The new volume is not labeled as the final volume “out of respect for the wishes” of late manga author Hinako Ashihara.
Kodoani.com – Shogakukan announced on Friday that it will release the eighth volume of the manga Sexy Tanaka-san of the late author Hinako Ashihara on the day October 10. The publisher said that it will not mark this as the final volume of the series, out of respect for Ashihara's wishes and because the story is still intended to continue. The volume will include the 15th chapter of the manga, a one-shot titled “winter fool” (first published in 2016), and a four-page color collection.
Hinako Ashihara passed away in January of this year in an apparent suicide. Two days before her disappearance, she posted a blog post about the live-action adaptation of Sexy Tanaka-san, where she expressed her disappointment that the producers NTV did not comply with her condition that the adaptation must be faithful to the original manga. The post was later deleted, and Ashihara apologized for the unintended effects caused to the film's screenwriter.
NTV apologized in February following the incident, expressed condolences to Ashihara's family, and launched an internal investigation. The investigation concluded that due to a misunderstanding from the early negotiation stages, the message of keeping the adaptation faithful to the original was never clearly communicated to the live-action production team. This led to confusion among the parties involved.
After the incident, in July, NTV has released new guidelines for live-action adaptations, including production processes, safety, and social media policies to ensure accuracy and respect for the source material.
The manga Sexy Tanaka-san first debuted in 2018 in the magazine Anikei Petite Comic by Shogakukan and is still unfinished. The live-action version of the manga aired on NTV last October and ran for 10 episodes.
Hinako Ashihara is a veteran manga author, debuting in 1994. Her famous works include Sand Chronicles (released in English by Viz Media) and Forbidden Dance (released in English by Tokyopop).