News

Comiket Loses 10 Million+ Yen Over Kuroko's Basketball Threats

The Sankei Shimbun website reported on Monday that Comic Market (Comiket), the largest dōjinshi event in the world, will lose more than 10 million yen (about US$117,900) due to the Kuroko's Basketball threat it received on October 29. The Comic Market Preparations Committee, the group responsible for the event, had announced on December 8 that it is disqualifying Kuroko's Basketball circles from participating in the December 29-31 event.

The organizers are refunding the entrance fees for the approximately 900 Kuroko's Basketball circles that had registered to sell dōjinshi and other items at the event. Additionally, the organizers are also spending extra to step up security in cooperation with Tokyo Big Sight event complex and the police. The measures included bag checks for hazardous materials.

Since October, multiple locations linked to Kuroko's Basketball creator Tadatoshi Fujimaki have received threat letters with powdered and liquid substances. A source in the investigation of Kuroko's Basketball threat letters said there is a high possibility that the liquid sent to Sophia University on October 12 could emit a lethal dose of hydrogen sulfide if vaporized.

At least six Kuroko's Basketball dōjinshi events were canceled last month. Tokyo Big Sight received a threat earlier in October, but the "Shadow Trickster 3" event proceeded without incident there on October 20. The official "Kuroko no Basuke produced by Namco Namja Town" event in Tokyo did end 19 days early as a result of the threats, and Animate Café Tennoji in Osaka cancelled a planned Kuroko's Basketball collaboration event. Additionally, Banpresto has delayed the start of its Kuroko's Basketball Ichiban Kuji lottery line, and the Comic City Osaka 92 dōjinshi event has asked dōjinshi circles to show self-restraint by not distributing any Kuroko's Basketball-related material at the January 6 event.

[Via Yaraon!]