者の皆様へ　
[2012.09.02更新]

この度は、６月２４日に開催されましたアニメ「ココロコネクト」の先行上映イベントにおきまし て、
演出上とはいえ出演者の方への配慮が不十分だった為、多くの方に不快感や誤解を与える結果となってしまいま した。
関係各位にはご迷惑をおかけしておりまして誠に申し訳ございません。
また、発表が遅れてしまった事、あわせてお詫び申し上げます。

アニメ「ココロコネクト」では、宣伝活動の一環としまして、声優・市来光弘さんを宣伝活動のメ インに迎え、
ＴＶオンエアの３か月間、北海道から九州までの各地を周っての宣伝活動を企画しておりました。

この宣伝活動に伴うイベントの内容やラジオ番組での発言が、恣意的な改ざん行為により、
本来行ったものの意図とは違った形でネット上にアップロードされてしまいました。それにより、多くの方に誤 解や混乱を与えております。
結果、イベント出演者、及び本作品に関わるキャスト、スタッフの皆様に対してご迷惑をおかけしてしまう事と なり、
また、「ココロコネクト」アニメ、そして原作を応援してくださっているファンの皆様にご心配をおかけしてし まった事に深くお詫び申し上げます。

スタッフ一同、今回の件を猛省し
誠心誠意、今後の制作に取り組ませていただきます。

なお、音声・映像の無断使用、改編、並びに違法アップロード、個人情報の漏洩、人権侵害などの違法行為に関 しましては、
しかるべき処置を検討しております。

引き続き、「ココロコネクト」を応援していただきたく、
何卒宜しくお願い申し上げます。

Screencap for good measures :-
http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/5199/1346560328895.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/69/1346560328895.jpg/)

What they are saying is everything is staged. People misunderstood the context and the blame is solely on thise who uploaded the video.

Very political in a sense that some of those involved cannot be touched, so they are going to swept everything under the carpet and pretend nothing had happened.

[Xacual]

Are they stupid? People were pretending it was all staged before and the uproar started when it was found out that it wasn't staged.

[MakubeX2]

Are they stupid? People were pretending it was all staged before and the uproar started when it was found out that it wasn't staged.

They are insisting that it is. And what are you going to do about it ?

[Xacual]

They are insisting that it is. And what are you going to do about it ?

I don't have to do anything about it. The show was already being tanked by the fandom in Japan to begin with. I'm just saying putting out a news post like that is not going to make the situation go away, it's more likely to make it worse for the studio.

[Master Assassin]

So in a sense they didn't really put out the fire. Just merely isolating it behind a firewall. I suppose it'll be sometime before the flames break out continuing to set everything else ablaze.

[MakubeX2]

I don't have to do anything about it. The show was already being tanked by the fandom in Japan to begin with. I'm just saying putting out a news post like that is not going to make the situation go away, it's more likely to make it worse for the studio.

Well, if the studio have confidence that there will be no backlash aganist it, they can keep on believing. It's good to have faith, you know.

[vansonbee]

Seriously? Stage? Now I am enrage! Will the so call victim get the part though?

[Sumeragi]

I would say in the end Kokoro Connect will overcome this.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Seriously? Stage? Now I am enrage! Will the so call victim get the part though?

The part doesn't exist because the character doesn't exist, that was the issue in the first place.

[vansonbee]

I would say in the end Kokoro Connect will overcome this.

Thank GOD! I hope your right! I don't care for the VA themselves and getting replacements, wouldn't feel right. Just like Hunter X Hunter.

Ibana VA did was not involve at all right?

[TJR]

Ibana VA did was not involve at all right?

Not actively. However, lots of people were passively involved (including Eufonius, until Hajime Kikuchi made that tweet and drew himself into the prank) in that they knew what was going on but ignored it or quietly derived enjoyment from it.

That's how bullying works. There's no way this stunt could've been pulled off without the cast and core staff all in on it together.

(BTW, active participants include the show's director and sound director, so they can't exactly distance themselves from the prank. They're the ones who held the audition, wrote the lines, gave the instructions, made the video, etc.)

[relentlessflame]

What they are saying is everything is staged. People misunderstood the context and the blame is solely on thise who uploaded the video.

Very political in a sense that some of those involved cannot be touched, so they are going to swept everything under the carpet and pretend nothing had happened.I think, to be a bit more precise, they are saying that people with a specific agenda uploaded the content in order to cause this controversy. That they took someone that was intended as an act, and made something sinister out of it that was never intended.

I guess basically this whole story depends on the fact that the actor in question did not know he was being setup; that, in fact, the real acting job he was being paid for was to play this role of the gipped voice actor (sort of an act within an act). That, in truth, even this role was all part of his promo job for this production. But I guess it also depends on what all the actors and other players knew, or thought they knew.

In the end, for all the controversy this has caused, I can see how a lot of the people involved may have been under the impression that everyone else was "in" on the joke (including the actor in question), when in fact some people may not have been told and then had to make up for themselves whether this is a joke or not. The problem is that we may never know for sure; even if the central actor involved came forward now and said "no, this was all an act, and I knew about it beforehand", people would say that he was bullied/coerced into making that statement just so the controversy goes away. So, in the end, it'll just end up as a sort of urban legend that they hope time will bury.

Personally, I have a really hard time believing that so many people were involved in a stunt that was designed strictly to play on someone's misery and be aware that the person involved wouldn't know and that they wouldn't realize this was part of the act. If that's actually what happened, then I just see it as a case of a stray idea that went terribly wrong in the execution, rather than something that's outright sinister. Like I could see someone saying afterwards "wait, wait, wait... you didn't tell him?!" "Well, we thought it'd be more realistic this way..." "You idiot..."

[Soliloquy]

This incident mirrors the recent school bullying that happened in Japan, only little less serious. People involved in bullying also pretty much swept it over as if it's nothing unusual. As much as I like Japanese Culture, sometimes, they play real dumb by letting some offenders go with the light punishments.

Is Japan having a show 'Punk'd' of their own? At least the victim should receive some repercussion fee for public humiliation.

[serenade_beta]

^


Screencap for good measures :-
http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/5199/1346560328895.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/69/1346560328895.jpg/)

What they are saying is everything is staged. People misunderstood the context and the blame is solely on thise who uploaded the video.

Very political in a sense that some of those involved cannot be touched, so they are going to swept everything under the carpet and pretend nothing had happened.

"I'm sorry for bullying the guy. You know, it's staged! Sure, we embarrassed the guy and hurt him mentally, but people are misunderstanding!

And you know, we don't allow unauthorized use of video and audio, so we are gonna try and punish the people who released these things and got us into trouble! Damn, I hate those guys! If it wasn't for them... If it wasn't for them...!"

In other words:
Luke: "I'm not wrong! I'm not wrong!"

PS:If the staff REALLY feels sorry like the message says, they should maybe quit or something. After all, it seems that it isn't the first time Yamanaka has bullied someone.


PSS: Hyaha!
http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm18744286
The staff has finally started to move, trying to delete anything involved with the incident.
By the way, this video has the VAs (explained in video explanation) talking about the incident or talking to the victim. In general, Sugita and Mingos gives a good impression while the first two (rather no-names) were having................... their good times.

[Guardian Enzo]

This all seems very weak to me - a pathetic attempt to try and recast what happened in a less incriminating light. I really don't think most people are going to buy it, and in fact it just increases the contempt I feel for the perps - even now that they've been caught red-handed - on video no less - they won't own up. They're still trying to pretend it's all a misunderstanding. Public figures just never learn - it's rarely the act that ruins you, it's the coverup.

