(L) Rurouni Kenshin Hokkaido Arc

[Guardian Enzo]

Well, apparently Shueishia has decided that Watsuki is repentant enough, and they're going to resume publication of the Hokkaido Arc in June.

Does this mean a Jinchuu-Hokkaido anime reboot may finally be in the cards? We'll see.

[Mad Pierrot]

I'm glad Kenshin returns but now I feel that there is an elephant in the forum

[n0m@n]

Good to hear. Wonder if its resuming from next issue.

[Random14]

As a Kenshin fan, initially I'm happy. Then I remember everything else that's happened, and um, not sure how I should feel.

I want to read more Kenshin, of course, but I don't know how I should feel about the author anymore. I wonder if the English SJ will resume publishing it. I'm still surprised they're continuing it so quickly, I was expecting it in 2019, or at least late 2018.

[Sixth]

Good news. I am surprised that he was given a chance to continue his work.

[DragonOsman]

I'm happy to hear it'll continue. Can't wait. I just hope the English WSJ will continue to publish so I can continue reading it on Viz's website as it comes out (free).

[dragon1412]

Good news, now to continue waiting

[thefreakmike]

This is really a case where we must learn to separate the work and the author, that is just the only way right now IMO

[DragonOsman]

And is the author really that bad of a person to begin with, even given his fetish? It's just an anime fetish (i.e. it doesn't seem to also extend to real life). He does have an adult wife which means he isn't just limited to being a lolicon even in real life. Also, the reason he's being allowed to continue the story so soon is also probably because it didn't seem like that big a deal to even the Japanese people and authorities.

[Sixth]

Originally Posted by DragonOsman

And is the author really that bad of a person to begin with, even given his fetish? It's just an anime fetish (i.e. it doesn't seem to also extend to real life). He does have an adult wife which means he isn't just limited to being a lolicon even in real life. Also, the reason he's being allowed to continue the story so soon is also probably because it didn't seem like that big a deal to even the Japanese people and authorities.

Pretty sure that he had a real child porn, not your average loli doujin or hentai.

[kuromitsu]

Ugh, seriously? They didn't even wait one year? To at least make it seem like there's some sort of punishment going on? How desperate is Shueisha to keep the franchise afloat? I was all set to separate author from work, but this is definitely giving the whole thing a very bad aftertaste that doesn't make me want to cheer for anything Rurouni Kenshin ever again. :/

Originally Posted by DragonOsman

And is the author really that bad of a person to begin with, even given his fetish? It's just an anime fetish (i.e. it doesn't seem to also extend to real life). He does have an adult wife which means he isn't just limited to being a lolicon even in real life. Also, the reason he's being allowed to continue the story so soon is also probably because it didn't seem like that big a deal to even the Japanese people and authorities.

We're not talking about 2D, he had actual child porn, with real girls. And he admitted being into elementary school age girls. He might have gotten off with a slap on the wrist, but that doesn't change the fact that what he did was illegal (it may not have been illegal years ago, but since 2014 it very much is), and that he financially supported a business built on abusing real children. Rest assured that even as lot of people are cheering for the return of the manga, there are also a lot of Japanese people shaking their head. 2D is one thing, real children is an entirely different thing, even in Japan.

The reason he's being allowed to continue the story so soon is most likely that Shueisha doesn't want the franchise to fade out of people's minds, they have too much money riding on it (last time I checked there was even a new movie in the making, that was put on hiatus when the scandal broke - obviously they sank too much money into it to just give it up). I'm pretty sure that from now on Jump will officially "forget" that this incident has ever happened. Bleh.

(A comment I saw I think on Twitter sums up my feelings pretty nicely: "If this was me I would be too ashamed to even raise my head. Watsuki-sensei's mental fortitude is really something." <- this is not a compliment.)

[dragon1412]

This might not be the 1st time someone said this, but considering the obscure of the words, things might not be the way you think, CP is actually being a problem in Japan, and children even have security buzzer and stuff, being charged with CP can easily resulted in years in prison. Back to Watsuki, beside knowing it is called CP, what else do we know, if you are talking about underage teen idol, then those video was kinda all over the place in 2000s era in japan. Of course, if he was fined and released, and Shueisha continue to hire him, then it's might not be such a big deal, these companies actually care about their image a lot, Watsuki being hired back might actually indicate the true seriousness of the issues

[kuromitsu]

Originally Posted by dragon1412

This might not be the 1st time someone said this, but considering the obscure of the words, things might not be the way you think,

Oh, it is very much what it looks like. (If you don't believe me look up articles from the time the scandal broke out.) From what we know of what was on the DVDs, and the guy's own admission of being attracted to "girls from elementary school to middle school age" (considering that elementary school starts at age 6 even if we assume the "best" the strike zone is still from prepubescent to age 14, pretty much), and the fact that he came under suspicion in the first place during the course of an unrelated CP investigation, I think it's pretty obvious that this is not some sort of an underground teen idol thing. It's child porn, even Japanese authorities are calling it such.

