After pleading guilty to evading nearly $300,000 in taxes, the artist for one of the best mystery manga in years dodges prison time on suspended sentence

Manga artist Nekokurage (Erika Ikeda), who draws the popular Square Enix-published medical mystery manga The Apothecary Diaries, pleaded guilty to tax evasion for a sum of nearly $300,000 earlier this year. As Anime News Network reports, the artist has now received a fine of 11 million Yen (around $70,600) as well as a 10-month prison sentence suspended for three years, meaning that she will not have to serve any time in prison given three years of good behavior. 

Fans of the series can breathe a sigh of relief, as Square Enix has confirmed that it will not be ending the The Apothecary Diaries, which is serialized in Japan in the company’s Monthly Big Gangan magazine, telling Japan’s ITmedia (thanks, Automaton), “We have no particular plans to cancel.” 

(Image credit: Square Enix)

The Fukuoka Regional Taxation Bureau indicted the artist on April 1 on suspicions that she had not declared somewhere in the region of 260 million yen ($1.7m) in income, with roughly 47 million Yen (around $299,000) in taxes attached, from 2019 through 2021. 

On her Twitter account, Nekokurage stated that she has since paid the full amount and is working with an accountant to make sure that she pays all future taxes correctly.

This version of The Apothecary Diaries (there are two separate manga adaptations, with the other by Minoji Kurata published in Shogakukan’s Monthly Sunday Gene-X magazine) has been running since 2017, written by Natsu Hyuuga, compiled by Itsuki Nanao, and drawn by Nekokurage. An English translation of the series began publishing in December 2020. It is, of course, also based on Hyuuga’s original series of light novels, which also enjoyed a hit anime adaptation which began last year, and which just began an English run.

Although it didn’t hit the top 10, The Apothecary Diaries recently made our long list of the best manga of 2023.