Interest
Current Berserk Writer Complains About New Kamen Rider's Similarities to D.Diver Manga
posted on by Ken Iikura-Gross
Mori's full statement reads:
This is a continuation from last night.
This will be a very long post, and it's not a pleasant story. Please only read it if you're interested.
It all started when a friend asked, "Could you help with a Kamen Rider movie project, Mori-sensei?"
When I met the producer (hereinafter referred to as Mr. A), he said, "We want to make a Kamen Rider spin-off movie. It's still in the planning stage, but could you help us with any good ideas?" I told him about the story and ideas I had been thinking about. Since it was just a proposal, I also talked about the background and concepts of D. Diver, which had just started serialization. The conversation went well, and I developed a very favorable impression of Mr. A.
Afterwards, in between work, I put together the story we had talked about and drew several storyboards. It was hard work, but since it was Kamen Rider, which I love, it didn't feel like a chore.
Then I met Mr. A again.
He seemed very impressed with the story and storyboards I showed him. I was happy. We also talked about D. Diver, and I felt he liked the concept of "a hero who transforms and fights in dreams." I gave him a copy of the manga, and the next day he messaged me, "I'm looking forward to the transformation!"
After that, the spin-off project seemed to have fallen through, but my friend told me, “Don't worry about it. We can work together if the opportunity arises."
He said he wanted to meet again, so I was happy we had established a good relationship.
Then, time passed, and I saw news about that Kamen Rider [Zeztz].
I was shocked and confused.
The manga's editors also knew I was collaborating on a Kamen Rider project, so they wanted to know what was going on and decided to contact Mr. A.
He said he would come to explain immediately, and honestly, I was relieved.
I didn't want to have any trouble with a big company like Toei, especially since they handle many of my favorite works.
I just wanted to hear his explanation and resolve any misunderstandings. But that didn't happen.
Mr. A came with his superior and said, "I'm the producer for the movie, not the TV series. We haven't talked about it. I don't know anything about it."
We told them, "There's no way for us to verify something that wasn't discussed. Since you're both from Toei, and both involved in producing Kamen Rider, you have a responsibility to explain this."
Mr. A replied, "You're right. I'll bring the TV production staff over immediately." He said we would be contacted right away, so we decided to wait. But a week, then 10 days passed, and we received no contact.
Two weeks passed, and we wondered if they were just going to ignore us. We contacted Mr. A again, asking, "Weren't we supposed to discuss this immediately?"
Then, a few days later, we received a reply from Mr. B, the TV producer.
In short, it said:
"I have not discussed this content with A. I have never seen or read your manga. There are many similar concepts both in Japan and overseas. We don't mind, so please don't mind either." It was written in a more polite tone.
"Many similar concepts both domestically and internationally”...?
I've never seen a superhero who transforms and fights in a dream, except for D. Diver.
I remembered how excited [Kentaro] Miura was, saying “This is new!!” were when I created this idea.
There's no way there are "many similar concepts domestically and internationally," so we could only conclude they had no intention of dealing with us honestly.
Not only was there no immediate response, but the promise to discuss the matter was broken, which left me extremely disappointed.
I had agreed to collaborate on the project at the request of the Kamen Rider producer.
Why did I have to be treated so dishonestly?
I was furious.
If it weren't D. Diver, I think I could have handled it.
But D. Diver was the last manga I created with Miura. It's like a keepsake to me, so it made me even more emotional.
Because of my inexperience I was unable to understand this, so I apologize for causing a fuss. I apologize if I caused any inconvenience to those who were looking forward to the new Kamen Rider. I am truly sorry.
As of press time, Mori released a final statement on the matter on September 6:
I tried my best to explain the situation clearly, but it's difficult to satisfy everyone, and frankly, my communication skills aren't very good... I can't neglect my main job, so this will be my final statement on this matter.
Lastly, I would like to ask that you please refrain from making any hasty judgments.
I won't do that either. The truth is, I can't because I was cut off before I received any explanation about what happened. That's what made me angry.
Another thing, I have no intention of fighting this.
As I mentioned earlier, I was trying to resolve this through discussion from the beginning.
We had agreed to talk, but that promise was broken, which is why I couldn't just let it go.
It's common for ideas to overlap; it happens in the manga industry too. If we had talked it out, we might have realized that the overlap wasn't so significant. Even if there was some overlap, we could have discussed it and respected each other's perspectives.
I regret we could have this discussion.
This concludes my statement on this matter.
I'm not suited for dealing with situations like this… I'm sorry, but I can't continue.
I won't be replying to any comments.
Please understand that I will keep your anger and encouragement in my heart. Thank you.
Sources: Kouji Mori's X/Twitter account (link 2, link 3, link 4) via Hachima Kikō