In terms of Kokoro Connect "overcoming" this, I'm not sure what that even means. It wasn't going to sell well, and it wasn't going to have a second season either way. I think it'll finish airing and probably see all the extra eps finished, so in the end I don't think this will have mattered for the show apart from a few hundred fewer discs sold. I hope it doesn't effect the writer and illustrator, who had nothing to do with any of it. The ones who may not "overcome" this are Yamanaka and the two VAs directly involved - their careers may well suffer for this, and they probably should. I don't think their careers should end as a result, but they certainly have no basis to complain if work gets a little harder to come by for a while.

[erneiz_hyde]

"We're very sorry from the smallest corner somewhere in our hearts"

Oh well, if they think this is gonna help then screw them. Otaku would still boycott their products, and who else but otaku ever buys them?

[Tyabann]

I think the real victim of this debacle, other than Ichiki, obviously, is poor, poor Eri Kitamura.
Seriously, I'm actually pretty furious that that happened. :heh:

[Triple_R]

Yeah, I'm completely with Guardian Enzo on this. This really sounds like grasping at straws for PR Damage Control to me.

I like Kokoro Connect and it's really unfortunate that something like this has happened to the KC franchise (I especially feel for the writer of the KC novels), but it was selling poorly (as an anime) anyway. It's not like this controversy makes the difference between a likely 2nd season and no 2nd season - a 2nd season was unlikely in any event. This just makes it even more unlikely.

[Sumeragi]

1. Overcome as in the general franchise, meaning this incident wouldn't be hitting the novels or the manga.

2. While I have to say I usually don't say much about a second season, it is to my belief that a second season is still quite possible. Regardless of the profitability of the anime, it has done a pretty nice job as advertisement. Of course, I tend to be optimistic when it comes to my favored series, but given where the anime is supposed to stop, not making a second season is probably going to be a bit hard to swallow among the core fans.

[Marcus H.]

Soliloquy: This is the reason why I made that connection between this incident and Jigoku Shoujo is because the story is roughly the same. It shows the really, really bad side of Japanese culture — no, scratch that — make that human nature.

Yeah, it sucks that KitaEri had to suffer because of some rumor that linked her with one of the culprits. I hope that the wounds created by this fiasco on Eri's heart would heal soon.

[MakubeX2]

PSS: Hyaha!
http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm18744286
The staff has finally started to move, trying to delete anything involved with the incident.
By the way, this video has the VAs (explained in video explanation) talking about the incident or talking to the victim. In general, Sugita and Mingos gives a good impression while the first two (rather no-names) were having................... their good times.

The original video on Nico that sparks this scandal had already been taken down. It will not be long before they get to the Youtube copies.

If the studio and their staffs who are involved in the incident are truly victim of a smear campaign as they claim they are, why the need for such measures ?

[Sumeragi]

Why not? The inherent mistrust seems to be going out of hand also.

[MakubeX2]

If this is their way of damage containment and control, the current climate is not in their favor.

[Master Assassin]

In fact, with that kind of... damage control... or at least I'm trying to say that believably (I'm being a bit sarcastic here), it's going to do the reverse...?

Seems people there (speaking from a "I don't know how people there do things" POV) depend on "erase the 'evidence,' let it die out" a lot huh?

[tenton]

Yeah, I'm completely with Guardian Enzo on this. This really sounds like grasping at straws for PR Damage Control to me.

I like Kokoro Connect and it's really unfortunate that something like this has happened to the KC franchise (I especially feel for the writer of the KC novels), but it was selling poorly (as an anime) anyway. It's not like this controversy makes the difference between a likely 2nd season and no 2nd season - a 2nd season was unlikely in any event. This just makes it even more unlikely.

Mediocre sales is one thing. It's now not selling at all. They're also cancelling things they did not intend to cancel (e.g. the radio show; the CD was supposed to come out on 9/26, wonder what's going to happen to that now). This controversy makes it from maybe not making a whole lot of money to losing money. And it could have the potential to spill over to other things (anyone think that Eufonius might be in for a world of hurt for the time being? Poor Riya...)

As for the PR response now...it's like they're reading from the "The Bad PR Handbook". They're already going with the "it's taken out of context" move and also trying the "hey, we're the victims here" (illegal upload of stuff), along with the "we're sorry you got offended" move. What's next, Kikuchi going with the "my Twitter was hacked" or the equally believable "my brother/friend got a hold of my phone" moves? The apology is like shooting oneself in the foot, then pouring gasoline all over it and then lighting it on fire. Kokoro Connect sales were going to tank; are they trying to get all of King Records' shows to tank in the future? It would have been better if there was no "apology", seriously.

[MakubeX2]

http://ameblo.jp/garoumow/entry-11344293982.html
Ichiki broke his silence.

He just says that while it's true that he was kept in the dark about the audition being fake, he just takes the disappointment in his stride as part of the job. He didn't expect the entire thing to get out of hand, too as he didn't harbour any ill will towards those supposed "bullies". Everything was taken out of context and Ichiki chided those who makes things seem worse than they really are. Finally, he express his apologies to those who are now under disterss because of the percieved crime aganist him.

How one makes of this statement is his own decision. Ichiki might be sincere about this or he could be under order to downplay the issue for fear of losing his job. At least we get a comment from the victim now. The timing between the blog entry and the official apology is kind of uncanny though.

[relentlessflame]

How one makes of this statement is his own decision. Ichiki might be sincere about this or he could be under order to downplay the issue for fear of losing his job. At least we get a comment from the victim now. The timing between the blog entry and the official apology is kind of uncanny though.That's exactly what I figured would happen -- he would make a statement, and then people would assume he's being pressured into lying. The fact that he at admitted that he didn't know beforehand lends to the credibility of the statement in my view.

Given the amount of people who are purportedly involved with this, I tend to believe that the primary lapse in judgement was in not letting him in on the joke. I tend to believe that a lot of the people involved would have assumed that he knew, since this was part of the official PR campaign. If he had just have been told about it in the first place, none of this mess would have happened. I am supposing this is just someone's idea of "making it more realistic", without really thinking through how it could be taken.

Anyway, I think the damage has been done now. We'll see if the Internet lets it rest with this.

[Archon_Wing]

Wow, there's trolling, and then there's just pure douchebaggery.

That's so not cool and honestly I can't see the humor in at of all. Why would you humiliate someone like that to the public without their consent?

Someone must stand up and take responsibility for this. An apology and compensation is only fair.

[frivolity]

I actually think that this whole thing was indeed blown out of proportion by the internet brigade, at least in the sense that it went beyond what the victim wanted. As I see it, stuff like this is pretty much part and parcel of any entertainment industry. Apart from the live-octopus-on-a-person's-head incident that I mentioned in an earlier post, I've seen other stuff on Taiwanese shows such as a rising TV host being forced to kiss someone's armpit and other stuff. That's not to say that stuff like these is right or wrong, but that's how I perceive the industry to be in general since there's hundreds of shows, thousands of aspiring celebrities, and limited spotlight.

[Archon_Wing]

I actually think that this whole thing was indeed blown out of proportion by the internet brigade, at least in the sense that it went beyond what the victim wanted. As I see it, stuff like this is pretty much part and parcel of any entertainment industry. Apart from the live-octopus-on-a-person's-head incident that I mentioned in an earlier post, I've seen other stuff on Taiwanese shows such as a rising TV host being forced to kiss someone's armpit and other stuff. That's not to say that stuff like these is right or wrong, but that's how I perceive the industry to be in general since there's hundreds of shows, thousands of aspiring celebrities, and limited spotlight.

