{"id":66903,"date":"2026-05-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=66903"},"modified":"2026-05-20T18:29:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T09:29:57","slug":"anime-gacha-game-issues-apology-after-being-accused-of-plagiarizing-real-life-japanese-bladesmiths-weapon-designs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/anime-gacha-game-issues-apology-after-being-accused-of-plagiarizing-real-life-japanese-bladesmiths-weapon-designs\/","title":{"rendered":"Anime gacha game issues apology after being accused of plagiarizing real-life Japanese bladesmith\u2019s weapon designs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The official Japanese X account for anime gacha RPG <strong>Echocalypse: The Scarlet Covenant <\/strong>recently <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Echocalypse_JP\/status\/2056689226230735099?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">issued an apology<\/a> 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.<\/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\">\u3010\u30c7\u30b6\u30a4\u30f3\u306b\u95a2\u3059\u308b\u304a\u8a6b\u3073\u3011(1\/3) <br>\u5148\u65e5\u516c\u958b\u3057\u305f\u6b66\u5668\u30a4\u30e9\u30b9\u30c8\u306b\u3064\u304d\u307e\u3057\u3066\u3001\u30af\u30ea\u30a8\u30a4\u30bf\u30fc\u69d8\u304c\u5236\u4f5c\u3055\u308c\u305f\u6b66\u5668\u30c7\u30b6\u30a4\u30f3\u3068\u6975\u3081\u3066\u985e\u4f3c\u3057\u305f\u30c7\u30b6\u30a4\u30f3\u3092\u516c\u958b\u3057\u3066\u3044\u305f\u4e8b\u5b9f\u304c\u5224\u660e\u3044\u305f\u3057\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002 \u3053\u308c\u306b\u4f34\u3044\u3001\u8a72\u5f53\u3059\u308b\u30af\u30ea\u30a8\u30a4\u30bf\u30fc\u69d8\u3078\u8b1d\u7f6a\u3092\u3044\u305f\u3057\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hL1TgpMtiA\">https:\/\/t.co\/hL1TgpMtiA<\/a><\/p>&mdash; \u3010\u516c\u5f0f\u3011Echocalypse -\u7dcb\u7d05\u306e\u795e\u7d04- \u597d\u8a55\u914d\u4fe1\u4e2d\uff01 (@Echocalypse_JP) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Echocalypse_JP\/status\/2056689226230735099?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 19, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Awa no Umi specializes in making one-of-a-kind sci-fi inspired knives and swords made of &nbsp;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\u2019s 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.<\/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\">\u67c4<br>\u2190\u7591\u60d1\u306e\u5200\u3000\u3000<br>\u3000\u3000\u3000\u3000\u3000\u30a6\u30c1\u306e\u30aa\u30ea\u30b8\u30ca\u30eb\u5200\u2192<br>\u30c7\u30ab\u30fc\u30eb\u304c\u306d\u3001\u3082\u3046\u306d\uff57<br>AI\u306b\u3067\u3082\u98df\u308f\u305b\u305f\u306e\u304b\u3044\u306a\uff57 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rpE7T1N9HB\">pic.twitter.com\/rpE7T1N9HB<\/a><\/p>&mdash; \u6ce1\u306e\u6d77 (@awanoumi2) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/awanoumi2\/status\/2056341849758175578?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 18, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/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\">\u672c\u4ef6\u306b\u3064\u304d\u307e\u3057\u3066\u306f\u3001\u904b\u55b6\u69d8\u3088\u308a\u3054\u9023\u7d61\u3092\u3044\u305f\u3060\u304d\u3001\u3042\u308b\u7a0b\u5ea6\u8a73\u7d30\u306a\u7d4c\u7def\u8aac\u660e\u304a\u3088\u3073\u4eca\u5f8c\u306e\u5bfe\u5fdc\u65b9\u91dd\u306b\u3064\u3044\u3066\u3054\u8aac\u660e\u3092\u53d7\u3051\u3066\u304a\u308a\u307e\u3059\u3002<br>\u73fe\u5728\u306f\u3001\u904b\u55b6\u69d8\u5074\u3067\u9032\u3081\u3089\u308c\u3066\u3044\u308b\u5dee\u3057\u66ff\u3048\u5bfe\u5fdc\u7b49\u306e\u5b8c\u4e86\u3092\u5f85\u3063\u3066\u3044\u308b\u72b6\u6cc1\u3067\u3059\u3002\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/xIKs6Q3Xk2\">https:\/\/t.co\/xIKs6Q3Xk2<\/a><\/p>&mdash; \u6ce1\u306e\u6d77 (@awanoumi2) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/awanoumi2\/status\/2056744181398430207?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 19, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Related articles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/ai-generated-rip-off-of-unfinished-japanese-indie-game-beats-original-to-release-sparking-concerns-about-safety-of-sharing-dev-progress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AI-generated rip-off of unfinished Japanese indie game beats original to release, sparking concerns about safety of sharing dev progress&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/pokemon-tcg-pocket-replaces-card-designs-amidst-plagiarism-accusations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pok\u00e9mon TCG Pocket replaces card designs amidst plagiarism accusations&nbsp;<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Anime gacha RPG Echocalypse: The Scarlet Covenant recently issued an official apology regarding allegedly plagiarized weapon designs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":66906,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-66903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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