Manga artist Masami Kurumada, best known for the Saint Seiya and Ring ni Kakero series, held a press conference on September 2, announcing that he has filed a lawsuit seeking damages from a former male staff member who had allegedly embezzled a massive amount of money from him (as reported by Abema Times).
According to Kurumada, he had entrusted the former staff member with handling his business affairs so that he could focus on his creative work. However, the man allegedly embezzled 46.86 billion yen (almost $30 million USD) from Kurumada over the course of over ten years.
Kurumada discovered this about two years ago, at which point his company, Kurumada Production, had “very little money left in its accounts,” to the point that it was unable to pay outstanding taxes. He claims the staff member had “stolen almost everything” from him, leaving him in a precarious situation where, “at worst, Kurumada Production could have gone bankrupt, and I, Masami Kurumada, might have been ruined as a manga artist as well.”
The mangaka says he spent the past two and a half years suffering from anxiety and desperation, but wants to continue persevering with his creative work.
“When I found out, I simply couldn’t believe it. Rather than anger, I had gone beyond that point and just felt empty. I thought, So there really are people who can unhesitantly betray something they were trusted with for their own selfish greed. It was an unbearable sense of helplessness. For a time, I myself was even on the verge of losing faith in people. But from here on, I still want to keep working hard and continue writing for the readers around the world, and for all the people who love Saint Seiya and my manga.”
