{"rewrite":{"id":"r_e7704f7c43d7401a0863ccc1","clusterId":"c_80b2bb82ee463e29549ed1db","slug":"kadokawa-s-young-ace-apologizes-over-unauthorized-character-designs","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Kadokawa's Young Ace Apologizes Over Unauthorized Character Designs","summary":"The Young Ace editorial department apologized for using Ieri Komen's character designs without permission in Kei Natsumi's manga adaptation of Rokakoen's Pitch-Black Infatuation. The department said it asked Kadokawa Horror Bunko about using designs for Rumi Sasaki and Yukiyoshi Aoyama, received a vague reply, and proceeded anyway. After the first volume shipped on August 4, Komen found two more characters and a background location had also been used.","whyItMatters":"A publisher admitting its own editorial pipeline skipped the permission step puts the blame on Kadokawa's internal communication rather than on the two creators, which is the version of the story the apology is built to establish.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eYoung Ace says the request went to the wrong desk and never came back as an answer. In August 2025, with Kei Natsumi already in pre-production, the editorial department asked Kadokawa Horror Bunko for permission to use Ieri Komen\u0026#39;s designs for Rumi Sasaki and Yukiyoshi Aoyama, two characters shared with Festival of Heresies. The reply it got back, that it was probably fine to use original character designs, was vague, and Komen was never asked. The department said it takes full responsibility and that Rokakoen and Natsumi bear none.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Young Ace apologized for using Ieri Komen's character designs without permission in the Pitch-Black Infatuation manga. The department says it asked Kadokawa Horror Bunko, got a vague answer, and went ahead. Komen later found two more characters and a background location had been used.","twitterPost":"Young Ace apologized for using Ieri Komen's character designs without permission in the Pitch-Black Infatuation manga. It says it asked Kadokawa Horror Bunko, got a vague reply, and proceeded. Komen later found two more characters and a background location used.","threadsPost":null,"newsletterBlurb":"The Young Ace editorial department apologized for using Ieri Komen's character designs without permission in Kei Natsumi's manga adaptation of Rokakoen's Pitch-Black Infatuation. The department said it asked Kadokawa Horror Bunko about two shared characters, received a vague reply, and moved ahead without Komen's permission. After the first volume shipped on August 4, Komen found that two further characters and a background location had also been used.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Anime News Network\",\"url\":\"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-10-14/kadokawa-apologizes-after-using-character-design-reference-without-permission-for-pitch-black-/.242796\",\"title\":\"Kadokawa Apologizes After Using Character Design Reference Without Permission for Pitch-Black Infatuation Manga\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4610,"outputTokens":652,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1792003034,"createdAt":"2026-10-14T18:31:20.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-10-14T18:36:05.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-14T18:36:05.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_80b2bb82ee463e29549ed1db","canonicalTitle":"News\nKadokawa Apologizes After Using Character Design Reference Without Permission for Pitch-Black Infatuation Manga","representativeArticleId":"a_e372d4de345fe0283680a560","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[\"Pitch-Black Infatuation\",\"Festival of Heresies\"],\"work_titles\":[],\"studios\":[\"Kadokawa\"],\"people\":[\"Ieri Komen\"],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"manga\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-10-14T17:00:00.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-10-14T17:00:00.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-14T18:36:06.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Anime News Network","url":"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-10-14/kadokawa-apologizes-after-using-character-design-reference-without-permission-for-pitch-black-/.242796","title":"News\nKadokawa Apologizes After Using Character Design Reference Without Permission for Pitch-Black Infatuation Manga"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":["Pitch-Black Infatuation","Festival of Heresies"],"work_titles":[],"studios":["Kadokawa"],"people":["Ieri Komen"],"type":"news","domain":"manga","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null}