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NEWS: MF Bunko J Recalls Henneko Author's New Novel Due to Similar Lines From Yutaka Kōno's Novel

Sagara published an explanation on his Twitter account on Tuesday, saying that he had read Inakunare, Gunjō six years ago, and was attracted to the specific lines about the sunset. He explained that he had transcribed the lines to a plain text file that he kept as a reference for writing ideas. He claimed that at some point, whether by chance or accident, the text containing the source and author of the lines no longer appeared on the file. Thinking that the lines were his own writing, he supposedly then used them in his own novel, now unaware that Yutaka Kōno had written the lines. MF Bunko J said in its statement that it had judged that Sagara's actions were accidental, not intentional.

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Sagara published an explanation on his Twitter account on Tuesday, saying that he had read Inakunare, Gunjō six years ago, and was attracted to the specific lines about the sunset. He explained that he had transcribed the lines to a plain text file that he kept as a reference for writing ideas. He claimed that at some point, whether by chance or accident, the text containing the source and author of the lines no longer appeared on the file. Thinking that the lines were his own writing, he supposedly then used them in his own novel, now unaware that Yutaka Kōno had written the lines. MF Bunko J said in its statement that it had judged that Sagara's actions were accidental, not intentional.

So, Sagara-san apparently credited some other author for said lines. Now, someone please clarify the "Thinking that the lines were his own writing" part because to me the lines that I put in bold here sound contradictory.

Recalling a book over two paraphrased lines is utterly silly and wasteful. Pages of it would be plagiarism, but writers steal from each other all the time. The entire isekai genre is nothing but stealing the same plots and ideas over and over with the same character designs (a truly new idea like zamaa gets invented about once a year, then everyone steals that one too).