Anime gacha RPG Echocalypse: The Scarlet Covenant has issued an apology after fans accused one of its new weapon illustrations of looking far too close to a real-life Japanese creator’s original design.
The issue involves the official key art for MR character Honorblade Chiraha, shared through the game’s Japanese X account. Shortly after the artwork went public, players began pointing out that the weapon in the illustration appeared similar to a blade created by Japanese bladesmith Awa no Umi.
Awa no Umi is known for making custom sci-fi-style knives and swords using materials like carbon fibre and reinforced plastic. Some of his pieces have also been sold through Yahoo! Auctions. On May 18, he posted a side-by-side comparison between the Echocalypse weapon and one of his own designs from 2023.
To be clear, the game’s weapon was not a perfect copy. But the similarities were hard to ignore, especially around certain decals and their placement on the handle and sheath. For fans who follow character art closely, that kind of detail memang cukup to raise eyebrows.
Following the backlash, the Echocalypse team apologised to both players and Awa no Umi. The developers acknowledged that the design was problematic, said they had contacted the creator, and confirmed that the weapon design would be replaced. They also said they would review and improve their internal quality-control process to avoid a repeat situation.
Awa no Umi later posted that the Echocalypse side had reached out and provided a fairly detailed explanation of what happened and how they planned to respond. He added that he is now waiting for the replacement process to be completed, while asking fans not to speculate further or behave aggressively toward anyone involved.
For Malaysian and SEA gacha players, this is one of those controversies worth paying attention to beyond the usual internet drama. Anime-style mobile RPGs live and die on character art, weapon design, skins, banners, and the trust that fans place in the studio. When players are spending real money on pulls, monthly passes, cosmetics, or limited characters, they expect the art pipeline to be clean.
It also hits close to the wider creative scene here. SEA has plenty of indie artists, prop makers, cosplay weapon builders, illustrators, and 3D modellers who post work online. If a studio can accidentally or carelessly publish something that looks too close to a creator’s design, it reminds everyone how vulnerable original work can be once it is visible on social media.
The good thing here is that Echocalypse did not just stay silent and wait for the noise to die down. The team apologised, contacted the creator, and promised a replacement. Still, the real test is whether the final fix is handled properly and whether future character art goes through tighter checks before going live.
For now, Honorblade Chiraha’s weapon art is set to change, and Awa no Umi has asked people to let the process move without turning it into a harassment campaign. Fair request, honestly. Call out the problem, protect creators, but don’t go full mob mode.
Source: Automaton Media