In proof that you really shouldn’t slander someone online simply because you are angry about something your crazy mind is obsessing about, a 30-year-old Japanese woman has now found herself in legal hot water after doing just that.
According to Yahoo News Japan, back in July, 2022, the woman, who lives in Kagawa Prefecture, accused Ranking Of Kings mangaka Sōsuke Tōka of being both “a pedophile” and a “ne’er do well” on X (formerly Twitter).
With no proof for either claim because, you know, they’re not true, she made her comment simply because she felt the plot of Ranking of Kings was too similar to another manga she herself loved.
This, she told police, made her angry, and her response was to “pedophile’ and ‘ne’er do well” Sōsuke Tōka.
Now that’s mature behavior, isn’t it?
After a Twitter storm in response to her tweet, a defamation complaint was lodged against the woman at the Narashino Police Station in Chiba Prefecture on the 11th November, 2022 by Sōsuke Tōka, who lives in Chiba.
The mangaka said the tweet had damaged his reputation. (Of course, it did!)
Japanese police confirm the woman admitted the defamation charges, and said she posted due to anger.
The post (roughly translated) stated “Why do I feel uncomfortable after reading Ranking of Kings?” Because the author is a pedophile and a ne’er do well“.
Not a surprise that tweet didn’t end well for her then, is it?
Ranking of Kings an international smash-hit
Ranking of Kings (aka 王様ランキング in Japanese) became an international hit after mangaka Sōsuke Tōka began serializing it online in May, 2017 while still working as a salaryman.
He made his manga debut at the quite late age (for a mangaka) of 41 years-old.
Ranking of Kings has seen gone on to spawn 18 tankōbon volumes, a smash-hit anime series, which premiered in October, 2021, a side story (The Treasure Chest of Courage) and a yet-to-be released movie.
Interestingly, according to an interview Sōsuke Tōka gave in 2021, he is still very secretive about his work and his identity. Even after achieving such immense success.
In that interview, he commented:
My parents don’t know anything about it (his mangaka career). They still think I am working as a salaryman. They are old-fashioned and conservative types who have no understanding of manga as a career. I am afraid that they will worry about me if they find out that I make a living by drawing manga, so I keep it secret from them.
You can watch the superb anime Ranking of Kings (which has won all kinds of awards) via Crunchyroll, and buy Sōsuke Tōka’s manga series on Book Walker.
