Publishing company Kodansha released a statement apologizing to Cells at Work! author Akane Shimizu, following the post the mangaka made in early July about situations she has faced in recent years. The publisher acknowledged that it had failed to implement a medical supervision system for the author and that it had failed to create an adjusted workflow arrangement that would allow assistants to help the mangaka, who has struggled with multiple medical diagnoses and financial and sexual abuse.
Furthermore, the publisher apologized for not providing a proper crediting system for some of the spin-off works and publications released after the anime adaptation, namely the 2019 Learn about Anatomy! Cells at Work Encyclopedia of the Human Body guide. According to Shimizu, her name was removed after she raised issues regarding the editing process.
The Cells at Work! manga went on an indefinite hiatus following the release of the fifth volume in 2017 before resuming with a final volume in 2021. During that time, multiple manga spin-offs were released, including Cells at Work!: Bacteria! and Cells at Work!: Neo Bacteria! by Haruyuki Yoshida, Cells at Work and Friends!, and Cells at Work!: Platelets! by Kanna Kurono, as well as Cells at Work!: White Brigade by Tetsuji Kanie.
In the same statement, Kodansha stated that the editor involved in the author’s editorial management has been removed from the position, and that they are in talks with Shimizu to improve the editorial department’s management and supervisory systems. According to Shimizu’s X/Twitter posts, the editor failed to provide any corrections and refused to assist with a research-heavy manga set inside a human body.
Akane Shimizu released a statement on X/Twitter stating that during Cells at Work!‘s serialization, she faced overlapping hardships and was diagnosed with depression and trichotillomania, followed by post-traumatic stress disorder. She also disclosed that she suffered financial abuse and sexual abuse from relatives, as well as secondary abuse from family members, and that she ended up losing contact with her younger sister, who had inspired her to start drawing manga in the first place. Shimizu calls those experiences wounds that remain deep even today.
She is currently working on a new series, titled Yellow Flame, and although her posts imply that the serialization initially started out rough due to self-doubt and the previous editor’s approach, she says she has built a good relationship with her current editor.
Shimizu explained she felt compelled to keep speaking out because, for around six months, the perpetrator’s side had been suggesting legal action that would have a potential impact on her work. She said the other party had pursued mediation despite her wishes, including a request that she be barred from contacting them — something she felt shifted the burden onto her as the victim — and that she’d been discouraged from pursuing the case in court out of concern it could affect the series.
The Cells at Work! manga was serialized in Kodansha’s Monthly Shonen Sirius from January 2015 to January 2021.. An anime adaptation by David Production aired for two seasons, during the Summer 2018 and Winter 2021 anime seasons. The anime adaptation of the Cells at Work! CODE BLACK spin-off was animated by LIDENFILMS and aired from January to March 2021.
Sources: Kodansha official website, Akane Shimizu official X/Twitter
