Kadokawa has apologized after discovering that its manga adaptation of Pitch-Black Infatuation used visual designs from another manga without authorization. The apology came from the editorial department of Young Ace, which publishes the adaptation illustrated by Kei Natsumi and based on Rokakoen’s novel.
The designs came from Ieri Komen’s manga adaptation of Festival of Heresies. Although both stories take place in the same fictional universe, the editorial department acknowledged that it had proceeded without securing the necessary permission from Komen.
The department accepted full responsibility for the mistake and apologized directly to Komen. It also stated that neither Rokakoen, who wrote the original novel, nor Natsumi, who illustrated the manga adaptation, was responsible for the unauthorized use.
HOW KADOKAWA’S PERMISSION PROCESS WENT WRONG
The editorial department traced the mistake back to August 2025, when pre-production began on the Pitch-Black Infatuation manga. Young Ace contacted Kadokawa’s Horror Bunko editorial department to request permission to reference Komen’s designs for Rumi Sasaki and Yukiyoshi Aoyama, characters who appear in both stories.
However, the response was not a clear authorization. According to Young Ace’s explanation, the reply suggested that using the original character designs would “probably” be acceptable. The department then moved forward with the reference despite lacking direct permission from Komen.
The problem came to light after Kadokawa released the manga’s first collected volume on August 4, 2026. Komen contacted Young Ace and identified additional similarities beyond the two characters originally discussed. The manga had also used designs associated with Ishigami and Emi Shimamoto, along with a background location from Festival of Heresies.
The incident highlights the difference between receiving an informal internal response and obtaining explicit permission from the creator whose artwork is being referenced.
BOTH MANGA SHARE A UNIVERSE, BUT PERMISSION WAS STILL REQUIRED
Festival of Heresies, originally written by Rokakoen, was published by Kadokawa Horror Bunko in May 2021. The Pitch-Black Infatuation novel followed in February 2022. Both stories share a setting, which explains why characters from the earlier work also appear in the later narrative.
Komen launched the Festival of Heresies manga adaptation on Kadokawa’s Comic Walker platform in July 2023. The adaptation concluded with its second volume in November 2025. Natsumi’s Pitch-Black Infatuation manga began serialization in Young Ace on March 4, 2026, before its first collected volume arrived in August.
Yen Press has also published English editions of both original novels, releasing Festival of Heresies in November 2024 and Pitch-Black Infatuation in August 2025.
Kadokawa’s apology focuses on the editorial department’s failure to secure permission rather than blaming the individual creators. The company’s explanation also makes clear that sharing a fictional universe did not remove the need to obtain approval for another artist’s character designs and background artwork.
The case has drawn attention to the importance of clear approval procedures in manga publishing, particularly when different editorial departments oversee related works. Young Ace has accepted responsibility for the unauthorized use, while the supplied statement does not detail any further corrective measures.
