by “We have discovered that some of the winning works in the KimiPuri♪ Coloring Contest, which were announced today, may violate the application terms and conditions. As such, we will be temporarily removing the affected works from the official website.”
On September 7th, an unusual announcement was made on official X for the popular anime “PreCure” movie “Idol PreCure with You♪ Sorry to have kept you waiting! A sparkling live performance delivered to you!”. The incident began with the announcement of the winning works of the “KimiPuri♪ Coloring Contest” on the same day. “From June 27th to August 11th, entries were accepted by picking up flyers distributed at theaters nationwide, or by downloading and coloring in sheets featuring the characters. Winners would be featured on the film’s official website, and a total of 32 works were selected from over 3,000 submissions nationwide for the KimiPuri Award, Excellence Award, and Honorable Mention. However, just a few hours after the announcement, a person believed to be the author of one of the winning works posted a complaint of plagiarism on X.
The person posted, “Wait a minute, the name’s wrong! I’m happy I won, but who is Oshio?” claiming that the name the author used to submit the work was different from the name listed on the website. In response, the official website deleted the work in question and announced that an investigation was underway. Still, the fact that a “plagiarized” work had won a prize caused a stir, according to an entertainment reporter. Indeed, questions have been raised about the selection process on X. “Do they receive two identical submissions and choose the plagiarized one without thinking, or do they just choose randomly without looking at all the works?” It would be strange if there were two identical ones.
The artist would be shocked to discover that a work plagiarized from them won an award. I hope they pay close attention to the hashtag and also think about how to apply.” “In the future, please put an age limit and require applications to be made through the official website. With the Revise incident and this latest one, it’s time for the management to learn a lesson.” An advertising agency insider said the problem this time “may have been in the application method.” “First, there were three ways to submit: through the official website, through X, or through Instagram. Submissions through X and Instagram were completed by posting with the hashtag ‘Kimipuri Coloring Page, ‘ and other submissions were also freely viewable.
The person who filed the plagiarism complaint also submitted through X, and it appears that the image was saved and used by someone else to submit via the website, resulting in a different person winning. While submitting via social media is easy, there are significant drawbacks, such as making it more susceptible to plagiarism, as in this case. I understand the desire to encourage people to submit freely. Still, there’s no doubt that some kind of countermeasure, such as limiting submissions to the official website or by mail, was necessary.” Speaking of ‘Pretty Cure,’ Toei also experienced a plagiarism incident in April 2022 with ‘Kamen Rider Revive.’
The segment invited viewers to submit illustrations and photos to be featured on the show. Still, the work of an unrelated individual was reproduced without permission. When the plagiarism was discovered, the company apologized on its official website and through X, but the segment was subsequently discontinued. “In both cases, it was a kind of campaign to promote the work. Because it was a measure aimed at fans, the rules were probably designed based on the assumption that people are good. Of course, the people who committed the plagiarism are at fault. Still, the management was also too careless” (ibid.).
This magazine asked whether the plagiarism of the “PreCure” coloring book was accurate and what measures would be taken in the future. Still, no response was received by the deadline. It’s hard to believe that a hero that children look up to would be plagiarized.
