Danica Davidson
February 2, 2024 
A 25-year-old man named Fukuta Kishimoto has confessed in court to threatening voice actress Yui Ishikawa, who might be best known for playing Mikasa Ackerman in Attack on Titan. His arrest happened late last year. Someone had been posting very nasty stuff aimed at Ishikawa online, including saying he would stab her to death. Kishimoto said he was the one behind it.
And apparently Ishikawa isn’t the only person he’s been harassing. He allegedly wrote online that he would kill anime director TATSUKI. It also appears that Kishimoto wrote online that he would not only kill Ishikawa, but would also murder her whole family through stabbing and arson. This is possibly a nod to the 2019 Kyoto Animation arson, where arsonist Shinji Aoba killed 36 people and recently received the death penalty for it. On top of that, Kishimoto threatened general anime workers. This isn’t his first time getting arrested.
Both Ishikawa and TATSUKI went to authorities over concerns for their safety. Kishimoto claimed that he has a “grudge” against TATSUKI, though he insisted he never planned to go through with his violent threats. It seems the threats against TATSUKI and Ishikawa both started in April 2020.
The prosecution is asking that Kishimoto be punished with 18 months in prison for his deeds. They said that the threats online have frightened Ishikawa so badly that it makes her shake at night. The defense, meanwhile, is trying to get him a lesser sentence.
The verdict is scheduled to occur on February 9, one week away.
Besides playing Mikasa, Ishikawa is also the voice of Violet Evergarden in the anime of the same name, as well as Kyururu in Kemono Friends 2, and Honoka Tsumura in Smile Down the Runway. She’s additionally behind the theme song for the anime spoof Attack on Titan: Junior High.
Source: ANN
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
