Interest
Million Doll Creator Receives Apology After 6 Years of Back Pay From Anime Is Paid
posted on by Ken Iikura-Gross
Manga creators expect royalty payments from anime adaptations, but sometimes they take longer than they should. The creator of Million Doll, Ai, found out after receiving six years of royalties and an apology.
Ai revealed she had not received royalty payments for sales related to the Million Doll anime series between 2018 and July 2024 on an October 9 blog post. The creator summed up her situation on X (formerly Twitter) on the same day (roughly translated):
コミックスマート社及びGANMA！編集部により、およそ6年間にわたってアニメ収益金が未払いであった件についてのご報告です。結果的に編集部からは正式に謝罪をしていただきました。ようやく読者の皆様に、色んなプラットフォームでアニメを見てねと言えることを嬉しく思っております。 https://t.co/LcLIAhB6m6
— 藍 (INDIGO PRODUCTS) (@ai_milliondoll) October 9, 2024
This is a notice about the fact Comic Smart and the GANMA! editing department had not paid me anime royalties for about six years. In the end, the editing department has officially apologized. I am happy to finally be able to tell all my fans to watch the anime on various platforms.
In her blog post, Ai went into further detail about the royalties, which were from Blu-ray and CD sales as well as streaming revenue from 2018 to July 2024. After contacting the GANMA! editors, the creator received a formal apology as well as the back payments for sales tied to the Million Doll anime. She has accepted the apology.
Ai explained why she did not discuss the issue for six years, saying (roughly translated), “I had no choice but to remain silent until this issue was resolved.” The creator also stated she considered “withdrawing permission for derivative works such as the anime and its tie-in music.” However, as the situation has resolved and all parties are satisfied, Ai said, “It has been about nine years since it was made, so it may be a little late, but I would like to promote [the anime series] again.”
Sources: Ai's X/Twitter account (link 2), Ai's website via Otakomu, Million Doll anime's X/Twitter account
