Everyone knows about the tragedy that happened to the author of the manga Sexy Tanaka-san, right? Hinako Ashihara was the author of the manga that was adapted into a live-action series.
However, things did not go as well as the author wanted, before the production of the live-action Hinako Ashihara asked that the Sexy Tanaka-san series be faithful to the manga as one of the conditions to allow production, which did not happen.
In January of this year, Hinako Ashihara was found dead in a suicide apparently motivated by dissatisfaction with the live-action series. In a blog post on January 26, Hinako Ashihara stated that NTV had not fulfilled its agreement to follow the manga.
She stated that many of the scenes she considered “essential” from the manga were cut or presented inappropriately in the real version. The series’ writer received negative criticism for his post, so the author took the publication down.
On the same day that Ashihara’s death was announced, NTV announced that, before proposing a live-action adaptation, it had consulted with Ashihara with its publisher Shogakukan. Ashihara said he approved the final script for production. NTV’s statement was criticized on social media afterwards.
Following Ashihara’s death, many manga creators gathered on social media to share their difficult experiences of having their works adapted for different media. The situation has also led to a wide-ranging debate about the moral rights of authors, which include the “right to preserve the integrity” of the work, which are exclusive to the author and cannot be granted to third parties.
In February, NTV apologized to everyone involved and expressed condolences to Ashihara’s family. At the time, the network said it took the situation seriously and would conduct an independent investigation with an internal team. NTV collaborated with Shogakukan and a group of external investigators.
Investigation Results: NTV Says Shogakukan Failed to Communicate in Sexy Tanaka-san Case
The research says that after NTV consulted with Shogakukan about the live-action adaptation in February 2023, the NTV team thought that the adaptation could have an original ending since the manga was not finished. However, the Shogakukan staff said that it was acceptable to have an original ending as long as it followed a story suggested by Ashihara so as not to affect the future of the original manga. The research showed that the two parts of production diverged from the beginning.
During the investigation, a Shogakukan source also said that it would be difficult to make the live-action adaptation unless the team hired a screenwriter who would remain faithful to the original work. The NTV production team said they have never heard this.
In regards to Ashihara’s blog post, she told NTV, via Shogakukan, that there were three requirements for the adaptation:
- The adaptation must be faithful to the manga.
- Ashihara could work on everything from the plot summary to the dialogue (including for the original ending) so that the future of the manga would not be affected.
- Generally speaking, nothing in the plot summary and dialogue that Ashihara provided to the team was to be changed, and Ashihara could, if necessary, write the scripts herself for the original parts of the live-action adaptation.
The research revealed that Shogakukan never communicated these conditions verbally or in writing to NTV staff during two meetings in March 2023. NTV staff said they were unaware that Shogakukan had spoken about these conditions and that they had never informed the scriptwriter of the show about it. Ashihara was left with a negative impression of the screenwriter, as well as a general distrust of the NTV team, which the production side was unable to dispel as talks and production developed.
Additionally, the report indicated that the production schedule may have been too limited, as it allowed for around six months of actual production (the show premieres in October 2023). The report suggested that a plan for future productions should be completed between twelve and sixteen months before broadcast begins. The research also indicated that the production team should meet directly with the original authors.
Statement from the president of NTV
The report showed that NTV needs to work harder to resolve these problems, such as confusion and miscommunication between the production side and the original creator/editor side, said Akira Ishizawa, president of NTV. Ishizawa also said NTV must resolve issues of production structure and scheduling, as well as the timing of signing contracts. Ishizawa said NTV would be responsible for resolving the issues in the report so that staff from all sides could work more smoothly on future productions.
Source: Mainichi