I'm pretty sure they get paid for doing stuff like that. I don't think most would do it for free.

Sure, you may want to take some humiliation for a chance of rising higher but it's being done for a reason and not just because it's part of the industry.

[frivolity]

^No, in that particular incident, the TV host was a guest in another variety show, so he probably wasn't paid. It just so happens that that particular show attracted quite high viewership, so the guests, mostly rising stars, participate in all those embarrassing activities.

The way I see it, rising higher is exactly what the industry is about. As I said, hundreds of shows, thousands of actors, but very few spotlights available.

[Archon_Wing]

^No, in that particular incident, the TV host was a guest in another variety show, so he probably wasn't paid. It just so happens that that particular show attracted quite high viewership, so the guests, mostly rising stars, participate in all those embarrassing activities.

The way I see it, rising higher is exactly what the industry is about. As I said, hundreds of shows, thousands of actors, but very few spotlights available.

The nature of a variety show frequently involves often silly and slapstick situations. Thus, it's a given that if you appear that this stuff can and will happen.

Furthermore, the damage dealt here goes far beyond a simple physical prank that can just be shrugged off.

[frivolity]

It happens not just in variety shows. I've seen pranks being played on the news as well, but the point I'm making is that this happens a lot in the entertainment industry for the sake of grabbing some limelight. Ichiki himself also stated in his blog entry that it's part of the job.

As to the second statement, that's also why I consider this whole incident to have been blown out of proportion by the internet brigade. If the incident had simply been allowed to lay low, it would only be known by a select few such as Sugita. But now that it's all over the internet, his reputation is absolutely tarnished. Ichiki will forever be marked as a guy who can't take a joke and rebels against the animation studio he's working for. Which director would want to hire him now?

[Archon_Wing]

It happens not just in variety shows. I've seen pranks being played on the news as well, but the point I'm making is that this happens a lot in the entertainment industry for the sake of grabbing some limelight. Ichiki himself also stated in his blog entry that it's part of the job.

My point is that the nature of certain shows where pranking is acceptable, that one is willing to accept the risk of such. However, this isn't one of them; the degree of this prank is beyond that of throwing a pie in someone's face.


As to the second statement, that's also why I consider this whole incident to have been blown out of proportion by the internet brigade. If the incident had simply been allowed to lay low, it would only be known by a select few such as Sugita. But now that it's all over the internet, his reputation is absolutely tarnished. Ichiki will forever be marked as a guy who can't take a joke and rebels against the animation studio he's working for. Which director would want to hire him now?

Perhaps a director with professionalism and integrity.

And yes, the internet has blown it out of proportion. Perhaps whoever thought of this should have considered the nature of the internet.

One with a brain to not diffuse the blame on the victim. "Can't take a joke?" "Rebels?" I can't imagine it'd be read as this. If said person had aggressively complained and campaigned it would certainly reduce his value.

Yes, the internet has blown it out of proportion. Perhaps whoever thought of this should have considered the nature of the internet.

[Sackett]

This all seems very weak to me - a pathetic attempt to try and recast what happened in a less incriminating light. I really don't think most people are going to buy it, and in fact it just increases the contempt I feel for the perps - even now that they've been caught red-handed - on video no less - they won't own up. They're still trying to pretend it's all a misunderstanding. Public figures just never learn - it's rarely the act that ruins you, it's the coverup.

In terms of Kokoro Connect "overcoming" this, I'm not sure what that even means. It wasn't going to sell well, and it wasn't going to have a second season either way. I think it'll finish airing and probably see all the extra eps finished, so in the end I don't think this will have mattered for the show apart from a few hundred fewer discs sold. I hope it doesn't effect the writer and illustrator, who had nothing to do with any of it. The ones who may not "overcome" this are Yamanaka and the two VAs directly involved - their careers may well suffer for this, and they probably should. I don't think their careers should end as a result, but they certainly have no basis to complain if work gets a little harder to come by for a while.

relentlessflame might be correct though that some of the people involved might have thought it was a planned publicity stunt that Ichiki was in on.

At this point I think there is only one way for them to sell the claim that it was a publicity stunt and not bullying- that's if they do introduce the "fake" character in episode 14 and have Ichiki play him. "See, it was a publicity stunt all along, and happy endings for everyone."

[frivolity]

My point is that the nature of certain shows where pranking is acceptable, that one is willing to accept the risk of such. However, this isn't one of them; the degree of this prank is beyond that of throwing a pie in someone's face.

And I disagree with that. As I said, I see this as part of the entertainment industry as a whole, so the risk is inherent with the job, which is also the viewpoint taken by the victim himself.


Perhaps a director with professionalism and integrity.

And yes, the internet has blown it out of proportion. Perhaps whoever thought of this should have considered the nature of the internet.

The issue is not about ideals of professionalism or integrity. The issue goes down to what I said earlier about there being too many aspiring actors and limited spotlight, or in the case of the anime industry, limited positions available. Given that the the victim is a B-lister, the explosion of this incident will only serve as a black mark on him, and gives little reason for him to be hired when there's hundreds, even thousands of other B-list VAs waiting in line.

[Archon_Wing]

And I disagree with that. As I said, I see this as part of the entertainment industry as a whole, so the risk is inherent with the job, which is also the viewpoint taken by the victim himself.

I think the degree does matter.

There has to be limits established and there's a certain point where it is no longer just "pranking". Not everything is fair game to do.

[frivolity]

Well all I can say is I've seen worse. Again, I'm not making a normative statement about whether it's right or wrong, just making an observation that the industry has developed in that fashion.

Either way, I hope this whole thing dies down soon. Ichiki's indicated that he was disappointed but willing to take it in stride, and what I gather is that he too wants to move on from the incident. Hopefully other studios will learn not to pull such stuff again, and I'm still going to hold on to what little hope there is of Kokoro Connect Season 2 :cool:

[hyl]

Bullying at the place where people work is pretty common everywhere in the world and it's not different in japan.
While i am not defending what people have done to Ichiki, i do find that this whole situation has been overblown by the internet.
The damage done by the people on the internet has made it worse for everyone who are both involved (including Ichiki, because i do think that he will be hired even less for work because of this)and some who aren't even related to this.

[Archon_Wing]

Well all I can say is I've seen worse. Again, I'm not making a normative statement about whether it's right or wrong, just making an observation that the industry has developed in that fashion.

Either way, I hope this whole thing dies down soon. Ichiki's indicated that he was disappointed but willing to take it in stride, and what I gather is that he too wants to move on from the incident. Hopefully other studios will learn not to pull such stuff again, and I'm still going to hold on to what little hope there is of Kokoro Connect Season 2 :cool:

You may not be making a statement about right and wrong, but I am. ;p

Wasn't this done in front of an audience? From the OP it looks like it was streamed on NicoNico. So how few is the select few anyways to keep it low-key and not let it leak out anyways?

[brocko]

Viral marketing gone wrong. But hey, any publicity is better than no publicity right? lol :heh:

[Archon_Wing]

Viral marketing gone wrong. But hey, any publicity is good publicity right? lol :heh:

Depends on how you spin it. Maybe if they did it a goodhearted, reconciling way, we would not have a bitter feel and just brush it off.

However, judging by how they responded, they pretty much spun it the wrong way, into their own crotches, to be exact.

