Artificial intelligence has again sparked controversy in the manga industry, and this time readers are furious. The romantic comedy manga Senpai, Kyorigan Baguttemasu! managed to reach fourth place in a rookie contest hosted by a major Japanese publisher. However, instead of praise, the project faced intense backlash from the community, which did not forgive the use of generative tools to replace an illustrator’s work.

Reader dissatisfaction exploded when they opened the first chapters and noticed details that immediately revealed the drawing’s AI origin. Those who reviewed the pages pointed out that the female protagonist shows the exact same face in every panel, with distorted panels forced to fit, and dialogue that seems lifted from an unchecked automatic translator. To make matters worse, the author made the mistake of formatting the reading direction from left to right in a traditional Japanese format that is read right to left, exposing a lack of care in production.

Many artists and fans considered it disrespectful for such a proposal to compete against people who spend years perfecting their drawing techniques. In the comments section of the first chapter, the wave of complaints grew so much that the author, known as Mushimatsu, announced that they would hide all negative messages once the voting closed. The creator even asked their few supporters to avoid commenting to prevent further discussion.

This situation reopened the debate about legal loopholes in self-publishing platforms. Although the site allows anyone to upload AI-generated stories, the publishing house behind the contest set a precedent in February when it disqualified another work for the same reason, clarifying that no AI-made work can win an official publication spot in its digital magazine. With the final results scheduled for December 21, it’s clear that being in the top positions won’t guarantee a professional contract.

About Senpai, Kyorigan Baguttemasu!

Senpai, Kyorigan Baguttemasu! is a workplace romantic comedy manga written by Mushimatsu. The story revolves around the daily cohabitation between an extremely attractive office girl who has no concept of personal space, and a young novice who has never had a girlfriend, leading to embarrassing situations and daily misunderstandings at work.

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