Tokyo Babylon Studio Sues Execs Over Anime's Unfair Cancellation
When it comes to making an anime, there is a whole list of things that must be done, and one of [...]
When it comes to making an anime, there is a whole list of things that must be done, and one of the top tasks is to avoid plagiarism. There are few things that can ruin a new series like claims of theft, and that is what happened to one 2021 series. If you did not know, the series Tokyo Babylon 2021 was totally canceled, and now the production studio behind the anime is suing the executives who ordered it.
The drama dates back to last fall when the first designs for Tokyo Babylon 2021 went live. At first, the revelation left fans thrilled, but things soured when netizens found something wrong with two designs. The staff was alerted that two character designs seemed to borrow outfits from the K-pop band Red Velvet and a certain Volks doll.
After this discovery was made, the staff at GoHands did apologize for the issue, but it was too little too late. The team at King Records delayed Tokyo Babylon 2021 to address the issue before canceling it entirely. At first, King Records did ask for the studio to revise the character designs, but it chose to end the production as a whole before long. Now, GoHands wants to be paid for all the work it did alleging the pair's contract was violated by the sudden cancellation.
According to GoHands, the lawsuit is seeking non-payment of over $4.1 million USD. The studio claims King Records "unilaterally" ended the contract without follow-up once GoHands began to redesign its character outfits. GoHands' lawyer went on to defend the studio amidst the plagiarism drama as Tomonori Sugo explained studios often use outfit references when creating character designs. These are checked by an editor overseeing copyright clearances, but an employee's sudden sick leave kept Tokyo Babylon 2021 from being reviewed thoroughly enough.
"We truly apologize to fans for the oversight. However, the studio was already moving ahead with revisions as requested. We are a far smaller company than King Records, so we have endured a grave economic blow," Sugo released in a statement on behalf of GoHands.
As for King Records, the company has yet to comment on the lawsuit publicly. The entertainment company told Asahi in Japan that it hadn't received any legal complaints, so all comments were declined.
What do you think about this cancellation drama? Do you have a side in this Tokyo Babylon situation? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.