[Sumeragi]

I'm starting to feel people are unrealistically placing way too much undue responsibilities upon people now.

[Kirarakim]

That's exactly what I figured would happen -- he would make a statement, and then people would assume he's being pressured into lying. The fact that he at admitted that he didn't know beforehand lends to the credibility of the statement in my view.

Given the amount of people who are purportedly involved with this, I tend to believe that the primary lapse in judgement was in not letting him in on the joke. I tend to believe that a lot of the people involved would have assumed that he knew, since this was part of the official PR campaign. If he had just have been told about it in the first place, none of this mess would have happened. I am supposing this is just someone's idea of "making it more realistic", without really thinking through how it could be taken.

Anyway, I think the damage has been done now. We'll see if the Internet lets it rest with this.

Sorry I don't buy it based on things that were said before they were caught.

There were some nasty comments said about Ichiki

" It was a big impact, I didn't think seeing the moment a person crumbles would be so beautiful".

And I believe there was also a comment about how some people will do anything to work in the anime industry even though they will never get a main part.


This apology very much seems like they are just trying to save face and don't actually care what they did.

As for Ichiki being forced to say what he did I am not sure. I can see he might be embarrassed by the whole situation and wants it over with, but his responses and so forth before this whole thing blew up also don't seem like "he wasn't upset". Sugita Tomokazu also didn't seem to think it was just some "silly prank".



And yes I understand that pranks are common (although in general I am not a big fan) but this prank got someone's hope up that they had a job and then publicly humiliated him. I don't think the reaction to this incident is over blown at all.

I think unfortunately how some fans are handling it (bringing in people who are not even involved) is quite awful but I am glad that in general fans are saying "we don't like this this type of prank and it shouldn't be tolerated".

[MakubeX2]

Anyway, I think the damage has been done now. We'll see if the Internet lets it rest with this.

Indeed. While the dust might have more or less settled, the way things are handled leaves a lot to be desired and will left many unconvinced since more than a few crucial individual have yet to give their accounts. The reprecussion will go beyond the surface if the silence remain.

[liquidmetal]

Reading about all this has left quite a sour taste in my mouth, especially as I was enjoying Kokoro Connect.

I think you cannot really compare it to other normal variety shows where people get embarassed. They give consent, know what they are getting themselves into and the types of joke are normally trivial in its nature and disconnected from meaningful subjects.

Actively depicting someone and making fun of how he hasn't done well in his chosen field, esepcially as he had no knowledge of all this, is just not on no matter where you are in the world.

The comments from Terashima and Kanemoto aftewards just makes this all sound as it was carried out in a more malicious manner and makes it more into bullying.

With how the website statement purports to read and how they are seem to be saying that they did nothing wrong, there just seems to be no reflection from them.

Hopefully the author and light novel will be differentiated from this.

[Klashikari]

I don't buy Ichiki's blog post either, at least not completely.
I wouldn't be surprised if he sincerely feels things went out of hand, but saying "things were taken out of context, such like the punishment game etc" is totally ludicrous.

The way how things were handled after the event is a testimony of that: why Terashima and Kanemoto were so excited after all of this, if it was really a staged prank only? It doesn't make sense to delay the conclusion of such prank with a goofy "it was all a stunt and Ichiki had fun as well!". Furthermore, Ichiki admitting he didn't know just points way more on the prospect it was a bully treatment than really a joke (which is, beyond crude considering the industry context thrown in there).

Also, no matter how "out of context" the staff and Ichiki think people took all of this, there is little doubts about how people acted during the event itself. Even moreso with all circumstances given with the post-event tidbits.

And honestly, I think the whole issue would be left to rest if only they really put a public apology instead. There are already enough collateral damage as far as it goes, so being stubborn in their pretense it was really a staged joke just add insult to the injury even further.
At least I sure hope people would use "civil" methods to show their protest towards that despicable behaviour, especially that Yamanaka shouldn't scott free *yet again*.

[frivolity]

I am hesitant to make inferences about the truthfulness of Ichiki's blog post because the accounts of all these events are fairly vague and it is indeed difficult to figure out the context of most of the things that went on. We're relying on bits and pieces of information drawn from various corners of the internet and some of the evidence is extremely doubtful e.g: the link between this incident and Sugita ignoring Aoki's VA is quite dubious because there could easily have been other reasons. In addition, on a personal level, I don't exactly trust internet CSI brigades because personal experience tells me that they come to the wrong conclusion most of the time.

Regardless, whether or not his blog post tells the whole story of the incidents is, in my view, none of our business. He wrote that entry stating that he harbours no ill will and considers the current developments to be out of hand. I think we should respect his decision instead of becoming real-life Taichis (or "selfless freaks" :D) and trying to make an issue out of an incident that the victim wants to put to rest.

[Chaos2Frozen]

We're relying on bits and pieces of information drawn from various corners of the internet and some of the evidence is extremely doubtful e.g: the link between this incident and Sugita ignoring Aoki's VA is quite dubious because there could easily have been other reasons. In addition, on a personal level, I don't exactly trust internet CSI brigades because personal experience tells me that they come to the wrong conclusion most of the time.



Sounds like the perfect case for Oreki Houtarou.

[Agent86]

Could the DVD-only episodes be cancelled if sales are too low? I don't think they were ever going to have Bakemonogatari or OreImo level sales figures, but the boycott seems like it could drive sales well below any profitability floor.

[minakichan]

Maybe they threatened to shock him as a batsu game if he didn't say it was all taken out of context.

But seriously, if he's really the publicity manager (orz) and his job relies on KokoroCo doing well in sales, he has a pretty good reason to issue a statement like this regardless of his true feelings. I also agree that standing up for himself wouldn't be in his best interest if he wants to stay in the industry...

[Guardian Enzo]

Even if Ichiki wasn't "forced" to make this statement, it's naive to think he could do anything else. From his perspective the damage has been done - for his own career he has no choice but to take the high road, even if the perps don't. If he pours fuel on the fire (which is burning out of control without any help from him, anyway) he's only making it harder for himself in the future.

[Agent86]

http://blog.livedoor.jp/terashimatakuma/archives/1972262.html

And now Terashima has responded, pretty much the same way as Ichiki. He does add that he really and truly is Ichiki's friend.

[serenade_beta]

http://blog.livedoor.jp/terashimatakuma/archives/1972262.html

And now Terashima has responded, pretty much the same way as Ichiki. He does add that he really and truly is Ichiki's friend.

*starts reading*
Hmm hmm, I see, I see.
*reads the parts where he says that what is on the net is a misunderstanding and done purposely so people would get the wrong message*
不確定な情報が飛び交い、編集をされた言動が真実のように、
一部分だけを切り取ってそれが全部であるように伝わってしまう。

発信者の意図とは、100％伝わるとは限らないものです。
制作側の意図や理想とする形、事情などは、お客様に全く関係の無い事。

............HAH?

[Guardian Enzo]

http://blog.livedoor.jp/terashimatakuma/archives/1972262.html

And now Terashima has responded, pretty much the same way as Ichiki. He does add that he really and truly is Ichiki's friend.

No true friend could every stand by and see what happened to Ichiki in that video happen, much less be a ringleader. More crocodile tears and false apologies.

[Klashikari]

I have no idea what infuriates me the most: that Terashima pretends everything is just a misunderstanding or his claim to be Ichiki's friend.
Really, they can't be even more obvious with the timing of all announcements and blog posts emerging recently.

