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Signal.MD Responds to Recovery of an MMO Junkie Director's Anti-Semitic Tweet Controversy

Production I.G sister studio Signal.MD, which produced the Recovery of an MMO Junkie television anime, posted a statement in Japanese and English on Friday regarding Recovery of an MMO Junkie anime director Kazuyoshi Yaginuma's anti-Semitic tweets. The full statement reads:

It has come to our attention that a series of Tweets under the handle, @yaginuma_san, apparently made by Mr. Kazuyoshi Yaginuma have included anti-Semitic comments. SIGNAL MD wishes to make it clear that it is strongly opposed to and deprecates anti-Semitism and all forms of racism or discrimination.

Mr. Yaginuma was director of the anime “Recovery of an MMO Junkie” produced by SIGNAL MD, has never been our company member and is no longer employed by us.

Assuming the comments which appear under the Twitter handle @yaginuma_san, were indeed made by Mr. Yaginuma, they are not linked to his role as director of “Recovery of an MMO Junkie” and are not supported by SIGNAL MD.

We will continue to create works that are moving and enjoyable, with the philosophy of giving excitement to many viewers and working to create works that satisfy our clients.

Thank you for your support and understanding.

Crunchyroll parent company Ellation also posted a statement on Yaginuma's controversial comments earlier this month.

Crunchyroll was a member of the production committee for Recovery of an MMO Junkie along with production company NHN comico, music production company Flying Dog, East Japan Marketing, television station Tokyo MX, animation production company Signal.MD, Sony Music Communications, and Dax Production.

The Recovery of an MMO Junkie anime premiered in October, and Crunchyroll streamed the series as it aired in Japan. Yaginuma made his directorial debut with the anime adaptation, but the series itself is based on the original manga by Rin Kokuyo. Yagniuma himself is a freelance director, and while he worked with Production I.G's sister studio Signal.MD on the show, he was not formally employed there.

Anime News Network reached out to Signal.MD via its parent studio Production I.G but did not receive a comment by press time for its previous articles on Yaginuma's tweets.

A Twitter account under the name of Yaginuma has been posting anti-Semitic content since at least 2012. The posts recently gained the attention of English-speaking Twitter users. The account under Yaginuma's name also recently began interacting with Twitter users in English and posting translations of Japanese anti-Semitic content in English.

In addition to directing Recovery of an MMO Junkie, Yaginuma provided key animation for many anime and worked as episode director for series such as Pokémon Generations, From the New World, BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad, Bokurano, and Rio - Rainbow Gate!.