Japanese publishing giant Kadokawa issued a statement on July 23 addressing the controversy surrounding Gaou, a famous illustrator and comic artist who was recently accused of sexual misconduct with a minor.
Kadokawa says it has received direct confirmation from Gaou that “recent reports about him are factual.” Although the publisher’s announcement does not go into detail, on June 29, an influential Japanese streamer accused Gaou (40 years old) of getting sexually involved with a 14-year-old girl, citing testimony from the victim herself. Although previous accounts of Gaou admitting to the act were hard to verify due to them circulating on Japanese social media and tabloids, Kadokawa’s statement confirms the fact.
In response to the incident, Kadokawa has decided to take thorough measures, removing Gaou from his position as illustrator for the ongoing light novel series “I May Be a Guild Receptionist, But I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time.” Moreover, publication of the title (which currently has eight volumes out) will be halted, and physical copies currently in circulation will be taken off shelves. Kadokawa apologizes to the light novel’s writer Mato Kousaka, who has nothing to do with the scandal. Their series is planned to be re-released and reprinted in the future with art by a new illustrator.
Additionally, Kadokawa will be recalling and discontinuing Gaou’s artbook “Selfie Girl: Gaou Illustration Book” and delisting the digital visual novel series Hallelujah Vamp, which he illustrated.
As Gaou is a high-profile artist involved in numerous projects (including designs for famous VTubers and art for card games like Rage of Bahamut and Cardfight!! Vanguard), the scandal has prompted reactions from various involved parties, with many of them considering ending associations with his work. As one such example, game publisher DMM Games recently announced that it is considering replacing character designs done by him in the TRPG Girls Creation: Geijutsu Kitan.
Not long after Gaou’s statutory rape accusations started circulating, people familiar with his work started noticing that some of his doujinshi (independently published comics) seem to draw inspiration from his real-life misconducts with underaged girls. In particular, an afterword in one of his comics garnered horrified reactions on Japanese social media, as the illustrator made insinuations such as “girls from broken homes get addicted to being with old men to fill the voids in their hearts” (originally phrased far more crudely).
Given these circumstances, it seems difficult to separate the art from the artist in this instance, especially due to the fact that the main subject of his SFW illustration works are also young-looking female characters. This could be why game and manga publishers have taken such thorough measures in not only cutting ties with Gaou, but also removing his work from circulation.