[relentlessflame]

Really, they can't be even more obvious with the timing of all announcements and blog posts emerging recently.Really, what do you expect them to do? As soon as one party makes a statement, the other parties have to make a statement. This should be understood as good business practice without having to be told. All these people have to keep working together in the same industry. None of the voice actors were ever going to fall on their sword over this. It's not necessarily a sign that anyone was coerced, but I think they would all just know intuitively that they need to make a statement and try to restore order to their careers (and to the industry that pays them).

[Guardian Enzo]

Issuing a sincere apology instead of parsing words to escape blame isn't falling on your sword. If anything, by doing so they'd be doing the best possible thing for their careers.

[Sumeragi]

The fact people don't accept an apology as sincere based on some absurd double standards is a bigger problem in my mind.

[relentlessflame]

Issuing a sincere apology instead of parsing words to escape blame isn't falling on your sword. If anything, by doing so they'd be doing the best possible thing for their careers.
But they can't make a statement that contradicts the official company line. You should know that would be suicidal for them. So whatever apology they give is going to follow "this was only a stunt; we weren't trying to hurt anyone; we're sorry for the trouble we've caused" line. And pretty much all the main people involved will issue that sort of statement (no doubt partly as CYA), and they all waited for the company line to be published before making a statement of their own.

This may all seem disgustingly conformist, but this is business. You have to parse the statements to find the truth within, but that's how that industry works. I don't think we can assume that they are lying in their apology either, but expecting a tell-all confession isn't realistic. They have to close ranks.

[Guardian Enzo]

The point is, though, that by refusing to apologize the company is hurting everyone - the victim, themselves, and the seiyuu and producer. "I'm sorry it was misinterpreted" is the oldest non-apology apology in the book. Because the intent is so transparently driven by self-interest, all this PR is succeeding only in digging themselves a deeper hole.

While it's true that the seiyuu couldn't issue a statement that directly contradicts the company line, there's still plenty of room for Terashima to have done more than he did. All he needed to do was add something along the lines of, "In the end, Ichiki-san was hurt by this - and for that, I take full responsibility and sincerely apologize. While that wasn't my intention, it doesn't change the fact, and I take full responsibility for my actions." That doesn't contradict the idiotic PR spin, but it makes it clear that he's at least saying he's genuinely sorry. All his current statement does is say "I didn't do anything wrong - it's the world's fault for blowing it out of proportion."

[Kirarakim]

The fact people don't accept an apology as sincere based on some absurd double standards is a bigger problem in my mind.

Nothing about the apology comes off as sincere. Of course we all knew this was going to happen when we see that someone as high up as a producer was involved.

Personally it doesn't really matter what we think. The apology was to save face with their customers, the Japanese fan base. But that doesn't mean I have to stop thinking this whole thing was very wrong, and this business like not really an apology leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

[Mappy]

"I'm sorry it was misinterpreted" is the oldest non-apology apology in the book.

Right next to "I'm sorry if I've offended anyone". It's the chasm that exists between understanding that what they did was wrong on many levels and arrogantly brushing off the affair in a manner that says they really don't think what they did was wrong, that is the most galling thing about this affair.

[hyl]

The problem with an apology is that you are admitting that you were wrong and it will give the people on the net more right and justification for their flames/insults or whatever the heck they were doing.
To say that it was all a "misunderstanding" might be for them a slightly worse alternative than adding more fuel to all the flaming on the net. Of course lot's of people won't buy it , but neither would an apology worked for them.

[Klashikari]

It is basically a situation where you are stuck between a stone and a hard place. The difference is that should the apology is done properly, it might quench people anger to a certain degree, and might be accepted over time, if nothing of the sort shows up again.

OTOH, feigning ignorance regarding the wrongdoing here will just spark even more issue, as it basically means the ones responsible in the mess don't even see the problem in there.
The obvious point would have been not to proceed with such tasteless to begin with. But once done, you better take responsibility for it, instead of dragging it for no damn reason. A complete different scale, but the whole affair with TEPCO conceiling the dirty stuff about fukushima is a good example of what happens when you don't take responsibility right off the bat, and get flamed even more on the long run.

[rogerpepitone]

Would the prank qualify as fraud? A casual reading of wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraud) suggests it would be such under US law.

[dahl_moon]

... That was the most appalling apology that I've read in a while. Is it so fr***ing difficult to say "we went overboard"? What about the path to least resistance? Are they that ignorant of why this is blowing up out of proportion? Now, attacks on Kita-Eri probably skewed their judgement somewhat, but they're pressing all the wrong buttons in handling this situation. A few cheap words could've saved them quite a bit of money. Why?

I have to say I'm dropping this from my DVD list (I had hoped to "when" it finally gets released. Kokoro Connect is licensed, correct?). Although I have been and still plan to collect the (Korean translated) novels.

@rogerpepitone Unless Ichika wants to leave the seiyu scene forever, that's probably the worse option he could choose.

[Soliloquy]

Those who is arguing this info might have been exaggerated by the internet should know all the news and gossip get the same treatment and we usually respond with that given information. Taken out of context my ass. All the pranksters are the same. They joke around at the expense of the victim's feelings and just make it with the excuse that they were having fun. Then they do it again with clean conscience. Unless you've been in the same situation, none of us have right to call it was exaggerated or taken out of the context.

[Sumeragi]

Would the prank qualify as fraud? A casual reading of wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraud) suggests it would be such under US law.

Nope. Given this was not been done to intentional cause harm (despite what the peanut gallery migt say) and certainly not for personal gain, it wouldn't apply. Combine this with the type of job which involves such risks, and there is no case.

Frankly, I'm disappointed in the responses of the general community (as in beyond this forum) to this incident. It only reinforces my view that people force upon the entertainment industry a very lopsided hypocritical moral standard.

[Archon_Wing]

The fact people don't accept an apology as sincere based on some absurd double standards is a bigger problem in my mind.

What double standards?

[rogerpepitone]

I realize that for him to seriously pursue legal action would be a career ending move. OTOH, I think that pointing out that the actions constituted fraud with penalties of _____ are a good counter against the "just a prank" comments.

[Sumeragi]

Because it would never be recognized as fraud except possibly by a bunch of biased juries, I don't see the point except that it confirms my view of lopsided moral standards.

[relentlessflame]

Taken out of context my ass. All the pranksters are the same. They joke around at the expense of the victim's feelings and just make it with the excuse that they were having fun. Then they do it again with clean conscience. Unless you've been in the same situation, none of us have right to call it was exaggerated or taken out of the context.
So, unlimited sympathy for the victim (even if he claims otherwise), zero consideration for the accused perpetrators and accomplices (even if they claim otherwise), and no one has the right say anything differently unless they've been in the same situation. That sounds fair and balanced!

Well, why even have a conversation then; let's get straight to sentencing!

Seriously, I think a lot of us probably know what it's like to be bullied. It's a horrible thing and should never be condoned in any situation. If the allegations are true, then I definitely don't think what happened was appropriate. But I don't think we can pretend to know all the details of the situation and who all knew what when. You have to have at least some allowance for at least considering that there may be another side of the story for some of the people involved. That not everyone involved with this situation knew that the victim wasn't in on the joke, or that not everyone involved intended for this to be carried out in this manner. You have to at least allow some possibility for multiple points of view, or you're just being biased. It's so easy for us to feel sympathy for the victim and to believe that "there's no doubt" all the allegations are true because it seems awfully "truthy" (and because a lot of us know just how horrible it is to be bullied)... but I think that's just letting our emotions completely take over.

