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The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. Manga Creator Says His Royalties May Come After All
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. manga creator Shūichi Asō recently revealed on Twitter that he has received no royalties or other payments related to his work being made into an anime and other merchandise. He soon deleted the Tweets, but they continued to circulate online along with his general comments about creators and royalties. Asō has since revealed the reason he deleted his original posts. He said:
Regarding yesterday's Tweet, the person in charge said, "You're getting [royalties] for sure," so I deleted it. I guess it being this late is relatively rare, but it seems like it's not a case of not getting the [royalties]. But it's scary how there's no explanation....
Rather than not receiving payment for the use of his work at all, the real problem in Asō's situation may be a lack of communication and clarity between the creator and people handling his work. It may be reasonable, though, that the unfortunate creator expected royalties to come sooner. His manga launched in 2012, and a net anime short based on the series debuted in 2013. The television anime series premiered in 2016, and much of the franchise's other merchandise likely began to go on sale around the time the anime originally aired.
In Asō's deleted Tweets posted on Friday, he said that he is often asked if he earns a lot of profit from his manga becoming an anime. He said that the anime did help to sell more copies of his manga, but he has not received "even one yen" in royalties from sales of home videos, video games, and other goods. However, he added in a separate deleted Tweet that he is thankful that his work was even made into an anime.
Asō also tweeted replies to related comments and questions from fans. In response to a question asking if he was involved in some way with the production of goods or the anime, he said he has almost no involvement. Another Twitter user suggested that he could file a claim or request for compensation. Asō replied that such an action would make him appear troublesome as a creator, and people involved with the anime's production might say something along the lines of "Ugh, this guy won't shut up about the money, the money...."
Still another commenter responded that Japan has an unprofitable system for creators. Asō said people say that, but he has been able to receive a disproportionate amount of money from his manga even though he had no proven abilities or qualifications when it debuted. In addition, he confirmed that he can generally receive goods based on his work if he asks for them.
The official website for the television anime of The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. revealed last month that a second season is slated to premiere in 2018. The manga's live-action film adaptation will open in Japan on October 21.
The manga centers on a high school boy named Kusuo Saiki. He possesses supernatural powers that cause unfortunate events in his everyday life.
