The official Japanese X account for anime gacha RPG Echocalypse: The Scarlet Covenant recently issued an apology regarding the official key art for the MR character Honorblade Chiraha. This comes in response to backlash following numerous accusations that the weapon design featured in the artwork plagiarizes the work of famous Japanese bladesmith Awa no Umi.
Awa no Umi specializes in making one-of-a-kind sci-fi inspired knives and swords made of carbon fiber and reinforced plastic, selling some of his creations via the Yahoo! Auction platform. On May 18, the bladesmith made a post on his X account comparing the design in the new Echocalypse illustration to a design he had created back in 2023. Looking at the side-by-side comparison, while the game’s weapon design is definitely not a one-to-one copy, the similarities (including the placement of specific decals on the handle and sheath) are undeniable.
Following the backlash that ensued, the team behind Echocalypse directly apologized both to their fans, and Awa no Umi, acknowledging the problematic design. They promised to immediately replace the design of the weapon in question, as well as revise their quality-control system to prevent similar blunders from occurring in the future.
In a follow-up post, Awa no Umi confirmed that he had been contacted by the Echocalypse team with a detailed explanation of how the company will handle the situation moving forward. While it may take some time for the plagiarized design to be replaced, Awa no Umi asked his fans to refrain from further speculation or aggressive behavior towards any of the parties involved.
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