Today, the manga community is mourning the loss of Hinako Ashihara. Reports from Japan recently confirmed the artist had passed away. Currently, authorities have not confirmed a cause of death, but reports suggest suicide was the root issue. Ashihara was 50 years old.
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According to outlets like Sankei Shimbun and NTV News, Ashihara was found dead by authorities in Tochigi prefecture. This came a day after the artist was reported missing. A note was found with Ashihara’s body, but its contents have not been made public.
Sadly, this situation has come around in the wake of a controversial adaptation of Ashihara’s Sexy Tanaka-san. The series is a popular romcom that focuses on belly dancing, and it was recently adapted by NTV. On January 26, Ashihara revealed she was very disappointed in the show through her blog. In the now-deleted post, Ashihara said the live-action adaptation only got her approval because it agreed to faithfully adapt her manga. However, the artist says NTV did not uphold that agreement. Many moments from the manga were skipped entirely in the live-action adaptation, and the leads of Sexy Tanaka-san were characterized very differently. Throughout the show’s production, Ashihara said she shared her issues with the show’s team, but few if any critiques were resolved.
As you can imagine, fans of Ashihara are now viewing her blog post about Sexy Tanaka-san in a different light. The veteran artist seemed deeply unhappy about the adaptation, and Ashihara only deleted her blog post after being accused of attacking the show’s staff. Following news of Ashihara’s death, NTV did release a statement memorializing the artist, and the network stressed it did consult with the creator on Sexy Tanaka-san throughout season one.
Our condolences are with Ashihara’s loved ones at this time.
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