Cells at Work Creator Reports Mistreatment by Kodansha
The Cells at Work Creator reported mistreatment after revealing problems she allegedly faced during the publication of her famous manga, causing a wave of other artists to share their own experiences with difficulties, psychological pressure, and conflicts with publishers in Japan.
The author of Cells at Work!, Akane Shimizu, published a series of posts on her X account explaining situations that allegedly occurred while she was working with the publisher Kodansha.
Cells at Work Creator reports mistreatment during manga production
According to Akane Shimizu, one of the main problems she faced during the serialization of Cells at Work was the lack of support promised by the editorial team. The author stated that the publisher had promised professional assistance to supervise the medical aspects of the story, as the work involves several concepts from the healthcare field.
However, according to her reports, this support did not happen properly. The mangaka stated that she had to conduct research on her own using books purchased with her own money, while receiving criticism from readers whenever medical errors appeared in the manga.
Shimizu also claimed that her requests for help were ignored or handled negatively by the editorial staff.
Additionally, the author alleged that she did not receive professional-level manga assistants to help with production, something considered common among creators working with major publishers. The lack of support reportedly increased her workload, forcing her to stay up all night in order to meet deadlines.
Mangaka problems with publishers gain attention in Japan
After reports from the Cells at Work Creator accusing the publisher of mistreatment, other artists began sharing similar experiences involving difficulties in the manga industry.
Mangaka Kayatamaru revealed that they allegedly went more than a year without receiving royalties related to international digital sales of their manga. They also stated that their health problems did not receive the necessary attention from the editorial team, leading to a mandatory six-month hiatus.
Another artist who spoke about the issue was Izuko Fujiya, known for works published in Monthly Shonen Sirius. She explained that conflicts with her editorial team between 2016 and 2019 eventually made it impossible to continue her series Sayonara no Parade.
The artist stated that she hopes Akane Shimizu’s case will help improve how manga creators are treated by companies.
In addition to issues involving support and payments, other artists highlighted a culture of pressure within the industry.
Q-ta Minami commented that for years they believed they were treated that way because they were not a famous enough artist. However, after seeing Akane Shimizu’s case, they stated that they realized even highly successful creators could face similar situations.
Meanwhile, Meiji Merou revealed that former editors used to tell her that she was inferior to other artists and that she would “end up as a loser.” According to her, there was a tendency to try to shape artists into a certain mold and emotionally pressure them.
Kodansha publishes apology
After the accusations gained attention, Kodansha published an official apology to Akane Shimizu. The company acknowledged that it failed to provide proper professional supervision and also admitted problems related to the author’s credits in spin-off works based on Cells at Work.
Shimizu also stated that some credit changes happened in franchise spin-offs, with her name being changed from “original author” to “collaborator” or even removed entirely in certain cases.
According to the author, these situations, combined with other personal problems, contributed to her facing serious emotional difficulties during the manga’s publication period.
via Automaton