Bonus points if you got the Chasing Amy reference in the title…
A yaoi community that will go unnamed, since it’s all locked’n’stuff, has reported on this ongoing 2ch debate: is Youka Nitta plagiarising from photographs? The above offers a pretty grim view– Nitta’s Haru wo Daiteita version even features the same shoes and cars. Here’s a second one, and you can see the rest by clicking the numbered links in the aforementioned page:
Meanwhile, the online yaoi commuities are wondering what this will mean (if anything) for Nitta’s appearance at Yaoi Con and note that the most recent chapter of Haru wo Daiteita has been pulled from Be-Boy GOLD.
Nitta, who is well-known for reusing her own faces and panels in her works, has issued an apology claiming that she didn’t know about the copyright issue, which seems a little odd for a professional mangaka. Especially one who’s been working since, what, 1997?
You may already be aware that Japan takes these kinds of things pretty seriously; shoujo mangaka Rin Yoshi, who wrote Switch in the mangabon Cookie, traced from fashion ads and had her manga suspended in 2007. Even Takehiko Inoue was accused of plagiarizing NBA photos back in 2005, which was in turn plagiarized by Garden of Eden creator Yuki Suegetsu.
For more examples of manga plagiarism I highly recommend ComiPress’ article on the topic from last year.
Tags: bl, haru wo daiteita, plagiarism, scandals, youka nitta
July 11th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
If it were traced it would be exact. This looks a little more like artist rendition of things she liked looking at in fashion ads. Which, frankly, aren’t all that original on their own any more. Everything’s been done before. It’s just when it’s line for line like that other mangaka who ripped off CK ads that it’s really something to go after.
July 11th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
WOW just WOW *posts this on deviantart* :shock:
July 11th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Tracing? No. Idea theft? Definitely.
Very, very disappointing.
July 11th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
SHOOP DA WHOOP.
…
(Someone had to say it.)
July 11th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
its totally tracing!!
they freaking overlayed the images on some of the examples on that page.
July 12th, 2008 at 4:42 am
Hmmm… scavenging for pics as reference is certainly the norm among artists. Tracing is common among those who are trying to learn how to draw.
I think the disappointment among the fans is that these ideas were presented as original ideas and passed as their own.
July 12th, 2008 at 8:19 am
Guys, guys…
The “tracing” thing in the title is a reference to Kevin Smith’s movie Chasing Amy. I don’t know whether she traced or copied.
July 12th, 2008 at 8:51 am
Um, anime is all about copying other stuff. Remember the the guitar riffs from Bohemian Rhapsody in Bubblegum Crisis? Clearly someone with talent who stole a scene from a movie is paying tribute, which happens ALL the time. Why the hate?
This just in: Fist of the North Star is a total rip off of Mad Max/The Road Warrior. I mean, look at it — Stallone wearing Mel Gibson’s clothes as he beats up on Boy George (Shin), the Russian baddie from Rocky 4 (Raoh) and many others, with the help of his brother Toki (Jesus). Come ON people. Anime itself gets its big eyes from Mickey Mouse, and the genre of magical girl anime arose in part because of the popularity of Bewitched and Tabitha, the little girl who could use magic.
July 12th, 2008 at 9:01 am
@Peter: Well, I certainly don’t hate Nitta (although I’ve never been a particularly big fan of her work– not really my style, story- or art-wise). If you’re asking why I would even bother posting this, well, if she gets into trouble and it has an effect on her work coming out or her trip to the US this fall, then it matters to my readers– and if it matters to them, it matters to me.
My caustic tone, on the other hand, is just natural. But hate? Not on my end. :)
July 12th, 2008 at 11:45 am
In all honesty, I’m a little surprised that this /is/ an issue at all.
I’ve seen so much direct and indirect use of brand names, products, music, etc in manga and anime AND live Japanese TV all without any company ever filing suit that I assumed Japanese copyright laws simply didn’t bother to extend to that sort of thing.
Also… anyone ever heard of Doujinshi? When’s the last time someone got sued for stealing characters from another mangaka and making a modest profit.
The examples on 2-chan go back far enough that I’d genuinely believe that Nitta Youka has never been approached about the issue before. The fact remains that she’s drawing her own art, with her own characters. I’d hardly call her a ‘tracer’ in that sense. Artists frequently use other art or photographs for inspiration, so I never expected it to be an issue, particularly in Japan.
What’s funny to me is that for years, I’ve known that I preferred her in-story art and action poses over her posed cover art. Now I have an inkling of why.
July 12th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Doujinshi are parodies which are not presented under the pretext that the characters and scenarios are original. Whether *near-mechanical* reproduction from prior sources crosses an ethical and artistic boundary is a separate issue. Given prior cases, it seems Japanese readers hold their professional mangaka to a higher standard.
July 12th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Well, this example: http://nittakensyou.nusutto.jp/kensyou03.html looks alot like tracing to me.
There is a huge difference between reference shots that a person takes themselves and tracing the art of another person.
July 14th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
[...] Con LiveJournal community states that yaoi mangaka Youka Nitta– the same one who was recently under fire for her use of various fashion photographs in creating her own BL works –will no longer be [...]
July 17th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
[...] steam) in ‘99. Apparently a lot of people are referring to the image in question– seen here –as “the Diesel ad,” but for those of you who want to be picky, there you go: [...]
July 18th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
It’s the world of manga, and people should take it easy. Still her art is unique, and you cannot find a single another mangaka who can draw like her. People take it easy and enjoy reading ur manags, geez…
July 20th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
[...] a solo post about it in the near future. In the meantime, Gia kept on top of the issue with the general scoop, resulting effect and an amusing follow-up from one of the advertising companies whose photos [...]
July 20th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
It’s kinda crazy that a lot of you guys seem to be ok with this. To people who actually enjoy drawing, and would like to do it for a living someday, this is completely horrible.
She’s not “learning to draw.” She’s copying images, saying they’re her original work, for PROFIT.
It doesn’t matter if it’s *just manga* or if a lot of people seem to be doing, it’s still wrong and an insult to real artists everywhere.
July 20th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
to Mayalynn, doujins and representing brands in anime and manga are compliments to the original. doujins feed fandom, which can only help the original mangaka. Tons of people have become fans of Vivienne Westwood through the anime Nana.
How does what Youka Nitta did help the people who made the original ads? She’s done a good job, you can’t even tell the stuff isn’t original. But that’s exactly why it’s wrong. This is the line between fan works and art theft.
July 25th, 2008 at 1:01 am
[...] I got the story from two sources. Source #1: AboutManga and a blog that I check daily called: a geek by any other name. Read about it and tell me what you think. I think everyones over reacting. Its not like she stole [...]