Bandai Namco Apologizes for Unauthorized Attack on Titan Reference in Sgt. Frog Film
The apology is a rare public admission of a rights-management failure by a major studio, acknowledging that internal processes broke down despite clear advance objections from the IP holder.
Reporting from 1 sources: Anime News Network.
Bandai Namco Filmworks and Bandai Namco Pictures issued an apology for including an unapproved reference to Attack on Titan in the new Sgt. Frog movie. The rights holders had clearly stated their objections beforehand, but a communications breakdown within the companies allowed the reference to remain. The companies promised to tighten internal verification systems.
Bandai Namco Filmworks and Bandai Namco Pictures apologized Thursday for including an unapproved reference to Attack on Titan in the latest Sgt. Frog film. The rights holders for Hajime Isayama's manga had clearly expressed their wishes against such a reference in advance, but a serious communications breakdown within the two companies allowed it to stay in the film anyway. The companies said they failed to give sincere consideration to their responsibilities as creators and protectors of works. They plan to review and tighten internal verification systems to prevent future unauthorized use of intellectual properties. Bandai Namco Filmworks also apologized separately to the film's production staff, Sgt. Frog creator Mine Yoshizaki, and Monthly Shōnen Ace magazine's editors, stating those parties were not responsible for the incident. The film opened in Japan on Friday.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.