Today we remember that a year ago, in March 2023, social networks were shaken by an event that left many fans of the popular anime perplexed.Kimetsu no Yaiba” (Demon Slayer). The news that a man had been accused of altering and selling figures of characters from the series without permission caused an uproar in the online community.
The individual in question, a physiotherapist from Wakayama Prefecture, was brought to justice for allegedly violating the Intellectual Property Law. He was accused of altering figures of characters such as Nezuko Kamado and selling them in an online auction. Surprisingly, the modifications included replacing parts of the figures with elements from completely different ones.
According to police reports, this man would have made at least four of these modified figures without authorization, which were sold for a total of 32,400 yen (approximately 240 US dollars). It is estimated that since 2017, the defendant had been carrying out these modifications repeatedly, selling more than 550 such items and obtaining total profits of more than 4.5 million yen. (more than 33 thousand dollars).
In a surprising twist, the defendant admitted to the charges and explained his motivation: “My wife told me to throw away the figures I collected as a hobby, so I altered them and put them on display on the Internet, where they ended up selling. So I continued doing it to earn extra money“.
This news did not go unnoticed on comment forums in Japan, where users expressed a variety of opinions. Some expressed surprise at how strange the modified figures looked, while others strongly condemned the practice of selling counterfeit or altered products. There were also those who reflected on the legality of this type of modifications and the importance of respecting copyright.
In short, this case of the altered “Kimetsu no Yaiba” figures served as a wake-up call about the legal and ethical limits in the anime and manga collecting community. Although the debate over the practice of modifying figures continues, this incident made it clear that the authorities are vigilant and willing to take action against those who violate intellectual property law.
Fountain: Otakomu
