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Former Kemono Friends Director Tatsuki: 'I Haven't Received Any Script Royalties'
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
Director TATSUKI's removal from the Kemono Friends anime project was fraught with controversy. The director would go on to accept awards on the series' first season behalf but neither he nor his animation studio Yaoyorozu were invited back for the second season. The official reason cited by Kadokawa was miscommunication issues stemming from collaboration videos involving the characters, although producer Yoshitada Fukuhara stated the staff had permission to create the shorts.
Fans rallied behind TATSUKI who has since gone on to create new projects, including the Keifuku-san original video anime, the Hentatsu anime shorts, and the upcoming Kemurikusa television anime. However, disagreements between the director and Kadokawa aren't yet fully resolved. TATSUKI took to Twitter on Friday to comment on the plagiarism of audition scripts for the anime's new season and reveal that he's still owed money.
TATSUKI wrote: "I was told about the use of a script without permission. It seems the script author's name wasn't included, showing the production's disrespect for creative works...hmmm...Relatedly, I have not seen a single yen for the scripts or any script royalties. From Kemono [Friends]. It's stressful so I've tried not to think about it, but maybe it's better to speak up after all..."
The Kemono Friends scripts were initially credited to Danchi Tomoo anime scriptwriter Shigenori Tanabe. Tanabe was originally assigned to write for the series, with TATSUKI creating storyboards based on the scripts. However, TATSUKI took over and Tanabe instead sat in on writing meetings from the first to last episode. Tanabe was credited for the anime's script and series composition during the anime's run, but the credits were changed after the anime aired to better reflect the writing process. They now credit TATSUKI with series composition.
TATSUKI seems to say that despite taking over the role as the series' lead scriptwriter, he was not paid for this work in addition to his directing duties.
Age Global Networks, the company in charge of the auditions for the Kemono Friends' second season, apologized for its unauthorized use of audition scripts and removed them from the site. The plagiarized script was taken from a blog by a creator known as Akari-sensei. Akari-sensei runs the "Mezasō! Seiyū" blog for aspiring voice actors.
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history