In June, Akane Shimizu, creator of the hit manga Cells at Work!, drew widespread attention after revealing on her personal X account that she had endured multiple illnesses and family crises while serializing the series.
More recently, Shimizu detailed the poor treatment she received from her publisher, Kodansha, alleging a lack of editorial support and a broken promise of medical supervision for the series—a situation that drove her to contemplate suicide. In response, Kodansha posted a statement on its official website today (July 3), issuing a formal apology to Shimizu for its failure to provide adequate support and for its professional negligence.
Shimizu began by clarifying that this issue is entirely separate from a previous sexual assault incident she had discussed.
She explained that around the time "Cells at Work!" began serialization in 2014, her editor, referred to as "Mr. A," assured her that "the work will have medical supervision." Trusting that a medical professional would review and correct her work, she began creating the manga. However, by the time the first collected volume was set for publication, she had not received a single piece of feedback from any supervisor. She repeatedly checked with her editor, who assured her it would be handled.
To her surprise, when the first volume of "Cells at Work!" was published in 2015, no medical supervisor was credited, and the book contained numerous errors. Facing criticism from readers, she again asked Mr. A to improve the situation and implement the promised medical supervision system. Mr. A reportedly replied, "It's just a manga, so you can just draw whatever." Her request for improvement was rejected.
As the series' popularity exploded, negative comments and criticism aimed at the author continued to mount, placing her under immense mental stress. The pressure eventually led her to develop trichotillomania, a hair-pulling disorder.
Throughout the entire serialization, she was forced to purchase a vast library of medical textbooks at her own expense, conducting research while simultaneously trying to create the manga. Despite ongoing errors in the content, the series continued to be published without any corrective feedback from a medical supervisor.
Furthermore, she stated, "The editorial department never introduced me to a single assistant." She ended up hiring several former classmates from her vocational school. However, some of them would refuse to help with essential tasks like drawing backgrounds, applying screen tones, or adding focus lines and sound effects, using excuses like, "I don't know how, so I won't do it," or "If there's nothing I can do, I'm going home."
Ultimately, Shimizu and a few dedicated assistants were left to pull all-nighters, scrambling to finish all the work just to keep the series going.
In 2016, a reader commented, "Why has the art style gotten so rough? Did she just dump it all on her assistants?" The reality was the complete opposite. She approached Mr. A a second time, asking for help in recruiting professional manga assistants. However, Mr. A allegedly responded, "You need to change your habit of blaming everyone else for your problems," dismissing her request by blaming her personality and upbringing.
When she asked about the status of the medical supervision system, he reportedly replied, "Are you still mad about that? You're being way too persistent." With no prospect of receiving a normal support environment for her serialization, she fell into deep despair and briefly considered suicide.
The following year, in 2017, she again demanded improvements to the medical supervision. The editor promised to "make improvements," but once again, nothing changed.
In 2018, just before the series was adapted into an anime, she demanded improvements to the medical supervision for a fourth time. Mr. A asked, "What will it take to make you happy?" and a formal meeting was arranged. During the meeting, she clearly expressed her dissatisfaction and demanded that all supervisory feedback be provided before publication, while there was still time to make corrections. In the meeting, they told her, "We will improve," and "We are truly sorry," but no actual changes followed.
The assistants the editorial department introduced were aspiring artists, not professional manga assistants, so fundamental production issues like a shortage of background artists remained unresolved. This caused the assistants to lose faith in the production system. When she made a third request for professional assistants, Mr. A refused, saying, "I think the result would be the same no matter who you worked with."
While drawing the manuscript for the long-form final chapter, Mr. A suddenly told her, "The supervisor has an issue with this plot. They want you to change the story to go this way." However, he provided no specific notes from the supervisor or any medical basis for the change, simply demanding a rewrite. When she questioned the timing and content of the changes, Mr. A called and berated her: "You don't have the ability to wrap this story up properly. Everything you do is completely pointless."
After that incident, her hands began to fail her, making it impossible to draw. She was eventually diagnosed with depression, forcing the series into a hiatus.
During the hiatus in 2018, she made a fifth request to improve the medical supervision system and a fourth request for professional assistants. She told the editorial department, "It seems my personality doesn't meet your expectations. It would be better for both of us if I just ended the serialization."
