Kazuomi Koga, whose anime directorial credits include Rent-A-Girlfriend (Seasons 1-2, 4), How I Attended an All-Guy’s Mixer, and See You Tomorrow at the Food Court, recently spoke on a “compilation version” of an anime where the original version’s director was removed, expressing his dismay at such an action.
Koga’s post likely refers to Chainsaw Man – The Compilation, the newly edited version of the original Chainsaw Man TV anime, given that it was posted barely a day after its premiere on ABEMA in Japan on September 5. Only staff specifically involved in the compilation version were credited, omitting Season 1 director Ryu Nakayama, scriptwriter Hiroshi Seko (who returns for Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc), and others. The post also references that the anime was self-funded, which tracks with MAPPA fully funding Chainsaw Man Season 1.
Koga says:
“With the clean erasure of the previous director’s name in a certain compilation version, and edits to cuts with the addition of new audio recordings and other things, it goes to show that a director of an anime based on an original work doesn’t have moral rights or the right to preserve the integrity of their work, huh. Regardless of the TV version’s quality, a studio that would do this despite solely funding the anime doesn’t protect its directors. So I wouldn’t want to work there.” He added that he believed it showed a lack of respect and would be a bigger deal if it weren’t anime.
Moral rights, which include the right to attribution (to choose how, and whether to be credited for one’s work) and the right to integrity (not to suffer any alteration, cut, or other modification that is contrary to the author’s intention), are rights that exist for authors of a cinematographic work, such as the Chainsaw Man anime. Authors may differ from copyright owners, which, in this case, includes MAPPA. MAPPA notably funded 100% of Chainsaw Man Season 1.
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Even before considering whether Nakayama is an author of the Chainsaw Man anime in a legal sense, Japanese copyright law allows MAPPA, which has the right to exploit the copyright of the Chainsaw Man anime, to omit an author’s name if “it is found that doing so is unlikely to harm the interests of the author in a claim to authorship, in light of the purpose of the work and the circumstances of its exploitation, provided that the omission is compatible with fair practices. [Right of Attribution]”
While moral rights are inalienable and untransferable, there can be, and are, multiple limitations on the exercise of moral rights. These include signed agreements to waive the right to exercise them in many aspects, and requiring the unanimous agreement of all the co-authors to exercise them, except in cases of a breach of good faith. Nakayama has not responded to the omission.
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MAPPA’s decision to omit Chainsaw Man Season 1’s staff is notable due to the act’s rarity, the perceived lack of respect for the original staff, and the commonly held belief that Nakayama and MAPPA no longer work together due to disputes. Many director’s cuts or other versions of an anime still include the TV version’s staff, seen in examples like Re:ZERO Season 1’s Director’s Cut and Kaiju No. 8: Mission Recon, which combined them with the staff that worked on the new version.
Manabu Otsuka, the CEO of MAPPA, has also repeatedly emphasized in his recent press tour that it partnered with Sony and Crunchyroll for distribution to take Chainsaw Man to new audiences. While the original version is still available for streaming, this omission amid the possible influx of new fans threatens to diminish the contribution of the original staff.
Since working on Chainsaw Man, Nakayama has founded studio Andraft, followed by a further studio, Aurora Animation, in collaboration with Yoyogi Animation Academy and Starry Cube. Earlier today, Yoyogi Animation Academy entered a business partnership with MF Ghost anime studio Felix Film to promote the development of 3DCG staff.
Source: Kazuomi Koga’s Official X (formerly Twitter)
© 2025 MAPPA/Chainsaw Man Project © Tatsuki Fujimoto / Shueisha
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