At the end of the day, we will never know all the details of all the situation surrounding this case. And in the end, it's not our fight -- it's up to the victim if he wants to pursue this case further and bring further attention to it. And in the end, people are getting all worked up about this one situation, but there are all sorts of situations like this that happen all the time, not to mention situations that are a heck of a lot more severe and troubling than a voice actor having his hopes crushed in public. We've all had our feelings hurt unfairly before; it wasn't right, and it may leave some scars, but he can move past this. I've got bullying scars too -- it became part of who I am, for better or worse. As bad as this situation appears to be, I think everyone should try to keep everything in perspective. We should save some of our rage for other things too.

[Kirarakim]

US Law doesn't equal Japanese law so it doesn't really matter. It wasnt fraud just a nasty unfunny prank.

[MakubeX2]

Frankly, I'm disappointed in the responses of the general community (as in beyond this forum) to this incident. It only reinforces my view that people force upon the entertainment industry a very lopsided hypocritical moral standard.

People just do not have a realistic view of the REAL society works. Everything is about politics as evident from the following :-

Mizushima's Apology :-
http://ameblo.jp/neko-no-otete/entry-11344488325.html

Ogame's Apology :-
http://ameblo.jp/asu-kame/entry-11344783403.html

Note that both Mizushima and Ogame had almost nothing to do with the incident and yet they still have to say their piece while executives like Yamanaka remain silent. You may not like how things are settled, but this is how things works. I have a feeling it will not be long before Sugita post his "apology."

[Sumeragi]

The question can be turned into this: Life is a political game, but it does not mean everyone is as Machiavellian as people have been accusing some of the parties related to this incident. Why is it that people bandwagon onto this when it's most likely any normal individual would have done as what happened?

[Archon_Wing]

So, unlimited sympathy for the victim (even if he claims otherwise), zero consideration for the accused perpetrators and accomplices (even if they claim otherwise), and no one has the right say anything differently unless they've been in the same situation. That sounds fair and balanced!

Well, why even have a conversation then; let's get straight to sentencing!

Seriously, I think a lot of us probably know what it's like to be bullied. It's a horrible thing and should never be condoned in any situation. If the allegations are true, then I definitely don't think what happened was appropriate. But I don't think we can pretend to know all the details of the situation and who all knew what when. You have to have at least some allowance for at least considering that there may be another side of the story for some of the people involved. That not everyone involved with this situation knew that the victim wasn't in on the joke, or that not everyone involved intended for this to be carried out in this manner. You have to at least allow some possibility for multiple points of view, or you're just being biased. It's so easy for us to feel sympathy for the victim and to believe that "there's no doubt" all the allegations are true because it seems awfully "truthy" (and because a lot of us know just how horrible it is to be bullied)... but I think that's just letting our emotions completely take over.

At the end of the day, we will never know all the details of all the situation surrounding this case. And in the end, it's not our fight -- it's up to the victim if he wants to pursue this case further and bring further attention to it. And in the end, people are getting all worked up about this one situation, but there are all sorts of situations like this that happen all the time, not to mention situations that are a heck of a lot more severe and troubling than a voice actor having his hopes crushed in public. We've all had our feelings hurt unfairly before; it wasn't right, and it may leave some scars, but he can move past this. I've got bullying scars too -- it became part of who I am, for better or worse. As bad as this situation appears to be, I think everyone should try to keep everything in perspective. We should save some of our rage for other things too.

I think it goes beyond this incident to what it affects, although the emotional issue of bullying certain rises a more heated chain of thought.

Regardless of what judgement one may pass on this incident, it's probable that the anime may suffer due to this and I'm quite sure a lot of people want said anime to succeed and wouldn't want it hindered by an incident that has nothing to do with the anime itself. Can you imagine having writing the source of your life, and having it be associated with this incident through no fault of your own? Not to mention the collateral damage of those who weren't involved. I think it's reasonable to hope the parties involved to know how to play the proper PR game and try to make things easier, a certain degree of politics that makes it at least sound like everything is going well. Sadly, the net is the explosive factor.

Who knows. Maybe with the proper spinning and how everyone acts, it might actually turn out to something productive in the end to turn negative attention into good attention.

It's not an easy thing to do when public opinion is already heavily biased. But could they try harder? Is this the best way? I don't know. That's why people are discussing.

Plainly put, it's no longer solely about the parties involved unfortunately. It's just incredibly hard to appreciate how quickly things can get out of hand given our age of communication via the internet. As you can see, this goes far beyond a moralistic judgement on a detached event.

[Reckoner]

While the incident itself is of course disgusting, I really think the reaction of many people on the web is equally if not more disgraceful than the incident itself.

Regardless the idea that people shouldn't get mad over this just because it doesn't involve them directly is honestly absurd. Just mind our own business, it's all a private matter? Give me a break. If there's no one to get upset over it, then these sorts of incidents will keep happening unhindered since no one will care.

[Archon_Wing]

While the incident itself is of course disgusting, I really think the reaction of many people on the web is equally if not more disgraceful than the incident itself.

Regardless the idea that people shouldn't get mad over this just because it doesn't involve them directly is honestly absurd. Just mind our own business, it's all a private matter? Give me a break. If there's no one to get upset over it, then these sorts of incidents will keep happening unhindered since no one will care.

The tyranny of the mob sums up the reactions of the more rabid fans.

If you might recall some rioting incidents in recent history, some of them were started over legitimate anger over police incidents like say LA in 1992 or London last year. However, the resulting destruction that occurred was unjustified and it also resulted in people completely unrelated getting attacked. And there were also thugs that just joined in the disorder not out of anger, but so they could engage in their own acts of depravity. The recent harassment of Eri Kitamura would be an example of this.

Still, hopefully we learn to tread more lightly on certain things because this is an aspect of human behavior that isn't easily changed. It is also unfortunate that this mob is in control of our Japanese cartoons and a small bit of our entertainment is at their mercy. It's not a enviable position at all.

[Soliloquy]

So, unlimited sympathy for the victim (even if he claims otherwise), zero consideration for the accused perpetrators and accomplices (even if they claim otherwise), and no one has the right say anything differently unless they've been in the same situation. That sounds fair and balanced!


Seriously I think some words of apology would be nice even if things went out of proportion but they are pretending as if nothing happened. What's more, it was Seiyuu apologising than the main orchestrator who may have planned out the whole thing. How hard would it be just utter one word than trying to deviously cover it up? It could have been over and done with but now we are discussing about double standard and politics of anime business...

First I admit we lack the purpose of this prank. I mean this prank would've taken a bit of time and money to set it up. If it was to promote the show, there would have been plenty of other ways to promote the show but they chose this for a bit of an entertainment for themselves. If this was done quietly, it would have been fine.

[Sumeragi]

The "entertaining for themselves" and "bullying" hypothesis is based on what people on the net believe. We're assuming things which might not be true at all.

[Triple_R]

The "entertaining for themselves" and "bullying" hypothesis is based on what people on the net believe. We're assuming things which might not be true at all.

I don't think that you're being fair about this, Sumeragi.

The bullying "hypothesis" was basically accepted by just about all of us at first. Now, after a significant passing of time (why wasn't this supposed "real story" put out sooner?) the people behind the alleged bullying are putting forward apologies and explanations that, frankly, stretches credibility, for reasons that Guardian Enzo and Klashikari have already brought up.

