Love Live Sunshine Fan Arrested For Selling Bootleg Nude Merchandise

Just like any fandom, the anime community has its quirks. Body pillows have become very popular with fans as they give fans the ability to hug their absolute favorite characters. Some even take those pillows in a - well - NSFW direction, and one fan has been arrested for their R-rated contributions.

According to a recent report by Anime News Network, prefectural police in Japan arrested a 50-year-old man in the Chiba area. The man was taken into custody for allegedly violating the Copyright Act by making nude body pillow covers of the Love Live! leads.

While the Copyright Law in Japan lets fan-art be sold to recoup material costs, this suspect decided to keep the profits he made to himself. The 50-year-old made nearly $30,000 over a few years by selling his nude pillow covers online. The police say the suspect sold such a Love Live! cover on May 2 at an online auction which violated the rules set by the Copyright Law.

According to the fan, he is denying the charges, but reports believe the suspect did not create the covers himself. The investigators may use the suspect to find the covers' artist and bring the bootleg ring down at the source.

Of course, some fans of Love Live! are feeling a bit uncomfortable with the show's lewd makeover. After all, its leads are young schoolgirls and portrayed as wholesome in every way. For now, fans will have to bleach this crime from their mind by re-watching favorite episodes and perhaps even counting down the days until the original Love Live! group debuts their next single.

Are you excited to see where Love Live! is going next? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Love Live! School Idol Project is a joint project between ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's magazine, music label Lantis, and animation Studio Sunrise. The story follows Honoka Kosaka, a girl who is attending a school that is about to be closed down due to a lack of new applicants. Discovering that school idol groups are very popular, Honoka decides to start a group with friends from school. Soon they enter in the cross-country idol competition, Love Live.