Saint Seiya Creator Sues Former Manager & Others For Embezzling Over 4.6 Billion Yen; Says He Could Have ‘Been Finished As A Manga Artist’

Manga creator Masami Kurumada, known for Saint Seiya, has filed a lawsuit against a former board director and others over the alleged unauthorized misappropriation of approximately 4.6 billion yen (USD 29.4 million) from three companies he leads.

Kurumada announced the lawsuit on Sep 2 during a press conference in Tokyo. He is seeking approximately 2.8 billion yen (USD 17.9 million) in damages from the former directors through the Tokyo District Court.

Approximately 1.8 billion yen (USD 11.5 million) of the embezzled funds has already been repaid, leaving the remaining 2.8 billion yen as damages.

The financial misconduct was reportedly discovered about two years ago during an investigation by the tax authorities. At that time, there was very little money remaining in the company’s accounts, leaving him unable to pay a large tax bill.

This almost jeopardized both the future of his company and his career as a manga artist.

“If things had gone badly, the production company could have gone bankrupt, and I might have been finished as a manga artist,” Kurumada said.

According to the lawsuit, the embezzlement took place between 2018 and 2024.

The three plaintiff companies, including Kurumada Production, manage the copyrights and merchandising rights for Kurumada’s works, which also include B’t X and Ring ni Kakero.

The former directors of the companies allegedly used several methods to divert funds from the companies, including transferring money without authorization to other bank accounts and having business partners deposit licensing fees into accounts held under the name of another company.

Kurumada’s former manager and early editor, who was responsible for handling the accounts, is among those accused. The individual was also involved in the establishment of Kurumada Production and had known the author for more than 15 years.

According to the lawsuit and information reported by TV Asahi, the individual proposed the establishment of the three companies, one of which was NEXT WING, responsible for managing licensing deals involving merchandise and toys.

The former manager allegedly later established another company with a name resembling NEXT WING and directed licensing fees to accounts belonging to that company.

Among the alleged transactions were approximately 1.2 billion yen in licensing fees related to pachinko machines that were transferred between 2021 and 2024.

“It’s such a huge amount that I can’t really comprehend it. ¥4.6 billion. You can’t really grasp that, can you? I never imagined that more than ¥1 billion had been coming into the accounts. Over the past 10 years or so, companies from China, such as Tencent and Alibaba, have brought us this wealth through toy-related business.”

The embezzlement came as a major blow to Kurumada, who said the incident caused him to lose faith in people in an industry he had previously considered trustworthy.

“I had never seen bad people in the anime and manga industry. At one point, I was even beginning to lose faith in people.” Kurumada said during the press conference.

The attorney who represents Kurumada, alleged that the former accounting manager had also isolated Kurumada from people around him by portraying the manga creator as someone who disliked interacting with others.

“He [the former manager] portrayed Masami Kurumada, the creator of Saint Seiya, as someone who disliked people, saying things like, ‘He’s an artist, so he’s not good at meeting people.’ He kept people connected to Kurumada away from him for a long time.”

Despite the financial damage and personal impact of the allegations, Kurumada said he intends to continue creating manga for his readers and fans around the world.

“From now on, for the sake of all the readers and everyone around the world who loves Saint Seiya and my manga, I want to continue working hard and drawing manga. I sincerely ask for your continued support,” he said.

Kurumada debuted as a professional manga artist in 1974 with his manga Sukeban Arashi and established his career in manga with Ring Ni Kakero, which began serialization in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump in 1977.

He later created Saint Seiya, which debuted in the magazine in 1986 and became one of his most internationally recognized works.

Saint Seiya was adapted by Toei Animation into a 114-episode anime series.

It was followed by a 31-episode OVA series, The Hades Chapter, which was released between 2002 and 2008. The franchise also spawned four animated feature films released in Japanese theaters between 1987 and 1989, followed by two more films in 2004 and 2014. A live-action film adaptation was released in 2023.

Source: Mainichi Shimbun