At the beginning of the month, it came to light that a freelance anime director who handled directorial duties for studio Signal.MD’s adaptation of Rin Kokuyo’s Recovery of an MMO Junkie manga has been both posting and “liking” anti-Semitic content on his public Twitter account. Kazuyoshi Yaginuma, who posts under the handle @yaginuma_san on the platform, has consistently harbored the content on his account since joining in 2011.
Another one. Remember, these are just the ones in English, a second language. There are far more in Japanese. https://t.co/7tSCgX3do3
— Canipa (@CanipaShow) February 3, 2018
A few things are clear after this event. Namely, that there is clearly no language barrier preventing Yaginuma’s full understanding of the things he’s sharing. He’s gone on to discuss his views with other users who have taken to tweeting directly at him and often does so in both English and Japanese. In addition, he’s shown no signs of backing down or apologizing for his remarks since this all came to light, and it almost appears as if he’s doubling down on it.
This is all very troubling, and I can’t imagine that the freelance director will be scoring any big jobs anytime soon, especially if the language in a recent news release from the studio that produced and animated Recovery of an MMO Junkie is to be taken to heart:
Statement by SIGNAL MD concerning Tweets under the name of whom the director of “Recovery of an MMO Junkie”
It has come to our attention that a series of Tweets under the handle, @yaginuma_san, apparently made by Mr. Kazuyoshi Yaginuma have included anti-Semitic comments. SIGNAL MD wishes to make it clear that it is strongly opposed to and deprecates anti-Semitism and all forms of racism or discrimination.
Mr. Yaginuma was director of the anime “Recovery of an MMO Junkie” produced by SIGNAL MD, has never been our company member and is no longer employed by us.
Assuming the comments which appear under the Twitter handle @yaginuma_san, were indeed made by Mr. Yaginuma, they are not linked to his role as director of “Recovery of an MMO Junkie” and are not supported by SIGNAL MD.
We will continue to create works that are moving and enjoyable, with the philosophy of giving excitement to many viewers and working to create works that satisfy our clients.
Thank you for your support and understanding.
SIGNAL.MD, Inc.
Additionally, it’s also worth mentioning that Crunchyroll parent company Elation has also shared a statement regarding the actions of Kazuyoshi Yaginuma. This is particularly noteworthy as not only were Crunchyroll responsible for streaming the anime internationally, but they were also a member of the anime’s production committee. Their statement can be found below:
We do not support the anti-semitic behavior that has been recently reported in relation to Dir. Kazuyoshi Yaginuma. The comments made do not reflect any opinions of Crunchyroll, as we pride ourselves on our diverse, global community that connects through the content they love.
— Ellation (@ellation) 9 February 2018
Again, I think that it’s worth mentioning that Kazuyoshi Yaginuma is a freelance director, and Recovery of an MMO Junkie originated as a manga by Rin Kokuyo. This news has certainly been the catalyst for much debate in the department of “separating the art from the artist,” as the anime was generally seen as a good-hearted and wholesome attempt to characterize video game addiction, without even a hint of the ugliness we’ve since learned about. For those who are able to love the show and the original property without letting this taint it — great, I think it stands on many, many of its other merits. For those who cannot bear to do so any longer, I think that is perfectly understandable.
Images: Signal.MD, Rin Kokuyo, Media Factory