As of July 2026, Akane Shimizu has received a public apology from Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Sirius editor-in-chief after detailing years of editorial mistreatment and mental health struggles during the serialization of Cells at Work!.
Akane Shimizu, the creator of Cells at Work!, first disclosed on June 17 that she was diagnosed with depression, trichotillomania, and PTSD while serializing the manga. She also described financial harm from relatives, sexual abuse, and secondary victimization from family members, and said she cut contact with her sister, who inspired the series.
On July 1 and 2, Shimizu posted a series of allegations on X detailing what she described as years of editorial mistreatment at Kodansha. She claimed the company failed to provide promised medical supervision, dismissed her requests for professional assistants, and subjected her to personal criticism that contributed to severe mental health struggles, including suicidal thoughts.
On July 3, Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Sirius editor-in-chief Takashi Yamaguchi issued a public apology to Shimizu, acknowledging failures in medical supervision, working environment, editor conduct, and crediting of derivative works. The statement described the problems as systemic rather than the fault of a single individual. Shimizu confirmed receiving the apology and said discussions with Kodansha are ongoing.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the cited Yomimono stories below, each itself sourced, then editorially reviewed. Every fact links the story it came from.
Structured graph also available as JSON at /public/entities/akane-shimizu.
CC BY 4.0.
Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Sirius editor-in-chief Takashi Yamaguchi issued a public apology to Cells at Work! creator Akane Shimizu on July 3, acknowledging failures in medical supervision, working environment, editor conduct, and crediting of derivative works. Shimizu confirmed receiving the apology and said discussions with Kodansha are ongoing.
Akane Shimizu, creator of Cells at Work!, posted a series of allegations on X on July 1 and 2 detailing what she describes as years of editorial mistreatment during the manga's serialization. She claims Kodansha failed to provide promised medical supervision, dismissed her requests for professional assistants, and subjected her to personal criticism that contributed to severe mental health struggles, including suicidal thoughts.
Akane Shimizu, the creator of Cells at Work!, disclosed on X that she was diagnosed with depression, trichotillomania, and PTSD while serializing the manga. She also described financial harm from relatives, sexual abuse, and secondary victimization from family members, and said she cut contact with her sister, who inspired the series.