During the past month, Akane Shimizu, the Japanese manga author behind hit series Cells at Work!, has been going public about abuse she suffered following her successful manga debut through a series of posts on X. In the latest such post, dated June 27, she apologized for worrying fans and explained that the reason why she decided to expose the details of what happened publicly was because she continues to face legal threats from the perpetrators’ side.
To give some background, back on June 15, Shimizu confessed to being diagnosed with depression, trichotillomania, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the serialization of Cells at Work! During this period (between 2015 and 2021), she said she suffered financial abuse from a family member(s), sexual abuse, as well as secondary victimization by her family. Ultimately, she cut ties with her sister, who had inspired her to draw manga in the first place, and said she was left with deep emotional scars from the ordeal.
This revelation about the author’s past came as a big shock to fans, but concerningly, Shimizu now claims to still face issues related to her abusers. In the new post, she says that for about the past six months, she’s continued to face legal threats from the perpetrator’s side, with implications that her work as a manga artist could be negatively affected. “Even regarding the sexual abuse, the perpetrator’s side filed for mediation, against my wishes,” she writes. “Furthermore, they made a claim stating, ‘We want a no-contact order imposed on the victim so that they cannot contact the perpetrator,’ seeking to disadvantage me. Even in a situation like that, I was told that considering the impact on my work, I shouldn’t let the case escalate to litigation, leaving me with no choice but to suffer in silence.”
The wording in Shimizu’s post suggests that she is likely involved in disputes with multiple individuals. She explains that she’s been sharing all this information in order to document the course of events and avoid any misunderstandings or unforeseen circumstances should things escalate in the future.
