In a series of Tweets on his official Twitter feed, anime producer Yoshitada Fukuhara commented on the controversy surrounding the departure of director Tatsuki and animation studio Yaoyorozu from the Kemono Friends project, thanking the fans and officially denying certain rumors that began circulating after the original creative team was removed from the project.

First, Fukuhara apologizes for not being able to set the mind's of the fans at ease and mentions how he has been working together with Executive Director Inoue (i.e. Shinichiro Inoue of Kadokawa) to bring the matter to a conclusion.

Fukuhara states that the decision to go ahead with a 2nd term for Kemono Friends was made in March of 2017, but at the general meeting in August of 2017, he was informed that Yaoyorozu would not be continuing with the project. He expresses surprise, puzzlement, and dissatisfaction at the suddenness of the announcement.

Next, Fukuhara addresses the official announcement that was made on September 27, 2017. Fukuhara notes that episodes 12.1 and the advertising collaborations were made after officially reporting to the Kemono Friends production committee to acquire the proper permissions and approvals, and that the doujinshi distributed at Comiket were created with a special license obtained directly from series conceptual designer Mine Yoshizaki.

Fukuhara notes that the advertising collaborations had especially strict conditions attached to them, but that nonetheless the creative team worked hard to please the fans. He officially denies the rumors and speculation that any of these productions lead to the removals, and apologizes for being unable to address these rumors in the official Kemono Friends guide books.

Fukuhara closes by thanking Executive Director Inoue for his speedy responses in looking in to the matter, and by thanking the fans for their continued support, noting that although their time with the Kemono Friends project was limited, he is proud of the work done by Yaoyorozu and company.

Source: Ota-suke

Paul Chapman is the host of The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast and GME! Anime Fun Time.