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Gash/Zatch Bell's Raiku Wins 2.55M Yen over Lost Art (Update)
posted on by Egan Loo
Manga creator Makoto Raiku has settled the lawsuit with his former publisher Shogakukan for 2.55 million yen (about US$26,000) — and an apology — over the loss of five color art pieces from his Konjiki no Gash!! (Zatch Bell) manga. He had originally sued Shogakukan for 3.3 million yen (US$34,000) in June. Raiku's lawyer presented the settlement agreement to the Tokyo District Court on Tuesday, and Raiku posted the agreement on his personal blog that same day in the evening. Raiku unsuccessfully requested for the agreement to include a phrase recognizing the "artistic value of original manga sketches." He was also unable to get Shogakukan to agree to issue a joint statement about the artistic value of original artwork.
Raiku (self-portrait at right) ended his Konjiki no Gash!! manga (pictured at left) in Shogakukan's Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine after seven years and 323 installments in December 2007. He then announced last May that he is no longer doing work for Shogakukan or Weekly Shonen Sunday. In the lawsuit, Raiku revealed that Shogakukan returned his original manga artwork after Konjiki no Gash!! ended, but five color art pieces were missing. As the lawsuit progressed, many artists voiced their opinions on both sides of the issue.
Raiku said in a Tuesday press conference that this recognition of the value of the lost pieces was "one Giant Step for manga creators."
Source: Jiji Press
Update: Raiku's press conference remarks refer to the Japanese translation of Neil Armstrong's famous line as the first man to walk on the Moon: "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history