Act-Age

• Ja Kanji — アクタージュ • Ja Romaji — Akutāju • Genre — Drama

• Type — manga • Author — Tatsuya Matsuki (manga author) • Illustrator — Shiro Usazaki • Publisher — Shueisha • Imprint — Jump Comics • Magazine — Weekly Shōnen Jump • First — January 22, 2018 • Last — August 11, 2020 • Volumes — 12

• Portal — yes Act-Age is a Japanese manga series written by Tatsuya Matsuki (manga author) and illustrated by Shiro Usazaki. It was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from January 2018 to August 2020, with its chapters collected into 12 tankōbon volumes. Act-Age was canceled and removed from the magazine and all official platforms after Matsuki's arrest in August 2020. Viz Media published the first three chapters for its "Jump Start" initiative and then the series was simultaneously published from December 2018, after a restructuring of the English Shonen Jump. Shueisha also published the series in English on its Manga Plus platform from January 2019 to August 2020.

The story focuses on Kei Yonagi, a high school girl who strives to become an actress. She lives with her two younger siblings, after their father left them and their mother died. Kei has an extreme talent for method acting, to the point where she loses track of reality while acting. At an audition, some speculate that acting of this intensity could be self-destructive, and cite that as a reason for not accepting her. However, Kei catches the eye of the highly acclaimed director Sumiji Kuroyama, who steps forward with the intent of bringing out her full potential.

• Kei Yonagi • A high school girl who finds herself raising her younger siblings, Rui and Rei, on her own, after their father left them and their mother died. She has an innate talent for method acting, in which she uses memories from her own past to fully get into the role. However, her approach is extremely immersive, to the point where she gets lost in the role and becomes unable to distinguish fiction and reality. • Sumiji Kuroyama • Director and the founder of Studio Daikokuten. He is famous overseas for his awards in various film festivals, but he is not as well known in Japan. • Yuki Hiiragi • Assistant director and filmmaker at Studio Daikokuten who works with Kuroyama. She is also a production manager and a talent manager for the studio. • Chiyoko Momoshiro • Nicknamed "the Angel", a famous actor from the Stars Agency. • Arisa Hoshi • Founder and CEO of the Stars Agency. • Akira Hoshi • Actor from the Stars Agency and the son of Arisa Hoshi. • Araya Myojin • A skilled stage play actor.

Written by Tatsuya Matsuki (manga author) and illustrated by Shiro Usazaki, Act-Age was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from January 22, 2018, to August 11, 2020. Shueisha collected the 107 out of the 123 individual chapters into twelve individual tankōbon volumes, released from May 2, 2018, to July 3, 2020. Viz Media published the first three chapters for its "Jump Start" initiative and then began to simultaneously publish the series in December 2018 after a restructuring of the English Shonen Jump. Shueisha also simultaneously published in English the series on the app and website Manga Plus starting in January 2019. In October 2019, Viz Media announced the print release of the manga; the first two volumes were released on July 7 and September 1, 2020, respectively.

On August 8, 2020, it was reported that Matsuki had been arrested for allegedly approaching and inappropriately touching two female middle school students in June 2020. Editors from Weekly Shōnen Jump stated that they would be taking the matter seriously, and later announced the series would immediately end publication with the chapter released on August 11. On August 17, 2020, Shueisha announced it had suspended all sales of the manga, and canceled the planned volume 13 and beyond. Viz Media and Manga Plus also decided to not publish the series' final chapter on their platforms. Viz Media removed its listing of further volumes. Usazaki issued a statement on August 24, 2020, expressing sympathies for the victims and that they consider the cancellation to be appropriate, as they did not want the manga to be a work that triggers similar reactions from the victims. Despite regrets of having to end the manga mid-way, Usazaki urged fans of the series not to harass or blame the victims. On September 16, 2020, Matsuki was formally indicted for the second of the two indecent acts committed; Matsuki's sentencing was held on December 23 of that same year. The Tokyo District Court handed Matsuki a guilty verdict and a sentence of one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years (i.e., Matsuki would not serve his sentence if he remained on good behavior for three years). Despite being fired from Shueisha, Matsuki was permitted to work for Shogakukan under the pseudonym Miki Yatsunami. He wrote Seishou no Shinrishi for Shogakukan's MangaONE service, a fact that only came to light when the company received widespread criticism for continuing to hire manga writer Shoichi Yamamoto despite similar offences.

These chapters were not published in a tankōbon volume. They were originally serialized in Japanese in issues of Weekly Shōnen Jump from April to August 2020.

In June 2020, it was announced the manga would receive a stage play adaptation in 2022 titled Act-Age: Night on the Galactic Railroad. The play would be produced by Horipro, and directed and written by Shū Matsui. A "remote audition" for the role of the protagonist Kei Yonagi would have been held across Japan. On August 11, 2020, after Tatsuya Matsuki's arrest and the cancellation of the manga, Horipro announced the cancellation of the stage play.