Is it possible that those apologies are entirely sincere and no bullying occurred? Sure... and it's also possible that O.J. Simpson never killed Nicole Simpson. Catch my drift? ;)

The standard of "innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt" applies to courts of law, but it doesn't apply to the court of public opinion. Public opinion will go with whatever possible interpretation of the facts seems most plausible to them, and that's why a lot of people believe that O.J. Simpson killed his wife. And it's also why a lot of us don't think that everybody is innocent in this bullying incident.

At the very least, I seriously doubt that the principal parties (the two seiyu most directly involved, and the Director) are completely innocent here. But in fairness, I can easily imagine most other people on the Kokoro Connect anime team being innocent of wrong-doing, and honestly thinking that this was a legit publicity stunt.

[Klashikari]

The question can be turned into this: Life is a political game, but it does not mean everyone is as Machiavellian as people have been accusing some of the parties related to this incident. Why is it that people bandwagon onto this when it's most likely any normal individual would have done as what happened?
That doesn't make sense whatsoever.
The core problem with the incident is simple: what was that for to begin with? Why going as far as making a "elaborate" prank on a seiyuu who wasn't taking part of the series to begin with?

Your claim for hypocrisy is just displaced: it would be akin to "you condemn such actions, but you would have done the same!", which is absolutely not valid here:
1) it is up to producers and staff team to select seiyuu for whatever roles they might be hired for
2) there is absolutely no benefit of doing such kind of prank whatsoever, except leading to a negative image, which is not something any company would want, even more so with the context of the japanese society and culture
3) there was absolutely no need to shame a seiyuu, however good or bad they are

A political game would be akin to do whatever it takes to fulfill a purpose and goal in mind, and the only one you would care in anime industry would be popularity and marketing, in order to increase the potential income from the given series.

But here, we have an absolutely gratuitious act pulled for no logical reason whatsoever, so backing it as a "political" decision whatsoever doesn't cut it. Assuming you would want to shame a popular seiyuu to sabotage the reputation of all series related to them would be a sketch, but "theorically valid" political tactic (albeit stupid as hell), but the context is entirely different: Ichiki has, for the lack of better term, absolutely nothing to do with Kokoro connect thus up to his fake audition and enrollment for PR, and pulling a public embarassment does not benefit the series at all, since it would lead to a major backlash, which is occuring as we speak.

Also, assumptions are valid if we consider facts and circumstances, which are the videos we were given (hell, the only bizarre stuff we got were people taking the rumor that Kitamura was Yamanaka's favorite seriously, which lead to collateral damage).
The note on the website implies the videos and all are diffamatory, despite they are absolutely not tampered whatsoever (unless someone is able to pull such stunt exist, which means they have quite TOO much free time to tamper the event live, Sugita and Imai's radio events AND Kokoro Connect radio event).
Frankly, you call that incident as a "moral standard", as if normal people would do the same, without justifying one bit. I seriously wonder how necessary/beneficial such stunt was, to make you claim that anyone would do the same.

The only things we have no facts for are: the motivations and the actual names of those who took part of it. Past that, it is fair to conclude several points with the evidences alone, and they are by no means circumstancial at all.

[Sumeragi]

Everything that I have been going against can be summarized into the below quote:

Is it possible that those apologies are entirely sincere and no bullying occurred? Sure... and it's also possible that O.J. Simpson never killed Nicole Simpson. Catch my drift? ;)
The above is basically a summary judgement based what whatever crackpot ideas has been going around. Yes, no one can deny this prank is not of a purely innocent nature, but has this been a systematic aggressive move on one individual? No.


@ Klashikari: Focusing on all the "how uncanny/convenient the apologies are" part of the issue.

[Triple_R]

The above is basically a summary judgement based what whatever crackpot ideas has been going around.

Crackpot ideas? More like simply not being naive, imo.


Yes, no one can deny this prank is not of a purely innocent nature, but has this been a systematic aggressive move on one individual? No.

What exactly do you mean by "systematic aggressive move on one individual"?

The prank was premeditated, and I'm inclined to think it was intended (by at least some people) to harm the victim. I'm not sure how "systematic" that is, though.

[KholdStare]

Klashikari, I'm not entirely sure what you're going for. From reading your post, it sounds like you're trying to convince me into thinking that because the entire incident makes no logical sense, clearly we must be missing something. For example, it might have really been the case that it was intended to be a prank that Ichiki knew about, but somewhere along the lines it went wrong and he never got the intel on it being staged.

Now I'm not saying I actually think this, but I'm not sure what I think now. The situation, when looking deeper into it, makes absolutely no sense. I'm along the lines of Triple_R. While I don't think the director and seiyuu are completely innocent, I'm not entirely sure how much fault falls on whom, and I'd rather see if more information gets revealed.

[Sumeragi]

Crackpot ideas? More like simply not being naive, imo.
Seems like it's the other way around.


What exactly do you mean by "systematic aggressive move on one individual"?

The prank was premeditated, and I'm inclined to think it was intended (by at least some people) to harm the victim. I'm not sure how "systematic" that is, though.
Systematic as in it was planned to harm the victim by all the participants.

[Klashikari]

The above is basically a summary judgement based what whatever crackpot ideas has been going around. Yes, no one can deny this prank is not of a purely innocent nature, but has this been a systematic aggressive move on one individual? No.
The second point cannot be determined whatsoever, as long as the one(s) responsible for this mess don't explain themselves, which probably will never happen. It could potentially be a dart game they chose a seiyuu at random, it could be a nutty case that was "innocently" thought to be no big deal etc.
The motive is just that: completely random unless exposed, since the benefit and context of the incident just don't make sense to begin with. That is to say, everything else can be assumed with evidences.
@ Klashikari: Focusing on all the "how uncanny/convenient the apologies are" part of the issue.I'm sorry, but there are various issues with the "no problem with these apologies" that obviously cannot convince a sizable amount of people:
1) the incident occured months ago, and was never addressed until people found out by chance
2) Kokoro Connect radio event and Eufonius' Kikuchi comments are definitely not pushing the "staged prank" claim presented in the website news.
3) Ichiki explaining his "venture" to Sugita and Imai hardly sounded someone who realized afterwards it was staged.
4) The itasha trip being actually true, with obviously nothing for Ichiki to really involve himself in the series despite his -actual job- sounds off no matter how you look at it

In a business sense, you definitely wouldn't want people going ahead of themselves which could potentially contradict statements, but as Guardian Enzo said already, it was possible for them to take responsability to a certain degree without leading to complicated matters.

Klashikari, I'm not entirely sure what you're going for. From reading your post, it sounds like you're trying to convince me into thinking that because the entire incident makes no logical sense, clearly we must be missing something. For example, it might have really been the case that it was intended to be a prank that Ichiki knew about, but somewhere along the lines it went wrong and he never got the intel on it being staged.
The point is simple: the staff and all claim that "everything is a misunderstanding", to which I bring the issue at hand. And this issue is simply "that situation does not make sense at all".
If you consider marketing and business perspectives, no one in their right mind would do that for pragmatic reasons. This is why something is missing, and I never tried speculating the reason why they did that (there isn't even any evidence that they indeed targeted Ichiki, and it could be any random low profile seiyuu instead).

That's the reason why the whole "misunderstanding" just doesn't click on me at all: claiming it was a misunderstanding implies that either the prank wasn't mean to be severe (despite we got gratuitious remarks after the incident) or was staged (to which they didn't address it to either Ichiki or the public until people found out and went on rage).

