Ask John: Do Anime Continue if Their Creators Die?

Question:
I understand that some animes have been heavily delayed because of the the injuries of their manga-ka. (most notably Beet the Vandel Buster and Hunter X Hunter) Having said that, what would happen to a popular, long-running anime if the manga-ka were to die before it got completed? What if Tite Kubo or Masashi Kishimoto were to die? What would happen to Bleach and Naruto? Would the anime simply stop, would they have somebody else finish the manga before finishing the anime, or would the anime-writers create their own ending? Is there any kind of historical precedent which would offer an answer to this question?

Answer:
Japan’s comic industry is a bit different from America’s in the regard that America’s big two publishers own their franchise characters and cycle through artists and writers to utilize those characters. Despite having an even bigger comic industry than America, Japan’s comic industry is entirely creator owned. Publishers routinely determine what is and isn’t published, but Japanese publishers don’t have the option or ability to replace an artist or writer on a particular comic series. Countless artists have told Superman and X-Men stories in American print, but Dragon Ball is exclusively Akira Toriyama’s story, and Inuyasha exclusively Rumiko Takahashi’s creation (broadly speaking. I don’t want to disregard the work done by artist assistants). If Japanese publishers don’t have the immediate option to hire a new artist to continue a particular manga story if its primary creator ceases work for any reason, one must wonder what would happen to the adaptations that rely on the source work. There are two logical possibilities, and both have occured in Japan’s anime industry.

There have been cases in which a sudden end to the source material or a creator’s death has resulted in an equally abrupt stop in the adaptation. The TV anime adaptation of Fuyumi Ono’s Twelve Kingdoms novel series ended at 45 episodes when the anime ran out of completed source literature to adapt. Author Kaoru Kurimoto passed away shortly after the premiere of the Guin Saga anime television series adaptation of her lengthy novel series. The Guin Saga television anime ended after one season despite having enough material to adapt to continue for years.

However, in other cases popular anime franchises continued despite of the demise of their creators. Machiko Hasegawa concluded her Sazae-san manga series in 1974 and passed away in 1992. However, the popular Sazae-san anime television series that premiered in 1969 is still airing new weekly episodes now. Hiroshi Fujimoto, better known as “Fujiko F. Fujio,” created Doraemon in 1970. The series got its first anime television series in 1973. Fujimoto passed away in 1996 while the second Doraemon anime television series was airing. That second anime series continued until 2005 when it was superceded by a third series that’s still ongoing today. In a unique instance, manga creator Kaoru Tada passed away in 1999, leaving her acclaimed Itazura na Kiss manga unfinished. However, when the story was adapted into an anime television series in 2008 with the blessing and input of Tada’s surviving husband, the anime concluded with the ending that Tada had planned but never had a chance to write. Most recently, Crayon Shin-chan creator Yoshito Usui suffered an accidental death last year. Broadcaster TV Asahi, the Shinei Douga anime production studio, and Usui’s surviving family have agreed to continue the Crayon Shin-chan anime, and publisher Futabasha has announced plans to have Usui’s assistants collaborate on the creation of a new Crayon Shin-chan manga series.

With franchises as high profile and popular as Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, or Detective Conan, should a creator pass away unexpected, God forbid, Japanese producers and broadcasters would probably seek to continue the anime — to satiate fans, tribute the creator, and, of course, continue reaping profits. However, there’s no guaranteed certainty that even a very high profile franchise wouldn’t suddenly and abruptly stop if its creator were to pass away. Particularly since the creator, rather than the publisher or broadcaster, owns the character and franchise, the creator’s estate ultimately has the final right to determine the fate of a franchise.