My heart goes out to the victims, both those who have come forward and those who have not. Anyone who uses their position of power in the anime industry to abuse their relationship with fans, especially minors, is severely in the wrong. Let’s talk about this. https://twitter.com/animenewsnet/status/1318114686571773954

Voice actors are freelancers, and as such, there are no background checks. (And even still, background checks may not reveal this kind of vile behavior until it’s too late.) This kind of stuff, unfortunately, is inevitably going to keep popping up.

As long as new voice actors are given a chance in this industry, there is the possibility for them to not be completely morally sound individuals. This happens in every industry, but it’s critical to be aware of it in anime, where many fans are minors.

Companies like FUNi can’t know that someone is doing this sort of abhorrent stuff in their private life until it becomes public. What happens next speaks to the character of the industry, though. You can’t blame people for trusting, but once broken, what happens next matters.

I’m very happy when I see people who take advantage of fans & minors immediately ousted. They should be. This kind of behavior cannot be cloaked for the sake of preserving careers. It can, and should, end careers. Immediately.

Anyone who’s thinking of becoming a part of this industry needs to be prepared to speak up if you learn of this type of behavior. As an adult put into a position of constant interaction with minors (fans), you must be responsible and report when they’re being treated wrongly.

(And of course, you must respect the boundaries of professionalism and responsible adulthood in your own interactions with minors who look up to you, but I don’t think I need to tell that to anyone who wasn’t prone to crossing that line to begin with.)

I was not in a position of “see something, say something” with this individual (didn’t know him) and I don’t know if anyone was (never heard any rumors of this magnitude). But now that it’s out and he admitted to it, I should hope that this is the end of the line.

And to those victims out there who spoke up, thank you. Your immense bravery is so commendable and opening up a hurt that’s been plaguing you for a long time is incredibly hard, I know. This should never happen to anyone, least of all an unconsenting minor. I’m sorry.

And let me be clear that by saying “probably no one knew”, I am not attempting to make excuses for the industry. If anyone DID know and hired this person anyway, I would unequivocally not condone that. Every role knowingly given to an abuser is a brick in their platform.

But as uncomfortable as it is to have this conversation out in public after the fact for us in the industry (I know how it can sting as a casting director realizing you helped build the platform of someone unscrupulous), we have to remember how much worse it was for the victims.

Respect the victims and what they went through. It is so much worse than our discomfort over having to face this kind of stuff in our own industry. We have a responsibility to them to speak up and take action as soon as we humanly can. Unfortunately, sometimes that’s too late.

I wish that wasn't the case and personally, I will do anything and everything in my power to blow the whistle when I become aware. Any victims that could have been avoided being created if someone took an action is too many. Be prepared to take that action.