Ever since Act-Age came to an unexpected and unceremonious close earlier this year, fans have rallied around series artist Shiro Usazaki.
The young creative, only eighteen when she started Act-Age, was let down by one of her closest collaborators and had the chance of creating a world-class manga unfairly snatched away from her. Quite naturally, the question on everyone’s lips has since been: what’s next?
Shiro Usazaki’s Twitter account has scarcely been silent since Act-Age’s cancelation. In fact, it’s been more active than ever – no surprise for someone who was initially offered a job based on their online activity. Many tweets have been made that could have been looked into far too deeply; yet, this one in particular is worth highlighting.
Earlier today, Shiro Usazaki tweeted out some words of thanks for fans who have been sending her letters. In doing so, she may have revealed that her professional return might be closer than once thought. The tweets read as follows:
“I read all of the fan letters that I received since around August! While there were some confessions of love and some I read with a peculiar sense of distance, the feelings of those who wrote carefully while picking each and every word definitely came through. Thanks to everyone who wrote letters to Shiro Usazaki!”
“I won’t be able to reply to each and every one, but I’ll keep on trying to do my best for everyone who enjoyed my work. I’m doing a lot, so, please keep waiting…”
Admittedly, there isn’t much to this tweet other than that Shiro Usazaki is doing something, but even that is significant. Having your breakout series sabotaged – and right when it was growing in popularity, too – was bound to give birth to a fair bit of trauma, as well as heartbreak. It was never a given that Usazaki would even return to the manga industry.
Nevertheless, these tweets seem to suggest that the opposite is true: she will return at some point. We don’t know when, and we don’t know in what format, but rest assured: we’ll be waiting with baited breath.