Prisoner Riku's mangaka under fire for lashing out at a fan-colored panel of their manga

Modified Apr 10, 2024 09:07 GMT

Prisoner Riku mangaka Shinobu Seguchi is creating a new manga series. However, the mangaka recently gained traction online over a dispute concerning fan art and copyrights, sparked after he responded rudely to a French colorist online and asked them to take their post down.

Prisoner Riku, written and illustrated by Shinobu Seguchi, is a Japanese manga series that was serialized in Akita Shoten's Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine from February 2011 to February 2018. Its chapters have been collected into 38 compiled manga volumes.

Why is Prisoner Riku's mangaka under fire?

Prisoner Riku mangaka lashes out at a fan colored panel (Image via X/@ShinobuSeguchi)

On Saturday, April 6, 2024, @Atsukyooa, a French manga colorist on X, posted a colored illustration of Sasaki Renoma, a character from the Prisoner Riku manga. The colorist even mentioned the manga creator's official account @ShinobuSeguchi as part of the tweet.

However, instead of praising or thanking the colorist, the manga creator responded rudely to the tweet, saying that the illustration posted used his original line work.

Sasaki Renoma as seen in the manga (Image via Akita Shoten)

Shinobu Seguchi further wrote that he did not sense any ingenuity in the colored art, and hence asked the colorist to delete the tweet, as per a Google translation of the post on X. The mangaka also added that he would have had no issue with the colorist had they drawn the line art themselves and colored it.

When the colorist tried to communicate with the manga creator, Seguchi conveyed that the "fan art" was unpleasant. This is what caused the major backlash against Prisoner Riku's mangaka.

How fans reacted to comments made by Prisoner Riku's mangaka

Riku as seen in the manga (Image via Akita Shoten)

Soon after Prisoner Riku mangaka Shinobu Seguchi made their comments, many fans came to his defense and asked the colorist to take down the post. Many claimed that the issue at hand was cultural differences between France and Japan, as in the latter, copyright laws are very strict.

However, animanga fans online weren't ready to accept 'culture difference' as an excuse for the manga creator's rude behavior. There have been several manga creators, most notably the creator of Vinland Saga, Makoto Yukimura, who has not only liked fan art but also shared it online.

"Culture difference' my ***. I've never heard of a mangaka being this petty, cruel and unprofessional to a fan art/coloration," said one fan.

"I know it can be hard to understand but just look at the mangaka of Vinland Saga. He always share fan art and coloring because it makes the manga live. He is happy people are involved in his story. You are the problem. You are HARASSING someone for literally nothing," added another.

"I mean, colorist is an actual profession, and it takes skill to do it well. I think the mangaka is in the wrong here for not appreciating what is essentially fan art," said another fan.

The way Shinobu Seguchi dealt with the situation seemed unprofessional to the fans online, as was evidenced by their comments.

Many pointed out that the manga creator could have asked the colorist to simply not use his line art or edit his work directly. However, instead of going about it calmly, Prisoner Riku mangaka Shinobu Seguchi seemingly called out the colorist for their work. In response, several animanga fans online announced that they would allow their fans to reuse their line art if they were to ever become a renowned manga artist.

"Also that mangaka is being unnecessarily rude af to a fan. could have just told the fan that they don't want their drawing to be used/changed by fan. (Like some artists that don't want their art to be reposted)," another fan explained their point.

"If I'd be a famous Mangaka one day, I'd let all of you, haters or fans, color my line art/panels. I'd be honored," one fan shared.

Considering the backlash Prisoner Riku mangaka Shinobu Seguchi has been receiving, it is tough to say whether the incident will be forgotten anytime soon.