Mangaka Sumito Ōwara recently dismissed attacks from Western critics who attempted to shame the Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! author for following a loli artist on art-related social media.
On July 9th, an anonymous message sent to the plumflowerfairy Tumblr account claimed that the user had seen, “an anon that said the keep your hands off eizouken author follows photorealistic cp on pixiv and he does i am so disgusted and just want others to know so he does not have this support anymore.”
Pixiv is a Japanese website which provides a community for artists of various practices, from drawing, to writing, and even photography.
Related: Fans Defend Uzaki-Chan From Accusations of Pedophilia and Child Sexualization
On the site, Ōwara followed multiple artists. These included modelers who produce 3D renditions of loli artwork.
This accusation soon made its way to Twitter, where many Western critics began to outright label Ōwara as a ‘pedophile’ and enabler of real-world child abuse.
One user, whose tweets discussing the situation were among the most frequently shared, stated in part, “If you guys still support sumito owara after this please hardblock me Rts(Re-Tweets) are ok”:
Another, despite recognizing that the works in question were “””LEGAL””” somehow because they’re not really kids” hyperbolically characterized Ōwara as being “into child porn”:
User @mugendaiyo took it another step further with their accusations. In their statement they said, “Eizouken’s artist was found looking at some insanely f***ed up shit..there is nothing I wouldn’t give for people to stop pursuing children, man.”:
Another user questioned if they could still watch Eizouken. They even noted they’d get the series through non-legit means in order to hurt the creator, “holy f*** that’s disgusting. can i still watch eizouken? i really like the series T_T i just won’t get the manga or support him financially but is watching the show still okay?”:
After some time, the western backlash against Ōwara grew quickly. This led to the mangaka taking to his personal Twitter account in order to respond to his critics.
Related: Fate/Extra CCC Director Kazuya Niinou Worries Game Is Too Lewd To Be Remade
In a short Twitter thread, Ōwara explained that he “thought [the account] was good for the materials and I followed the 3D artist without hiding it, and I was certified as Pedophilia from abroad. That is all for the report. It’s ridiculous. I don’t really understand the meaning…Well, the impression is ‘What is it?’ Photorealistic seems to be handled differently from 2D”:
He’d go on to say, “No, there are many such things. I don’t usually say it.”:
Continuing on, Ōwara followed with, “I know that this kind of thing is followed by a flow like “how do you explain this? ‘I can’t escape’ but I can only say ‘I don’t know’.”:
Related: Artist TigrSasha Shares Enticing Pinup Of The Seven Deadly Sins’ Merlin
Ōwara concluded his thoughts by stating that he did not care about these disingenuous accusations, “I don’t care. To be honest, there is also an impression that if you think that you are following a certain erotic manga artist, (then) that’s what you do!!”
YouTuber Hero Hei commented on the situation saying, “Listen, I can not like the kind of art that he might be into, but I can still absolutely appreciate his response back to people being all outraged on Twitter. That’s hilarious to see. Very entertaining.”
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! is currently being published in Monthly Big Comic Spirits.
A feature film adaptation of the series is set for release on September 25th, 2020.
What do you think of Ōwara’s push back?