Manga artist Mayu Shinjo, known for hits like "Kaikan Phrase" and "Ai ga Nakucha Hajimaranai," recently celebrated her 30th debut anniversary with the "Mayu Shinjo 30th Exhibition." The event featured a ton of exclusive merchandise, all, of course, based on her iconic works.
She recently took to X to share her shock: the "Haou Airen" sticky notes she created are flying off the shelves! She couldn't believe something like this would be such a hit, prompting fans to jokingly point out that of course it would sell — it features one of her most legendary drawing errors in manga history!
Shinjo was talking about these very "Haou Airen" sticky notes. She even commented, "These things are selling like crazy! I made them myself, but seriously, why are they such a hit?!"
The sticky notes feature that infamous panel of "the assassin who can't even hold a gun." While it might be a bit of a dark spot for Mayu Shinjo — after all, a drawing error that's remembered for decades isn't ideal — for fans, it's an absolute, undeniable classic.
One look at this scene, and you'll probably scratch your head at the gun-holding posture. Take a closer look at the assassin's stance: the rifle butt is perched above the shoulder, not braced against it. That's definitely not how a killer would hold a rifle! Plus, the rifle itself is way smaller than it should be in real life. These issues and more have made this single panel a source of laughs for Mayu Shinjo for over 20 years...
Naturally, fans are now clamoring for another sticky note featuring that other iconic panel, promising they'd "buy them all out" in a heartbeat!
And Mayu Shinjo responded:
"Honestly, I can't find the original manuscript for this scene anywhere... While I have the chance, I want to put out a call to anyone involved: Has anyone seen this original artwork? Or has some company suddenly realized, 'Oops! Did we forget to return the manuscript?!' This character is so popular that this one page often gets used on its own."
This has many fans lamenting, hoping there's a chance to recover this classic meme-worthy error manuscript from manga history. Of course... the artist could always draw it again, and as for whether to keep the error... well, that's up to her!
via： X@新條まゆ