There’s no such thing as bad publicity online. A man in Japan thought it would be a great idea to photograph his hand making an obscene gesture in front of a manga instruction book on creating manga with AI inside a bookstore. However, the image went viral on social media, causing the opposite effect: the book sold out within hours on major online stores.

The book in question is titled Hajimete no AI Manga no Tsukurikata (How to Make Manga with AI for the First Time), a guide written by programmer and creator Keisuke, published by Takarajimasha at the end of 2025. Priced around $11 (USD), the manual is designed as an instruction guide for students and beginners who want to explore tools like Canva and image generators to layout their own stories without needing to master traditional drawing.

The photo, uploaded on September 27, 2026, sparked a flood of interactions and debate among users. To the author’s surprise, the massive attention caused the physical version of the book to sell out completely the next day on Japan’s major e-commerce platforms. Keisuke quickly responded on social media to thank for the unintended publicity, asking traditional bookstores to place new orders with the publisher to encourage an urgent reprint while the digital version remains available.

This phenomenon occurs amid a tense climate in Japan’s industry regarding the use of generative tools in art. Since late 2025, the Japan Manga Creators Association and major publishers have issued official statements calling for copyright respect and demanding proper licenses during the training of these programs. Despite rejection from some traditional artists, several tech-assisted projects continue to gain ground in competitions and digital platforms, constantly reopening discussions about the future of illustration amid technological advancement.

Do you think this type of rejection on social media ultimately benefits the criticized works?