I Live Alone edited scenes featuring an animation film that used the imperial Japanese war flag, the rising sun, which was embroiled in controversy, and a Japanese publisher accused of concealing child sexual crimes. The edits were made quickly, but criticism is growing because the show quietly removed and edited the scenes from VOD without apology or explanation.
Episode 638 of the MBC variety show I Live Alone, which aired on the 13th, has continuously faced critical public opinion since broadcast. In that episode, webtoon artist Kian84 meets Japanese manga artist Junji Ito, and the episode drew backlash because a local publisher accused of concealing child sexual crimes was glamorized, and a poster for an animation that has not been officially imported into Korea appeared due to the presence of the imperial Japanese war flag.
The controversy began when the meeting place where Kian84 was to meet his longtime role model Junji Ito was shown as the conference room of the Japanese publisher Shogakukan. Junji Ito has actually presented representative works such as "Spiral" and "The Horror of the Fish" through Shogakukan.
However, at the same time Shogakukan has recently faced fierce criticism in Japan for allegations of concealing child sexual crimes. The reason is allegations that a manga artist who committed child sexual crimes resumed publishing under a pseudonym at Shogakukan's suggestion. Because of this, a web platform posted an apology, and Shogakukan said, "We did not know that a child sex offender used a pseudonym to serialize work," and expressed apology to the victims.
But the case was reported only last month and local reactions in Japan are still heated. Nevertheless, on I Live Alone, Shogakukan was introduced merely as a representative company building on the publisher street Jinbocho in Japan, excluding the controversy.
Even a poster for a Detective Conan theatrical film, one of Shogakukan's representative works, appeared and caused controversy. The poster was for the "Detective Conan: The Private Eyes' Requiem" installment, in which the rising sun flag of imperial Japan from World War II appears; the film has not even been officially imported into Korea. Because alternative works such as the upcoming Detective Conan film "The Magician of the End" exist, this raised criticism that the appearance may have been deliberate.
Immediately after the controversy, the production team deleted and edited all the scenes from OTT platforms where I Live Alone VOD can be viewed, such as Wavve, and reuploaded them. However, there was no separate explanation or apology. This has led to criticism that they are trying to defuse public criticism by quietly editing the footage.
As of the morning of the 16th, three days after the controversy, the I Live Alone production team had not issued a separate statement. Criticism has even spread to the meeting itself between Kian84 and Junji Ito. The production team's prolonged silence over the controversy is further enraging internet users.
[Photo] Provided by MBC.
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