Cells at Work! Creator Akane Shimizu Reveals Depression, PTSD During Serialization
The revelation adds a personal dimension to the creation of a globally popular manga, showing the severe toll its serialization took on the author's mental health and family relationships.
Reporting from 1 sources: Animehunch.
Akane Shimizu, the creator of Cells at Work!, disclosed on X that she was diagnosed with depression, trichotillomania, and PTSD while serializing the manga. She also described financial harm from relatives, sexual abuse, and secondary victimization from family members, and said she cut contact with her sister, who inspired the series.
Akane Shimizu, the mangaka behind the hit series Cells at Work!, has publicly shared that she was diagnosed with depression, trichotillomania, and post-traumatic stress disorder during the manga's serialization. In a post on her official X account, Shimizu wrote that she experienced multiple forms of harm overlapping at the same time. She also stated that she suffered financial harm caused by relatives, sexual abuse, and secondary victimization from family members. Shimizu added that she cut off contact with her younger sister, who had originally inspired her to create the series. Cells at Work! ran in Monthly Shonen Sirius from 2015 to 2021, spawning spin-offs, anime adaptations, and a live-action film.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.