I'm like you and everyone else wondering about this affair: I don't have the slighest idea of the individuals who are truly responsible for this mess, but I believe mindlessly accepting their words, under the pretense it was a "mere prank" would be no better than a nod at them.
That said, I do not agree with the whole "witch hunt" going all out, nor it is a good idea to lead a widespread boycott that would obviously involve people who have nothing to do with that. I simply just cannot accept that situation, thus I speak my mind on it.

[liquidmetal]

Yes, no one can deny this prank is not of a purely innocent nature, but has this been a systematic aggressive move on one individual? No.

I am not sure what else can be said but from watching the videos and saying that it is not a public humiliation, well it most definitely wasn't pleasant.

From the apathy of some people here about the thought that no harm was caused and that it wasn't premeditated to at least a group of individuals, then just looking at the quotes from Terashima should ought to dispel that thought.

I do not think anyone is arguing that the scattergun approach is the correct way, and I hope that the novel and the author are unaffected, but surely what has come to light on the comments from the two VAs, for example, cannot be defended.

[relentlessflame]

The point is simple: the staff and all claim that "everything is a misunderstanding", to which I bring the issue at hand. And this issue is simply "that situation does not make sense at all".
If you consider marketing and business perspectives, no one in their right mind would do that for pragmatic reasons. This is why something is missing, and I never tried speculating the reason why they did that (there isn't even any evidence that they indeed targeted Ichiki, and it could be any random low profile seiyuu instead).
You know, I really, honestly, do believe that they were just trying to do a sort of version of "Punked". Where you mislead someone, pull the rug out from underneath them, laugh (hopefully with them, and not at them) a bit, and then they get compensated for their trouble. In this case, he was someone they were hiring as a PR guy, so he was taking part in a PR campaign. The issue is that he didn't know the nature of the PR campaign, and he actually is a bonafide voice actor. So the "punked" aspect failed because the believability is too high. If they just took some random guy off the street who really, really wanted to be in showbusiness, pulled this stunt on them, and then turned around and offered them a long-term job in their PR team... I don't know if there'd be the same hurt feelings. So from "marketing and business perspectives", I think what they were trying to do seems pretty clear to me.

Personally, I don't like "Punked", that sense of humour, or any shows like it. I find it in bad taste. But it's a very popular style of comedy in the entertainment business around the world today. So when they say their intentions were misunderstood, I can actually buy that. The whole thing reeks to me of a prank that was supposed to be funny, but went wrong due to some poor decisions and some people involved taking it too seriously (and being far too vicious). The organizers likely just wanted to have some sort of "fun" way to introduce their new PR guy, and someone came up with this.

Again, I'm not trying to excuse everything that happened... but I can honestly see how it's quite possible that many (not all) of the people who were aware of this did not necessarily believe it was malicious, or intend for things to be taken the way they were. I'm also not going to argue about how they should or shouldn't have worded their apology to appease you and others -- maybe it wasn't the best strategy, who knows -- but I also can see how there is probably truth in what was written there.

[Klashikari]

I see where you are coming from, and that kind of "entertainment" is definitely not uncommon in Japan.
I will admit I did think something like this could occur, but again few points just don't click that assumption so that -I- (not saying for everyone else) believe in that.

If, for example, Ichiki wasn't so lost in his explanations to Sugita and Imai and/or state everything was to have a wonky PR campaign... fine.
If the Kokoro connect radio event had Kanemoto and Terashima explaining how they made an original PR campaign etc... sure.
But none actually happened, and the circumstances (low profile until the public and the internet stormed in) and comments just blow that assumption imho.

My biggest grip is definitely that radio event, where Kanemoto and Terashima just couldn't stop acting ecstatic after what happened to Ichiki.
It certainly doesn't define the whole motive of the "prank", but it definitely leaves an idea of what were their thoughts.
Assuming this radio was staged as well, they made another mistake in not even "punking" the public on this.

I will give you that Ichiki remaining as a PR can be seen as he actually acknowledged the ploy, but it can be equally seen as a way "not to lose a job" or to save face, even if it has the opposite effect.
Suffice to say, an abnormal point with that statement is that Ichiki wasn't really prepared for that, nor briefed afterwards, considering his reactions during Sugita and Imai's radios, and with Kanemoto in the car during the "connecting the hearts" itasha campaign (No, I have no idea how far went the punishment game with the electrodes, so I won't claim he really was hurt or anything, no idea really).
As a "usual punked" stunt, I would expect them to do it right after the fake audition, as a regular "you have been had! but you won't leave with empty hands". Instead, they left him rot with expectations for weeks before having that event where he got slammed with public humiliation, discovering first hand with everyone else what really happened.

So really, while I won't deny that direction of a "eventual staged prank" isn't close to null, points really are disturbing in that equation, even more so if you involve Japanese mindset.

[minakichan]

Anyone have a link to a translation or summary of the various apologies/blog entries (the show's, Ichiki's, Terashima's, Mizushima's, Ogame's)? It's still somewhat beyond me what Mizushima and Ogame were apologizing about; were they involved as well? I wonder how in they were on this whole thing.

[Klashikari]

Mizushima and Oogame were present during the event and did laugh at Ichiki's predicament. There is no indication if it was because they thought it was staged, the flow or whatever, so they were "cut some slack" I guess, unlike Kanemoto and Terashima.

[Kakkou]

Honestly I think had Terashima and Kanemoto not gleefully laugh about the event on the Kokoroco radio, they would have not gotten themselves as much heat as they have now. It's precisely because of their behaviour towards the situation that brought them such animosity compared to Mizushima and Oogame. IIRC, Ichiki said that Mizushima gave him a sympathetic glace at another event during Imai's radio program, which I presume got some people off his back (though, the extreme ones would've still been wishing him ill fortune).

Had the laughing been kept within the event itself (and in Kanemoto's case, kept herself more in check during the itasha campaign), people would have been more willing to give them benefit of the doubt and assume they had no choice but to got along with the joke as part of their job.

In the end, the true culprit is none other than Yamanaka, especially since it's already been said that this isn't the first time he's pulled this shit (just not a this level) on Ichiki, which makes the idea that Ichiki may have been a poor randomly selected victim more unlikely.

[liquidmetal]

In this case, he was someone they were hiring as a PR guy, so he was taking part in a PR campaign. The issue is that he didn't know the nature of the PR campaign, and he actually is a bonafide voice actor. So the "punked" aspect failed because the believability is too high. If they just took some random guy off the street who really, really wanted to be in showbusiness, pulled this stunt on them, and then turned around and offered them a long-term job in their PR team... I don't know if there'd be the same hurt feelings.

The difference here though is that they more likely chose this VA for the specific reason that he hasn't been that successful. They offered him a role on the anime to voice an anime only character and brought him in to record lines and audition, befitting his job title as a VA and one that isn't lucky enough to pick offers.

Then on a public stage they rescinded that role and said in all actuality that his role never existed and that he would work as a PR guy where the social status of the PR work is more akin to manual labour rather than a VA, all the while being laughed at for failing to not be more successful in his chosen profession.

[frivolity]

It was not a public stage per se because the performance was not meant to be uploaded on to NND. It was shown during a pre-season event for the anime in front of the audience and that's all.

Seriously, the perpetrators have apologised, and their apologies are now construed as being insincere. The victim came out and said he's taking it in stride and considered the current state of events as being blown out of proportion and it's now argued as being untruthful. Notwithstanding the blatant lack of evidence for these views, what more are the parties expected to do?