Oh, no… his wrist, it’s been slapped! (Ugh.)

Earlier today, the Tokyo Public Prosecutors Office filed a summary indictment against Rurouni Kenshin creator Nobuhiro Watsuki. The indictment was for the “Simple Possession of Child Pornography” charge that  the creator was arrested for last year.

Later in the day, the Tokyo Summary Courts issued a fine to the manga creator, which amounted to 200,000 yen ($1,866.00 USD).

For possessing child porn.

Watsuki was charged with Simple Possession of Child Pornography in November 2017. According to investigators at the time, Watsuki possessed numerous DVDs, which contained nude footage of girls as young as their early teens. He stored the discs in a Tokyo office, with authorities confirming that he maintained the collection at the office through October 2017.

This investigation comes on the heels of a second unrelated child pornography investigation, which saw investigators searching the author’s home. Watsuki was under suspicion that he had purchased child pornography. During this first investigation, authorities found several DVDs.

In his deposition, Watsuki stated that he “liked girls aged from late elementary school to the second year of junior high school.” Sankei News notes that Watsuki also stated “I like the nudity of children, I bought it.”

Nobuhiro Watsuki, real name Nobuhiro Nishiwaki, was born on May 26, 1960. The author is best known for his work on Rurouni Kenshin, which ran from 1994 through 1999 in Weekly Shonen Jump, and sold over 60 million copies across the globe. The series inspired a 95-episode anime series, which ran from January 1996 through September 1998, as well as numerous anime films and OVAs. A live-action film trilogy was also produced, which hit Japanese theaters from 2012 through 2014.

Watsuki recently launched a new arc of the Rurouni Kenshin manga with his wife, Kaoru Kurosaki. The ongoing series launched in September, and was receiving an English simulpub from Viz Media. The arc has since been been suspended by Shueisha, due to the charges against Watsuki.

Sources: Twitter (YonkouProd), Otakomu, Yomiuri Shimbun

Editor’s Note: Normally, we don’t editorialize, but I really want to let this sink in. Nobuhiro Watsuki, a man who bought, and admitted to purchasing child pornography, was fined just shy of $1,900. A man who said “I like the nudity of children, I bought it,” received an $1,866 fine.

For possessing child porn. Words can’t describe how unbelievably fucked-up this is.