Popular mangaka Nobuhiro Watsuki (real name Nobuhiro Nishiwaki) is in deep water right now after police arrested him on allegations of child pornography. Police alleged that the Rurouni Kenshin mangaka has been hiding DVDs of naked children in their early teens. They also raided his home to find these alleged DVDs.

© Nobuhiro Watsuki / Shueisha

Apparently, he stored these child pornography DVDs as early as October. Also, in his deposition, Watsuki allegedly said that he likes “late elementary school girls and late middle school students”.

In Japan, the law considers child pornography to be a crime. In fact, the guilty can expect jail time of about a year, as well as a fine of about 1 million yen. This would certainly hurt Watsuki, who has been planning his return to writing a new series for Rurouni Kenshin. The mangaka recently returned to do the manga’s Hokkaido Arc, and his arrest doesn’t bode well for the franchise.

Source: Yomiuri Shimbun