Last Thursday, the Tokyo District Court ruled that 39-year-old Wataru Takeuchi was guilty of violating Japanese law that prohibits the creation of “a new work by making creative modifications to the original while preserving its essential characteristics.” Takeuchi worked as administrator of a website that published lengthy, spoiler-heavy descriptions from popular movies and series. And two of Takeuchi’s “articles” — one about Godzilla Minus One and another focused on the Overlord anime adaptation — prompted Toho (owner of the Godzilla) and Kadokawa Shoten (the publisher behind Overlord) to file joint lawsuits through the Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA).
godzilla was dead the whole time
The timing of this resolution seems significant as Godzilla Minus Zero is scheduled for release in theatres this November.
yes. how deep does this go. I mean what are the chances that someon who gets some info on not yet released things would publish it this close to the release of the things. Why didn’t this happen last year? Or the year before? Why now!?
Court processes are not quick.
Someone familiar with judicial processes in Japan would know whether 18 months is about the norm or not.
The general point about how spoilers are used to get around algorithmic barriers is interesting:
Sites like Takeuchi’s are the products of an online media landscape where writers are fighting desperately to capture readers’ attention, make money, and keep traffic up as search engines make their content less discoverable. Brazenly posting spoilers under the guise of making commentary has become one of the more common ways that people try to drive engagement on their social media profiles.
