Frustrated by Censorship, Senran Kagura Producer Kenichiro Takaki Leaves Marvelous

Senran Kagura Producer Kenichiro Takaki has decided to leave Marvelous due to frustration over the chilling effect of recent censorship on video games. Gematsu reports that Mr. Takaki recently spoke to Weekly Famitsu, stating that he was leaving the company but continuing to work as the producer of the Senran Kagura series for a period (ostensibly to finish works already in progress).

Mr. Takaki has earned the nickname "Huge Boobs Producer", a moniker that is eminently evident as soon as someone spends more than 30 seconds looking at any games from the Senran Kagura franchise. However, a recent wave of censoriousness (rumored to be pushed by Sony themselves) has affected many games including Mr. Takaki's Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal back in late 2018.

"Even if my place of work or the nature of my titles change, what I show won’t change and I don’t want it to. I’m a game fan at heart; I tell dirty jokes and make irresponsible comments (laughs), but I’ll work my hardest to make games." - Senran Kagura Producer Kenichiro Takaki

Essentially, Mr. Takaki believes that while there are many critics of games with lewd themes or sexual content, there's plenty of room in the industry for everybody. While he's not entirely against the idea of regulations or restrictions for certain content, he believes that the current wave of censorship is going to have a chilling effect on the industry.

So, what's next for Mr. Takaki? He spent 13 illustrious years at Marvelous and has since moved on to Cygames to work on console titles. He currently has a new project in the works (alongside finishing up his work as Senran Kagura producer for multiple projects), although it's unknown what exactly the nature of the project will be. Considering that the nature of the recent censorship seems to be coming from Sony and not Marvelous, it's not very likely that we'll see a game of a similar style.

What do you think of Senran Kagura Producer Kenichiro Takaki leaving Marvelous? Do you think the days of big-boob anime games are dead in Japan? Let us know in the comments below!