TOKYO (TR) – Masami Kurumada, the 72-year-old legendary manga artist behind the worldwide hit “Saint Seiya,” filed a lawsuit on Wednesday towards a former accountant, alleging the person embezzled a staggering 4.6 billion yen from his manufacturing firm, reviews TV Asahi (Sep. 2).
According to the lawsuit, the previous accountant—who beforehand labored as Kurumada’s editor earlier than taking up his funds some 20 years in the past—funneled huge abroad licensing charges right into a shell firm. The accused allegedly established a dummy company with a reputation almost similar to Kurumada’s legit licensing administration agency, “NEXT WING,” to siphon off funds between 2018 and 2024.
To cowl his tracks, the ex-accountant systematically remoted the artist from enterprise associates. “He told people, ‘Masami Kurumada is a misanthrope. Because he is an artist, he cannot meet with people,’” Kurumada’s lawyer, Tomohiro Nozaki, defined, noting that the tactic stored trade insiders away from the creator for years.
Empty financial institution accounts
The huge fraud got here to gentle two years in the past throughout an investigation by the tax workplace. Kurumada revealed that his firm’s financial institution accounts have been discovered to be almost empty, leaving him unable to pay his hefty tax payments.
“If things had gone badly, Kurumada Production would have gone bankrupt. I might have been ruined as a manga artist,” Kurumada stated.
The stolen funds included roughly 1.2 billion yen in pachinko licensing charges funneled between 2021 and 2024, in addition to huge royalties from Chinese firms like Tencent and Alibaba for merchandise and video games. The property’s booming recognition in abroad markets, together with China and Latin America, generated immense wealth that the artist was largely stored in the dead of night about.
“I truly couldn’t believe it at first,” Kurumada instructed reporters. “I’ve been in this industry for over 50 years, and you just don’t expect to see bad people in the anime and manga world. The amount of 4.6 billion yen is so huge, it doesn’t even feel real to me.”
“Almost lost faith in humanity”
The lawsuit seeks 2.89 billion yen in damages, which accounts for the remaining stolen funds after roughly 1.8 billion yen was beforehand returned. The accused has but to publicly reply to inquiries relating to the allegations.
Despite the staggering monetary betrayal, the 72-year-old creator says he won’t put down his pen.
“For a time, I almost lost faith in humanity,” Kurumada stated. “But for the readers and the people all over the world who love ‘Saint Seiya’ and my manga, I will keep doing my best to continue drawing.”