Depression is a serious topic that needs to be discussed because it can hit any person in the world regardless of how wealthy, distinguished, or successful they are. Even those within the anime and manga industry have been known to have lengthy battles with mental illness. Director Hideaki Anno, for example, detailed his own struggles in a 2015 blog post. More recently, however, we saw a short tweet from the creator of Black Lagoon, Rei Hiroe, reminding the world that he too suffers from mental illness, which is why the series is published so sporadically.
In the tweet sent out over the weekend, Hiroe was replying to a fan who asked why Black Lagoon chapters were so infrequent. Hiroe’s reply was roughly along the lines of he was still struggling with the same depression that he’s been fighting with for the last ten years, which keeps him from being able to work on new chapters as much as he’d like.
Japan has a problem with discussing mental illness. That’s not really a secret, and so it’s always “nice” to hear of a public figure in Japan willing to be open about their struggles. Even if they don’t necessarily mean to do so, by sending out these little messages on social media they are letting others know that they aren’t alone. While it’s not always easy to get mental health treatment in Japan, I have to imagine that there are some forms of treatment available to those living in Japan who need help in some way or another.
Depression is one of the loneliest battles that someone can deal with in their lifetime because no matter what you might know in your heart, your brain constantly tells you that you’re alone in your struggle and that no one is interested in helping you. That’s a very deflating feeling to have on a regular basis.
With that said, everyone here at J-List wishes nothing but the best for Hiroe and we hope that we get to read a new chapter of Black Lagoon at any point in the future. More importantly, we hope that he just does his best to live his best life possible from day to day. We’re all rooting for you!
Source: Crunchyroll News
