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The good news is that we have more choices than ever around where we get our manga from. There are more apps out there every week, including the newly (re)launched Crunchyroll Manga app. However, fans who use the Manga One app may find that several of their favorite works have been removed. Not because of a particular rights issue, but because some manga creators/owners are pulling their works after it become known that the staff at Manga One have reportedly hired not one but two convicted sexual predators as writers and editors over the past few years, and allegedly decided to cover it up by giving them new pen names.

In 2020, manga-ka Shoichi Yamamoto was arrested for violating the child prostitution and child pornography prohibition law in Japan. After his indictment and subsequent fine, he was fired from his role as writer of Daten Sakusen, which had been distributed by Manga One’s parent company, Shogakukan. That should have been the end of it, but, just like Rurouni Kenshin creator Nobuhiro Watsuki, Yamamoto refused to stay out of the manga industry.

Just a few years later, in 2022, Shogakukan reportedly re-hired Shoichi Yamamoto as a writer, this time creating a new manga called Joujin Kamen and under the pen name of Ichiro Hajime. Until February 2026, Joujin Kamen was distributed through Shogakukan' Manga One app. That is when he was ordered to pay 11 million yen (around $70,000) to the victim in damages in addition to his original fine. According to reports, at least one editor in charge of Ichiro Hajime’s work with Manga One was involved in settlement talks between the artist and the victim in 2021, so the company had to at least have some knowledge of the severity of his crimes.

In a statement released by Manga One, they acknowledged that he “should never have been hired as the original author” on a new series following his conviction. However, it seems that the damage was already done, as several authors had already opted to have their works removed from the Manga One app, including Rumiko Takahashi (Ranma ½), Kanehito Yamada (Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End), Ryuhei Tamura (Cosmos), Haro Aso (Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead), and Kaeru Mizuho (Magical Girl Dandelion). Add to that, One-Punch Man creator One said he would not work with Shogakukan again if this situation isn't resolved.

Just in case you thought this was the end of Manga One’s troubles, it turns out this isn’t the only time they’ve knowingly hired someone who was convicted of sexual assault. The writer of Seiso no Shinrishi, who goes by the pen name of Itsuki Yatsunami, was convicted in 2020 of grabbing a junior high school girl. Despite being aware of this fact, Manga One hired him under his new pen name in 2024. Their reasoning for giving him a new pen name was reportedly to protect the victim's identity.

There is, of course, an argument for letting justice run its course. Both men have paid their fines according to the justice system and should be allowed to rejoin society, albeit with protections in place to ensure they don’t repeat their crimes. However, the stink among manga fans over this isn’t just that Manga One and Shogakukan hired convicted sex offenders to write for them, but the fact that they actively tried to cover up their past with new names and new series. They can claim it was an oversight and a mistake to hire these men, but they clearly knew it was wrong because they tried to bury it.

We as fans have a right and a duty to spend our time and money in a way that is in line with our own ethics. That is why I’ve taken the hard stance on not engaging with Rurouni Kenshin or its creator in any way that isn’t reminding people of his crimes. That is my choice, but it is one I’m able to make because I know to avoid anything that has Nobuhiro Watsuki’s name on it. If they hid him behind a pen name and covered up his involvement, they take that choice away from me.

Manga One clearly has a lot of house cleaning to do when it comes to its hiring practices, to the point where Shogakukan has said it would establish a third-party committee, including lawyers, to investigate the company’s decision to hire these two authors with sex crime convictions. Not just in the hopes of winning back authors who don’t want to be associated with the company, but to ensure fans aren’t unwittingly supporting people they might find reprehensible. 

Get ready for what's next with our list to upcoming comics and how to buy comics at a comic shop, and our guide to all the free comics you can get with this year's Free Comic Book Day and Comics Giveaway Day.