Originally Posted by dragon1412

Of course, if he was fined and released, and Shueisha continue to hire him, then it's might not be such a big deal, these companies actually care about their image a lot, Watsuki being hired back might actually indicate the true seriousness of the issues

It doesn't, not really. Even among the people who are cheering now many are surprised at how short the hiatus was. It's just that Shueisha really really wants RuroKen, so they can't afford to let it slip now. Especially with the movie in the making. Many people who are fans of the movie are likely not very familiar with the manga and aren't following news on it, so I guess they're hoping that even if the manga has a stain on its name it wouldn't reflect on the movie.

Also, "not a big deal" is like... I mean, the guy has admitted to being basically a pedophile. This is not something that gets magically cured after paying a (ridiculously small sum of) fine and 6 months of "reflection" after getting caught.

I love Rurouni Kenshin and it will always be an important part of my anime/manga "career", no scandal can take that away from me. But this whole thing now is turning me off the sequel.

[Sixth]

Originally Posted by kuromitsu

(A comment I saw I think on Twitter sums up my feelings pretty nicely: "If this was me I would be too ashamed to even raise my head. Watsuki-sensei's mental fortitude is really something." <- this is not a compliment.)

Wow..that was harsh.

So the japanese readers aren't that happy with this news? What else do they said, if you got any interesting tweet or line to share with us?

[foxbox360]

Man they should of wait another year before continuing the series, the wounds still fresh.

[dragon1412]

Originally Posted by kuromitsu

Oh, it is very much what it looks like. (If you don't believe me look up articles from the time the scandal broke out.) From what we know of what was on the DVDs, and the guy's own admission of being attracted to "girls from elementary school to middle school age" (considering that elementary school starts at age 6 even if we assume the "best" the strike zone is still from prepubescent to age 14, pretty much), and the fact that he came under suspicion in the first place during the course of an unrelated CP investigation, I think it's pretty obvious that this is not some sort of an underground teen idol thing. It's child porn, even Japanese authorities are calling it such.


It doesn't, not really. Even among the people who are cheering now many are surprised at how short the hiatus was. It's just that Shueisha really really wants RuroKen, so they can't afford to let it slip now. Especially with the movie in the making. Many people who are fans of the movie are likely not very familiar with the manga and aren't following news on it, so I guess they're hoping that even if the manga has a stain on its name it wouldn't reflect on the movie.

Also, "not a big deal" is like... I mean, the guy has admitted to being basically a pedophile. This is not something that gets magically cured after paying a (ridiculously small sum of) fine and 6 months of "reflection" after getting caught.

I love Rurouni Kenshin and it will always be an important part of my anime/manga "career", no scandal can take that away from me. But this whole thing now is turning me off the sequel.

It pretty much what i was talking about, i mean, when you are going to a police that found Child porn and they ask you about sexual preferences, would you, or anyone, ever admit to attract to young girls ???? It's what iffed me from reading the article, he admit too easily. Even in normal case, i sincerely doubt people would ever admit having interest in "girls from elementary school to middle school age" .

Again. like i said, the same issues is with Jump and the way Watsuki is released, too fast, they could let it rest for a year and then continue with it after the issues died out, but they didn't. What does that mean, it mean that the effect isn't that great, Shueisha is a company, they want money, sure, but they aren't stupid enough to try to test their company image over legal case and crime. DOn't assuming that money is the motivation for everything, and don't assume that everyone can only see 1 things either. People are smart, and those who actually sit and make the call for it to continue at the time they decide is even more so. Again, we actually don't have enough information to make the call for the issues

[Mad Pierrot]

On a second note, I will read the manga with pleasure. Watsuki's actions have nothing to do with Kenshin's story. The only thing that changed to me is Watsuki, not Kenshin.

