Act-Age

The story focuses on Kei Yonagi, a high school girl who strives to become an actress. She lives with her two younger siblings, after their father left them and their mother died. Kei has an extreme talent for method acting, to the point where she loses track of reality while acting. At an audition, some speculate that acting of this intensity could be self-destructive, and cite that as a reason for not accepting her. However, Kei catches the eye of the highly acclaimed director Sumiji Kuroyama, who steps forward with the intent of bringing out her full potential. ==Characters==

; :A high school girl who finds herself raising her younger siblings, Rui and Rei, on her own, after their father left them and their mother died. She has an innate talent for method acting, in which she uses memories from her own past to fully get into the role. However, her approach is extremely immersive, to the point where she gets lost in the role and becomes unable to distinguish fiction and reality. ; :Director and the founder of Studio Daikokuten. He is famous overseas for his awards in various film festivals, but he is not as well known in Japan. ; :Assistant director and filmmaker at Studio Daikokuten who works with Kuroyama. She is also a production manager and a talent manager for the studio. ; :Nicknamed "the Angel", a famous actor from the Stars Agency. ; :Founder and CEO of the Stars Agency. ; :Actor from the Stars Agency and the son of Arisa Hoshi. ; :A skilled stage play actor. ==Media==

Manga Written by and illustrated by , Act-Age was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from January 22, 2018, to August 11, 2020. In October 2019, Viz Media announced the print release of the manga; the first two volumes were released on July 7 and September 1, 2020, respectively. Editors from Weekly Shōnen Jump stated that they would be taking the matter seriously, and later announced the series would immediately end publication with the chapter released on August 11. On August 17, 2020, Shueisha announced it had suspended all sales of the manga, and canceled the planned volume 13 and beyond. Viz Media and Manga Plus also decided to not publish the series' final chapter on their platforms. Viz Media removed its listing of further volumes. On September 16, 2020, Matsuki was formally indicted for the second of the two indecent acts committed; Matsuki's sentencing was held on December 23 of that same year. The Tokyo District Court handed Matsuki a guilty verdict and a sentence of one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years (i.e., Matsuki would not serve his sentence if he remained on good behavior for three years). Despite being fired from Shueisha, Matsuki was permitted to work for Shogakukan under the pseudonym Miki Yatsunami. He wrote Seishou no Shinrishi for Shogakukan's MangaONE service, a fact that only came to light when the company received widespread criticism for continuing to hire manga writer Shoichi Yamamoto despite similar offences. Volumes Uncollected chapters These chapters were not published in a volume. They were originally serialized in Japanese in issues of Weekly Shōnen Jump from April to August 2020. Canceled stage play In June 2020, it was announced the manga would receive a stage play adaptation in 2022 titled . The play would be produced by Horipro, and directed and written by Shū Matsui. A "remote audition" for the role of the protagonist Kei Yonagi would have been held across Japan. On August 11, 2020, after Tatsuya Matsuki's arrest and the cancellation of the manga, Horipro announced the cancellation of the stage play. ==Reception==

By February 2019, the first five volumes of the manga had 750,000 copies in circulation. By June 2020, the first eleven volumes of the manga had over 3 million copies in circulation. Volume 5 of the manga ranked thirteenth on Oricon's weekly manga rankings chart, with 52,319 copies sold. The series ranked third on the "Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2018". In April 2019, it was nominated for Best Shōnen Manga at the 43nd annual Kodansha Manga Awards. In December 2019, Brutus magazine listed Act-Age on its "Most Dangerous Manga" list, which included works with the most "stimulating" and thought-provoking themes. The series ranked sixth in a 2020 poll conducted by AnimeJapan of "Most Wanted Anime Adaptation". ==Notes==