The President of Ufotable, Hikaru Kondo, found himself in hot water when it was revealed that the head of the studio responsible for Demon Slayer was doing some serious tax evasion. Charged with failing to pay around $1.25 million USD, Kondo was originally sentenced to twenty months in prison as a result of his slights, but a new sentence has been handed down in the case that places a shadow over one of the biggest animation houses in the world today.
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If you’re unfamiliar with the case, the president of Ufotable was charged with failure to pay for a large amount of taxes owed according to the Corporation Tax Act and Consumption Tax Act of Japan respectively. Originally sentenced to spend twenty months in prison, the sentence was reduced to being on parole for three years, in which time, Kondo can avoid jail time if he is on good behavior. The president of Ufotable was apparently using company resources in order to hide income, involving the inner workings of the animation studio responsible for not only Demon Slayer, but also the likes of Fate/Zero, Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works, and The Garden of Sinners to name a few.
The original statement by Ufotable regarding the tax evasion charges by its President reads as such:
“Today, our company and a representative have been convicted of violating corporate tax laws. We sincerely apologize to our fans who have been supporting our works, as well as to all other parties involved, for any concern or inconvenience caused by this.
We will take this incident as an opportunity to make further efforts to ensure our compliance with laws and regulations as well as proper management to create a production environment that is sustainable to create better works.”
Despite the controversy, Ufotable has been full steam ahead on Demon Slayer, easily its most popular anime running, with the arrival of the Entertainment District Arc, following the Mugen Train retelling within the anime’s second season. With the Shonen franchise having already come to an end in the pages of its manga, fans are left wondering how many more seasons, and/or movies, will be produced that follow the story of Tanjiro and his buddies within the Demon Slayer Corps.
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