Gachiakuta Creator Kei Urana Addresses Manga Piracy

Gachiakuta manga creator Kei Urana posted on social media an English statement, made via a “translation app” from her original Japanese statement, regarding manga piracy on Tuesday. (For this article, ANN has read through the statement in both languages and added brackets in selected parts of the English version to better reflect Urana’s original Japanese version.) Urana noted there are readers who cannot read manga unless it is through a pirate site due to finances or circumstances in their country or region. However, the manga creator said, “But if we do not speak up now, the value of Japanese manga and creative works, built through the sacrifices and relentless efforts of those who came before us, will be wasted.”

Urana’s argument for the devaluing of creative works, such as manga, comes from her idea that “’free’ [devalues] things,” and a rejection of the idea that “reading for free doesn’t hurt sales.” She said, “Once people grow used to getting something for free, they stop looking toward [official] versions.” “Compensation matters, of course,” Urana added, “but more than anything, I do not want to see [manga’s] value diminished.”

The manga creator also stated she is working with Hideyoshi Ando, the graffiti designer for Gachiakuta, to bring manga to more readers. “To help people, who cannot afford to buy it or who do not have access to it, enjoy these works, Ando and I have been discussing this for a long time,” Urana said. “I cannot share details yet, but [we are exploring many ideas].”

Urana finished her statement saying she is committed to ensuring all people can read and enjoy manga: “[And please. Try] to understand our perspective and culture as well.”

As of press time, the English version of Urana’s statement has received 15,000 reposts and 88,000 likes. The Japanese version received 434 reposts and 2,700 likes. A cursory look at the quote-reposts shows support for Urana’s statement across several languages, including English, Spanish, Russian, and Arabic.

Urana’s statement on piracy appears to be spurred on by her reply to a now deleted post. Screenshots of the post show a fan asking Gachiakuta‘s creator if a Discord server is an official way to read the manga “even though it’s free.” Urana simply replied, “That is illegal.”

Reactions to the reply were mixed. Several fans cited the unavailability of platforms like K MANGA in their region, therefore pushing readers to pirate sites. Other fans were less kind. One posted, “You write a manga about social inequality but can’t recognize it in real life? how ironic,” with another posting the “Angry man proven wrong” meme. An even less favorable comment read, “Your manga is the only one that, even though it’s officially available in my country, I INSIST on reading as a pirated copy. Because imagine writing a story that deals with social inequality and not having the slightest idea of how that operates in the real world.”

More supportive replies asked where fans could read Gachiakuta legally or noted they buy physical copies of the manga volumes.

Following the reply post, Urana posted GIF images of the “troll face”, Billy the Puppet from the Saw film franchise, and the Annoying Orange. In her post with the Annoying Orange image, Urana asked her followers, “Hey, since yesterday, all I’ve done is post a GIF and nothing else. What are you so afraid of? Got something to feel guilty about??” as if asking who else may be pirating her work.

Sources: Kei Urana‘s X/Twitter account (link 2, link 3, link 4, link 5, link 6), Gachiakuta anime’s YouTube channel