Koei About Removing adult doujins of Dead or Alive: “They’re like daughters to us”

We finally have an explanation as to why Koei is so keen on removing adult doujins of Dead or Alive, as well as Fanarts. At the Tokyo eSports Festa 2025, held from January 10 to 12, Koei Tecmo participated in a joint lecture hosted by Japan’s Association of Copyright for Computer Software (ACCS).

During the conference, Tomotoshi Nishimura, general manager of Koei Tecmo’s legal affairs department, discussed the company’s stance on doujinshi and other forms of fanart inspired by their games.

“They’re like daughters to us” Koei About Removing adult doujins of Dead or Alive

According to an event report by GameWatch, Nishimura stated that Koei Tecmo has no objections to users creating derivative works based on their intellectual property.

In fact, the company openly supports otaku culture, as demonstrated by their sponsorship of events like Comiket, where fanartists sell doujinshi and profit from copyrighted material.

However, Koei Tecmo has clear boundaries when it comes to fanart. Nishimura revealed that the company has removed between 200 and 300 doujinshi based on the Dead or Alive series from four online platforms.

Additionally, they take “strict action” against approximately 2,000 to 3,000 pieces of fanart posted on social media and art platforms like Pixiv each year when deemed inappropriate.

The reasons for these takedowns include fan works based on unreleased game materials and character alterations for “adult purposes,” which harm the characters’ image.

Nishimura noted that Koei Tecmo’s creators view their characters “like daughters,” explaining why the company is compelled to act in such cases.

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Source: Gamewatch via Automaton