[GendoAizenPig]

As a big fan of the original series I have to say this entire situation is just sickening. If he had actually suffered any substantial consequences, I may have been a little more forgiving, but this is just a joke. It's good to know that if you write a story that people like, it's not that big of a deal if you pleasure yourself to children in Japan.

The manga should've been cancelled. It's really just that simple. No company should be supporting an aspiring pedophile. Either way, any interest I had in picking it up is completely gone now.

[kuromitsu]

Originally Posted by Sixth

Wow..that was harsh.

So the japanese readers aren't that happy with this news? What else do they said, if you got any interesting tweet or line to share with us?

I wasn't looking too deeply (I was at work, I'm not going to look up CP related things at work! ) so I have no concrete links or comments, aside of the one I quoted, and that got caught in my head because it was just so on point. But from what I saw there's lots of "yay" and "good for you" and "finally" type reactions, mostly from people who seem to be fans. But there's also a fair amount of "the hell" and "couldn't you have at least waited a bit longer ffs." Many people are shaking their heads at the too-fast return. Also many find the "反省と悔悟" ("reflection and remorse", as in what Watsuki is supposedly doing) part in the Jump SQ announcement ridiculous, because it sounds unsincere and pointless - does doing that now make him a better person? what does this change about his sexual preferences? There are also remarks that they don't expect to see young girls in the manga any time soon. Many people also don't really seem to be aware of why the manga was on hiatus in the first place - I've seen comments like "oh hey, it's back but why was it off again?" "Mangaka had CP" "WHAT????" and "but maybe he just accidentally stumbled on some loli porn manga!" "actually, he had DVDs with real children" "WHAT????"

(Then there's the usual otaku whining over "omg this fascist country is trying to dictate even one's sexual preferences!!" and the "get over yourselves you disgusting freaks" reactions, along with the usual "I'm into lolicon but real kids are NG" disclaimers. Also, endless puns on the title. )

Originally Posted by dragon1412

It pretty much what i was talking about, i mean, when you are going to a police that found Child porn and they ask you about sexual preferences, would you, or anyone, ever admit to attract to young girls ???? It's what iffed me from reading the article, he admit too easily. Even in normal case, i sincerely doubt people would ever admit having interest in "girls from elementary school to middle school age" .

Again. like i said, the same issues is with Jump and the way Watsuki is released, too fast, they could let it rest for a year and then continue with it after the issues died out, but they didn't. What does that mean, it mean that the effect isn't that great, Shueisha is a company, they want money, sure, but they aren't stupid enough to try to test their company image over legal case and crime. DOn't assuming that money is the motivation for everything, and don't assume that everyone can only see 1 things either. People are smart, and those who actually sit and make the call for it to continue at the time they decide is even more so. Again, we actually don't have enough information to make the call for the issues

I don't think there's any reason to read too deeply into this and speculate about what there might be that we don't see. Likely there's nothing more to it.

If this wasn't RuroKen maybe things would have been at least a bit different, but it is RuroKen. Shueisha wants its money, Watsuki (I suppose) wants his money, and most of people won't care either way as long as they have the manga to read. Even in this thread there are people saying they don't care and/or are even already looking forward to potential new content. There are many people out there who are the same, and there seem to be many who don't even know what exactly happened and why the manga was put on hiatus. Most fans of the movies likely don't follow the manga and have no idea that this even happened, so I guess they're judging that branch of the franchise completely safe. Jump SQ put up a nice disclaimer saying, pretty much, "we did this out of duty to you, and also sensei is totally regretting everything and is reflecting hard on his life choices, so it's all OK" and that's probably going to be the end of it. (Hell, give it some time and people will be shouting down anyone who dares to mention this incident.)

If someone doesn't care and just wants more Kenshin to read and more movies and potentially anime to watch, that's on them, they're free to do as they please. Me though, my personal and entirely subjective stance is that I can't really get over the fact that he possessed CP (with all that this implies, including supporting businesses built on abusing real children), admitted to being attracted to children, and got away with a slap on the wrist - especially that he himself seems to be fine with continuing, and especially that it's so soon. For me this has a bad aftertaste that I can't get rid of, and that's not something with which I want to associate characters I love and have fond memories of. (Also, I'm not giving my money to a guy like this.)

[DragonOsman]

Dragon1412 does have a point, though. I mean, yeah, having CP and all that it implies is horrible, but again, why did he admit to it so easily? What do we not know?

Honestly, it's better to keep the author's personal life separate from his work. And not judge him on things we may not have full knowledge of. IMO.