Warning: this article contains statements about possible suicide. If you or anyone you know is contemplating suicide or having suicidal thoughts, please contact your national suicide prevention organization.
NTV issued an apology on Thursday following the recent death of manga creator Hinako Ashihara. The company apologized to everyone involved and expressed condolences to Ashihara’s family. The network stated that it is taking this situation seriously and is conducting its own investigation with an internal team. NTV is cooperating with publisher Shogakukan and an outside investigation team.
NTV News reported on January 29 that manga author Hinako Ashihara was found dead on Monday in an apparent suicide. She is 50 years old. Ashihara was reported missing on January 28 and found in Tochigi prefecture on January 29. A note was also found.
On January 26, Ashihara posted a blog post about the live-action adaptation of her sexy manga Tanaka-san. In the blog post, she said she made the condition that the live-action adaptation be faithful to the manga and said NTV did not uphold that condition. She said many scenes that she loved as the “core” of the manga were cut or not depicted properly, and that personality traits were changed and she was not given a satisfactory reason why. Star. She said she voiced her complaints and the first seven volumes ultimately remained faithful to the manga. Ashihara has said that throughout production, she never met the film’s scriptwriter nor did she speak directly to the director.
She added that she ended up writing the script for the final two episodes of the series after that. The original script she outlined for the ending changed “dramatically”, but apologized that she had to rush to write the script. script as an amateur scriptwriter and was unable to elaborate further because she was also working on a deadline for the manga. Ashihara explained that from the beginning she and her staff set the condition that she could be allowed to write the script for the final episodes herself if she was not satisfied, adding that NTV agreed to this condition.
She ended the post by thanking all the cast and staff who made the live-action adaptation possible.
Ashihara later deleted the blog post, saying she did not intend to attack anyone and that she apologized.
NTV released a statement on January 29 expressing sympathy for Ashihara’s death, adding that when the company proposed a live-action adaptation, they consulted Ashihara about her opinion through Shogakukan and that Ashihara approved the final version. The script has been put into production.
Shogakukan announced on January 30 that Sexy Tanaka-san would remain unfinished and that the chapter published on December 5 would be the last.
The live-action series adapted from Sexy Tanaka-san premiered on NTV on October 22 and aired for 10 episodes, ending on December 24. The episodes continuously received high ratings, grossing from 5.4% to 6.5%.
Ashihara launched the manga in Shogakukan’s Anikei Petite Comic magazine in 2018 and has not yet completed it.
Ashihara debuted as a manga author in 1994. Viz Media released Ashihara’s 10-volume Sand Chronicles manga in English. The company also released Ashihara’s SOS manga, which is a one-volume collection of short stories. Tokyopop released Ashihara’s four-volume Forbidden Dance manga in English.
Her other manga include Bitter-Nakechau Koi Monogatari, Bitter II-Anata Dake ni Aisaretai, MiSS, Yubikiri, Homemade Home, Girls Lesson, Bread & Butter, Derby Queen, Tennen Bitter Chocolate, etc.
The manga Ashihara’s Piece-Kanojo no Kioku inspired a live-action television series in 2012.
Source: NTV via Hachima Kikō