Chainsaw Man Creator Edits New Oneshot Following Discrimination Concerns

Tatsuki Fujimoto may be known best for his work on Chainsaw Man, but his talent isn’t just limited to one series. Not long ago, the artist drew in critical acclaim when his one shot Look Back made its debut. And now, it seems the artist has made several changes to the one shot in an effort to address material that may be seen a discriminatory.

The whole ordeal came too light recently when Shonen Jump+ announced changes were being made to Look Back. Fujimoto was convinced to make the edits after fans pointed out several “inappropriate expressions” with its bad guy.

In fact, the issue at hand has to do with the killer and their mental health. Look Back describes its mysterious killer as a man who is hearing voices and feels like local art students stole his best ideas. Described as having a paranoid episode, the killer’s violent attack on the school is blamed on his schizophrenia. Fans were quick to point out such a correlation comes off discriminatory as not all mentally ill individuals become axe murderers. And so, Fujimoto decided to make some tweaks.

According to the artist, he made the edits “out of a desire to avoid depicting something that could be linked to promoting bias or discrimination.” Now, Look Back reads differently as the killer is said to have entered the building with the intent of killing the first person he saw. Before, the story said the killer was prompted to murder students by the voices in his head. A few more changes were made to the villain’s motives, and all nods to mental illness were removed.

This decision might seem strange to some, but Fujimoto’s edits will help de-stigmatize in their own way. The shift is also timely given Japan’s most recent mass murder. Over two years ago, the world was stunned when Kyoto Animation was targeted by an arsonist whose mental illness allegedly pushed them to target company. The suspect believed Kyoto Animation had plagiarized an idea from him, and the imagined slight warranted his extreme behavior. The arson killed 36 people and injures dozens more. Look Back immediately drew parallels to the traumatic event, and Fujimoto’s edit helps ease that tie for anyone disturbed by it.

What do you think about this oneshot shift? Do you understand why Fujimoto chose to make these edits? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.