{"id":66256,"date":"2026-05-06T16:16:52","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T07:16:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=66256"},"modified":"2026-05-06T16:16:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T07:16:54","slug":"former-let-me-fix-you-animation-staff-announces-separation-from-studio-following-founders-grooming-allegations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/former-let-me-fix-you-animation-staff-announces-separation-from-studio-following-founders-grooming-allegations\/","title":{"rendered":"Former\u00a0Let Me Fix You\u00a0animation staff\u00a0announces separation from studio following founder\u2019s grooming allegations\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The anime adaptation of Sakura Kurihara&#8217;s\u00a0yuri\u00a0manga\u00a0<strong>Let Me Fix You<\/strong> (Kimi wo Tsumugu), which was\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Dokico_de\/status\/2040383914766680091?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">originally scheduled for release in late May 2026\u00a0on YouTube<\/a>,\u00a0has become embroiled in trouble related to\u00a0its Europe-based animation\u00a0studio\u00a0Buta Productions.\u00a0On May 2,\u00a0an X user by the name of\u00a0Maryco\u00a0posted a document with chat transcripts\u00a0accusing\u00a0Buta Productions\u00a0(ButaPro)\u00a0co-founder Federico Antonio Russo of grooming her\u00a0when she was 14 years\u00a0old.\u00a0Though\u00a0Maryco\u2019s\u00a0post\u00a0has\u00a0since\u00a0been taken down, the\u00a0publisher\u00a0behind the upcoming\u00a0Let Me Fix You anime\u00a0caught wind of the allegations and\u00a0announced that they would be continuing the project without the involvement of the company\u00a0or Russo.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">To everyone who was looking forward to &quot;Kimi wo Tsumugu&quot;. <br><br>We, too, learned of the terrible news regarding the appalling behavior of an individual just a few hours ago.<br><br>And we, of course, wish to distance ourselves from it as well. Our sincere sympathy and thoughts are with the\u2026<\/p>&mdash; \u541b\u3092\u7d21\u3050 (@kimiwotsumugu) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kimiwotsumugu\/status\/2050999486780952588?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 3, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/news\/2026-05-05\/let-me-fix-you-anime-delayed-after-grooming-allegations-against-buta-productions-co-founder-far\/.237074\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Anime News Network<\/a>\u00a0has since reached out to\u00a0Dokico, the German publisher responsible for the anime adaptation. According to them,\u00a0both Russo and\u00a0ButaPro\u00a0have\u00a0been removed from the\u00a0project. While it will take some time for them to provide a\u00a0specific\u00a0date,\u00a0Dokico\u00a0is committed to\u00a0seeing\u00a0the\u00a0Let Me Fix You anime through\u00a0to completion.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the other hand,&nbsp;ButaPro&nbsp;also&nbsp;responded by saying that the&nbsp;anime&nbsp;was&nbsp;still in production&nbsp;on its side, albeit with minimal involvement from Russo&nbsp;(who was previously listed as an animation producer).&nbsp;The statement also remarks that&nbsp;ButaPro&nbsp;will \u201cstop existing\u201d, with&nbsp;the accused co-founder&nbsp;leaving the company, and includes a confusing comment written in the first person&nbsp;about how&nbsp;\u201cmy legal team is analyzing the situation with the intention of suing the person who made these defamatory accusations,\u201d calling them \u201cpartial, misleading, and malicious.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Public statement from the former staff of Buta Productions. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/KFYk5YPJW8\">pic.twitter.com\/KFYk5YPJW8<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Ponbleu (@ponbleu) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ponbleu\/status\/2051716735254876336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 5, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps in\u00a0response to these\u00a0remarks, the\u00a0former staff members of\u00a0ButaPro\u00a0subsequently\u00a0issued a statement\u00a0announcing\u00a0their separation from the company and clarifying that statements made to the media do not\u00a0represent\u00a0their opinions.\u00a0\u00a0The staff members\u00a0have since\u00a0reorganized under the informal animation collective\u00a0Ponbleu, condemning the actions of Russo.\u00a0This was done to fulfill any contractual obligations\u00a0to\u00a0existing clients.\u00a0Ponbleu\u00a0currently has no\u00a0updates\u00a0on\u00a0existing projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"ja\" dir=\"ltr\">\u5236\u4f5c\u30c1\u30fc\u30e0\u306e\u307f\u306a\u3055\u3093\u306f\u3001\u4eca\u5f8c\u3082\u300c\u541b\u3092\u7d21\u3050\u300d\u306b\u95a2\u3059\u308b\u8272\u3005\u306a\u3053\u3068\u3092\u8a08\u753b\u3057\u3066\u304f\u3060\u3055\u3063\u3066\u3044\u3066\u3001\u4e00\u751f\u61f8\u547d\u306b\u53d6\u308a\u7d44\u3093\u3067\u304f\u3060\u3055\u3063\u3066\u3044\u307e\u3059\u3002\u5236\u4f5c\u4e2d\u6b62\u306b\u306a\u3089\u306a\u304b\u3063\u305f\u3053\u3068\u304c\u5e78\u3044\u3067\u3059\u3002\u5236\u4f5c\u3092\u9032\u3081\u305f\u3044\u3068\u601d\u3063\u3066\u4e0b\u3055\u3063\u3066\u3044\u308b\u307f\u306a\u3055\u3093\u306e\u6c17\u6301\u3061\u304c\u3001\u3068\u3066\u3082\u3042\u308a\u304c\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059\u3002<\/p>&mdash; \u6817\u539f\u3055\u304f\u3089\ud83c\udf30 (@aru9a3) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/aru9a3\/status\/2051310627822674172?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 4, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>The production team\u00a0is\u00a0continuing to plan various projects related to\u00a0Let Me Fix You\u00a0and\u00a0is\u00a0working tirelessly on them. I am so relieved that production was not cancelled. I am\u00a0truly grateful\u00a0for the dedication of everyone who is committed to moving the project forward.\u00a0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Let Me Fix You author\u00a0Sakura Kurihara\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/aru9a3\/status\/2051305128414831086?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">also heard of the ButaPro allegations<\/a>. While\u00a0the\u00a0details have yet to be announced, she is grateful that\u00a0the anime adaptation\u00a0was not cancelled and that everyone on the production team is dedicated to seeing it through.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former staff members of Buta Productions have established the independent animator collective Ponbleu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":66259,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,65],"tags":[73,17],"class_list":["post-66256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-nongaming-news","tag-anime","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Former\u00a0Let Me Fix You\u00a0animation staff\u00a0announces separation from studio following founder\u2019s grooming allegations\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Former staff members of Buta Productions have established the independent animator collective Ponbleu.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/former-let-me-fix-you-animation-staff-announces-separation-from-studio-following-founders-grooming-allegations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former\u00a0Let Me Fix You\u00a0animation staff\u00a0announces separation from studio following founder\u2019s grooming allegations\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former staff members of Buta Productions have established the independent animator collective Ponbleu.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/former-let-me-fix-you-animation-staff-announces-separation-from-studio-following-founders-grooming-allegations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-06T07:16:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-06T07:16:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image_2026-05-06_161622294.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1098\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"661\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Carlos &quot;Zoto&quot; Zotomayor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Carlos &quot;Zoto&quot; Zotomayor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Former\u00a0Let Me Fix You\u00a0animation staff\u00a0announces separation from studio following founder\u2019s grooming allegations\u00a0 - 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