Image: Viz Media official website
The Japanese are abuzz over the arrest of “Rurouni Kenshin” creator Nobuhiro Watsuki on the charge of possessing child pornography.
According to a report by Yomiuri Shimbun via Kotaku, investigators discovered DVDs featuring nude girls aged below 15 years old at Watsuki’s Tokyo office and in his home.
Authorities came to search Watsuki due to suspicions that he purchases illicit DVDs; these suspicions surfaced during a separate child pornography case.
Watsuki reportedly told authorities, “I liked girls from the upper grades of elementary school to around the second year of junior high school.”
Nobuhiro Watsuki earned fame after “Rurouni Kenshin” debuted in 1994. The manga had since gained a loyal following. It inspired a well-loved anime series as well as several movies, in both animated and live-action formats.
A new story arc for the “Rurouni Kenshin” manga had previously been announced, with Watsuki overseeing its production. How the new manga chapters will fare may depend on the outcome of the court hearings. Alfred Bayle/JB
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