Publisher Kadokawa found itself at the center of a controversy after publishing promotional material for the manga.”Where is the elf teacher's bathroom? (Elf-sensei to toilet wa Doko desu ka?)” displayed in a bookstore. This material, which showed the elf protagonist in a compromising situation, became a trend on social media, generating widespread debate about its content.

The story of this manga follows Eruru, an elf from another world who arrives at a school for human boys as a trainee teacher. Eruru faces a particular elven rule that dictates that You should go to the bathroom in a place with abundant nature.which causes him several problems in his new environment.

The promotional material in question suggested, though not explicitly, a scene in which the elf urinated. This fact caused mixed reactions among fans and the general public, who discussed the limits of humor and good taste in the dissemination of content.

In response to the controversy, Kadokawa issued an official statement publicly apologizing for any inconvenience caused.. The statement, addressed to customers and partner stores and to the manga's author, Chizuna Nakajima, stated the following:

• Regarding the store promotional material for Volume 1 of 'Where Is the Elf Teacher's Bathroom?' released on July 26, 2024, we deeply apologize for the inconvenience caused to customers, partner stores, and the author, Chizuna Nakajima. This material was produced by our company as part of the promotion for the first volume of the book, but after receiving feedback that it was not suitable for in-store display, we took steps to remove it from our stores.
• We appreciate the valuable feedback we received and will take the necessary precautions for future promotional activities. We will continue to strive to create works that our readers can enjoy and ask for your continued support of our products.

This apology shows Kadokawa's commitment to take into account the opinions of your audience and improve its promotional strategies to avoid future controversies. For now, the publisher has ordered the material removed from all stores and has assured that it will review its internal processes to ensure this type of incident does not happen again.

• «Would they really be distributing something so dirty as promotional material in a bookstore? What kind of company would do something like that? It's absurd.».
• «Does women's urine disperse this way? Do they have a tube in their urethra?».
• «This is clearly a crackdown on freedom of expression. If you don't like it, don't watch it.».
• «What does this have to do with freedom of expression?».
• «Is this something a smaller publisher that uses controversy to attract attention would do? What is Kadokawa doing?».
• «Do otakus think they have any right to exist?».
• «They did this in a bookstore and not an anime store? Nobody thought it was a bad idea?».
• «If they had done this not just to an elf, but to an elf as well, it would probably have caused more controversy.».
• «What did they do with it? Did they put up a huge ad? If so, it's understandable that there were complaints.».
• «Justice will prevail. Let's keep raising our voices.».
• «Otakus over 30 who still have the mindset of the 2000s should reflect on themselves».
• «Cancel culture again because of radical feminists? It's infuriating. They talk about diversity, but they're intolerant of eroticism.».

Source: Yaraon!