Manga Author Shiten Akiyama Receives Global Fan Support After Financial Struggles Go Viral

In February of this year, author Shiten Akiyama became known after revealing that he had been banned by his publisher from offering his manga for free to international fans.

What happened was that Shiten Akiyama published the manga HORIZON, and in an attempt to reach a wider audience, he translated it himself and uploaded it to MangaDex. However, when his publisher discovered this, they ordered him to stop.

Fast forward to the present, Shiten Akiyama made headlines again after revealing that his financial situation had reached a critical point, even stating that he could barely afford a cheap coffee.

“I’m so embarrassed because I said so many pretentious things today… My work isn’t selling well, and I can barely afford a cheap coffee. So if anyone has some extra money, please support me on Ko-fi,” he posted.

The sincerity of his message quickly caught the attention of anime and manga communities, especially outside Japan, who decided to step in and support the author.

The response was immediate and unexpected. Within days, the artist raised over ¥900,000, around US$5,000, surpassing all initial expectations. Even more impressively, donations continued to grow, eventually exceeding the earnings from the first published volume of HORIZON.

With growing support, the author has become even more engaged with his international fans, creating an Instagram account and actively posting in English.

We will see what the future holds.