The official reason announced on X for the hiatus was "preparations to adjust the serialization system." However, the editor-in-chief of *Monthly Shonen Sirius* and Mr. A believed the real reason was that she had "run out of ideas due to a lack of experience as a manga artist." They told her, "You need to go out, have fun, and gain more life experience," framing the hiatus as a break for her rather than an opportunity to fix the systemic issues she had repeatedly raised.
At the time, she felt, "It's impossible to communicate with them," and believed, "The authors of the other spin-off series are probably being treated properly, and I'm the only one being treated unfairly." Ultimately, she tied an extension cord to a closet rod, made a noose, and attempted to hang herself.
Afterward, she felt forced to accept Mr. A's narrative, believing she had to "grow into a mature adult who assistants would be willing to work for." She proposed providing learning materials for assistants and even offered them lodging in an apartment to give them time to improve their skills, but all her proposals were rejected. The assistants, in turn, felt, "Ms. Shimizu has a bad relationship with the editorial department, so we can't rely on her," causing the work environment to deteriorate further.
In 2021, with no word from the editorial department about improving the medical supervision system, she decided to resume the series for the sole purpose of finishing it. Shortly after the serialization restarted, an entire chapter was published with an incorrect cell name, a mistake that no supervisor caught before printing. This confirmed her belief that the department had no intention of fixing the system, and she made it clear she wanted to end the series as soon as possible.
Mr. A would also give conflicting directions on story changes, first telling her, "It's okay if it's a bit long, just write it like this," only to later say, "It's too long after all. Please rewrite it and cut about 20 pages." Finally, due to the accumulated physical and mental stress, she concluded the serialization of "Cells at Work!".
Shimizu also noted that after she requested to terminate her relationship with the editorial department in 2023, the credit on a "Cells at Work!" spin-off was changed from "Original Creator: Akane Shimizu" to "Cooperation: Shimizu Production" without her consent.
Furthermore, in 2026, she discovered that her name had been completely removed from the 2019 edition of the "Cells at Work! Illustrated Guide." Instead, the "Sirius Editorial Department" was credited prominently on the cover and in the copyright information.
When she inquired about this, she was told: "Because you were always dissatisfied with the medical supervision, we removed your name to avoid causing you trouble in case the content contained errors."
In response to the series of allegations made by Shimizu over the past three days, Kodansha quickly issued a public apology today.
Kodansha stated: "From July 1 to July 3, 2026, Ms. Akane Shimizu, the author of 'Cells at Work!,' which our company publishes, raised concerns on X regarding the medical supervision system, the creative environment, the conduct of the editor in charge at the time, and the crediting on derivative works during and after the series' serialization."
The statement admitted that "although Ms. Shimizu repeatedly requested improvements to the creative environment during the serialization, the editorial department failed to properly establish a medical supervision system and did not provide the necessary creative support (such as arranging for assistants)."
Furthermore, it acknowledged that on some spin-off works and anime-related publications released after the main series ended, "the crediting was not fully confirmed with the author in advance." Kodansha stated: "Due to deficiencies in the editorial department's management system and inappropriate handling of the situation, Ms. Shimizu was subjected to an immense burden and mental distress. For this, we once again offer our deepest apologies."
The editor in question is no longer assigned to Ms. Shimizu's work, but this incident is not merely the fault of a single editor but rather a failure of the entire editorial department's management and supervision. The company and the editorial department are treating this matter with the utmost seriousness. As Ms. Shimizu mentioned in her posts, our relevant departments are continuing to engage in sincere negotiations with her to properly resolve these past issues.
We have also confirmed that a new support system for Ms. Shimizu's creative activities and new projects has been established, creating a positive and collaborative environment that respects her wishes. Kodansha is currently working to enhance its support systems to ensure all manga artists can create with peace of mind and is committed to fostering a psychologically safe creative environment. The Sirius Editorial Department will continue to strengthen its support system for authors.
Finally, we once again extend our deepest apologies to Ms. Akane Shimizu, as well as to all readers and related parties, for the concern and trouble this matter has caused.
In response to Kodansha's statement, Akane Shimizu posted on her X account: "I am reporting that I have now received a formal letter of apology from the editorial department." She also expressed her gratitude, saying, "I am very grateful to all parties involved for responding to my posts with such sincerity."
She also apologized to her readers for the distress her posts may have caused. She stated that negotiations with Kodansha are ongoing and that she will proceed with handling the matter calmly.
via： 講談社 X@ 清水茜|イエローフレイム