Million Doll Author Reveals She Wasn't Paid Any Royalties From Its Anime For 6 Years

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Ai, creator of the manga Million Doll, revealed through her official blog that she wasn’t paid any royalties from the anime adaptation of her work for over 6 years.

According to her statement, Ai had not received any revenue from the anime’s sales or related merchandise between 2018 and July 2024, despite a contractual agreement with publisher Comic Smart.

The Million Doll anime, which aired from July to September 2015 and was produced by Asahi Production, continued to generate income through Blu-ray, CD sales, and streaming platforms in this time period.

This business practice, where the author of manga did not receive any royalties, did not sit right with Ai. Especially because the author saw that a lot of manga readers were enjoying the anime and making purchases.

“Despite the support and enjoyment of the anime by our readers, a business practice that does not benefit the manga artist has persisted. I felt obligated to remain silent until the issue was resolved, and I apologize to the readers who have supported me as a manga artist for this extended period.”

Due to non-payment of royalties, the author had even contemplated pulling the anime and its related songs from streaming platforms during the dispute.

However, earlier this year, Ai reached out to the Ganma! editorial department and Comic Smart to investigate the matter.

In August 2024, the company acknowledged their failure to uphold the royalty payments stipulated in the contract. The editorial department issued a formal apology to Ai and provided a detailed report of the situation.

By the end of August, they calculated the amount owed and transferred the full payment to her

.

Both I, the original manga artist, and the Million Doll production team have accepted the editorial department’s apology and are satisfied with their response,” the official blog post noted, emphasizing that the resolution had been reached amicably between both parties.

Despite the author’s initial frustrations, Ai expressed relief that the matter was now settled and confirmed her decision to keep the anime available on streaming platforms.

In the end, due to the sincere response from the editorial department, I wish to continue providing the opportunity for many people to watch the anime on various platforms whenever they want.”

The author also noted that she had no intention to incite any online backlash or controversy against the editorial department of Ganma!.

In closing, Ai invited both new viewers and long-time supporters to revisit the Million Doll

anime. “Although nearly nine years have passed since the series originally aired, I hope people will continue to watch and enjoy Million Doll,” she wrote.

Million Doll began serialization on Comic Smart’s Ganma! platform in December 2013 and was later collected into two tankōbon volumes.

The plot of the manga is described by MAL as follows:

Million Doll revolves around Suuko, an idol-loving hikikomori (shut-in) who has one ability: to make any idol popular through the power of blogging. She puts her sights on the Fukuoka’s idol Itorio and tries to make her sell more, but she is impeded by the charismatic idol Ryuu-san and the underground idol Mariko.

Source: via ANN

Image credits: © Ai/COMICSMART INC./milliondoll Committee.