The creator has considered withdrawing rights to the anime and other derivative works until the issue is resolved
Manga creators expect royalty payments from anime adaptations, but sometimes they take longer than necessary. The creator of Million Doll, Ai, discovered this after receiving six years of royalties and an apology.
Image via anime Million Doll X/Twitter account
© Ai/COMICSMART INC./Million Dollar Committee.
Ai revealed she has not received royalty payments for sales related to the Million Doll anime series from 2018 to July 2024 in an October 9 blog post. The creator summarized the situation her on X (formerly Twitter) on the same day (rough translation):
コミックスマート社及びGANMA!編集部により、およそ6年間にわたってアニメ収益金が未払いであった件についてのご報告です。.く思っております。 https://t.co/LcLIAhB6m6
— 藍 (INDIGO PRODUCTS) (@ai_milliondoll) October 9, 2024
This is an announcement about the truth Comic Smart and GANMA ! The editorial department hasn't paid me anime royalties for about six years. Finally, the editorial department officially apologized. I'm happy to finally be able to tell all my fans to watch anime on various platforms.
In his blog post, Ai went into more detail about royalties from Blu-ray and CD sales as well as streaming revenue from 2018 to July 2024. After contacting GANMA! The editors and creators received an official apology as well as a refund for sales related to the Million Doll anime. She accepted the apology.
Ai explained why she had not discussed the matter for 6 years, saying (roughly translated): “I had no choice but to keep quiet until this matter was resolved.” The creator also said she considered “withdrawing rights to derivative works such as the anime and its accompanying music.” However, once the situation was resolved and all parties were satisfied, Ai said: “It's been about nine years since it was done so it might be a little late, but I want to promote [bộ anime] once again.”
Source: Ai's X/Twitter account (link 2), website via Otakomu, X/Twitter of the anime Million Doll account