Update 2: Maryco has resurfaced on X with a post announcing their formal retraction of their accusations against Russo. “Involuntarily, I ended up embellishing, warping details of my narration as well as adding totally incorrect information,” reads the post. A follow-up reply wrote, “I’d like to apologise to all parties I’ve caused confusion and damages and I sincerely hope everyone can move on from this commotion.”
The post in which Maryco made the accusations and linked to a PDF containing screenshots of online conversations and descriptions of the situation is no longer available.
The retraction comes after a party using the Buta Productions name informed Anime News Network of their intention to sue “‘the person who made these defamatory accusations.’”
Update: Anime News Network has reported that a party using the Buta Productions name has told the outlet Let Me Fix You’s production is still ongoing with minimal involvement from Russo. The article writes that the studio will “’stop existing’ following this incident, with FAR moving on from it.”
The party also told Anime News Network that “’my legal team is analyzing the situation with the intention of suing the person who made these defamatory accusations’” (according to the article, the replies Anime News Network received were in first-person) and claimed that the allegations against Russo were “’partial, misleading and malicious.’”
Meanwhile, the former staff of Buta Productions have gathered under the new banner of Ponbleu, an “informal entity” that will “fulfill prior obligations with clients” and has “no updates on any announced projects at this time.” The animation outfit reaffirmed its support for Maryco (whose X/Twitter account can not be found at the time of writing) and noted that “ButaPro’s statements to the media on this matter do not reflect our thoughts and opinions on the matter.” Ponbleu’s statement was reposted by Let Me Fix You‘s X account.
Original article: The recently announced short anime adaptation of the Let Me Fix You (Kimi wo Tsumugu) yuri dojin manga is currently in limbo, after it was alleged that the CEO of its animation production studio, Buta Productions, had groomed a teenager across a span of several years.
On May 2, X/Twitter user Maryco (@Maryco02_) accused Buta Productions CEO and co-founder Federico Antonio Russo of grooming them since 2021, when Maryco was 14 and Russo, also known as FAR, was 23. Maryco shared a 33-page PDF compiling some of their online conversations and outlining the situation, describing the contents as “just the tip of something that lasted more than 4 years.” Russo has since deactivated their X account.
Following the post, the Let Me Fix You anime’s X account published a statement on May 3 to share the team’s sympathies with Maryco and announce the now uncertain state of the project. “None of the other people involved in the animation of ‘Kimi wo Tsumugu’ were aware of this. The whole situation makes it difficult for us, as a lot of money, time, and effort have already been poured into this project—a project that was meant to be something big and go far beyond the scope currently announced,” it said. “Accordingly, we will need some time to discuss with all other people involved how and whether we can continue with this project. (Without “ButaPro” / FAR).”
Russo was the animation producer for the project, which was scheduled to be released in late May through YouTube.
Prior to that statement, members of Buta Productions, a Europe-based studio that has worked on Japanese and non-Japanese productions, announced that the staff had cut ties with Russo and the company. “Everybody associated with ButaPro has immediately left the studio,” said compositor May Yamada. “We’re now organizing in a different place, trying to get current projects to completion under a different banner.” Animator Raruru wrote that “the creatives working for it have all banded together and are trying to finish current projects. We gotta thank seisaku and producers who were able to understand the situation and offered us to work as freelancers instead of under Butapro.”
Buta Productions was founded in 2024, several years after Russo and co-founder Blou got their first anime credit in 2021’s Wonder Egg Priority for assisting with English translations of production material for foreign freelance animators. The studio provided sub-contracted animation for shows such as Clevatess and One Piece, while engaging in translation and interpretation services for titles like Sentenced to Be a Hero and The Summer Hikaru Died. It also produced content as a prime contractor, including Otachan! Rabbit Season and the opening animation for visual novel Salvus; Aries. Otachan! creator otakuversus and Salvus; Aries developer Rosemilk Studio have both issued statements following the allegation against Russo.
Blou, who left Buta Productions last year, said that while they were “not really aware of the grooming situation,” they had “confronted” Russo about the latter’s “Gaslighting, lack of transparency and plain manipulation” at the studio in the past. “I’m horrified to see that it was much worse than anything I could conceive and I feel so sorry for Maryco and also all the people that Fede hurt throughout the years,” they added.
Source: @kimiwotsumugu
