The team behind Showtime – the popular Persona 5-based fanzine released a statement announcing that a former member of the team has allegedly spent C$27,625 (~$21,303) in project funds for personal purchases. According to a project member on Twitter, these purchases are for Genshin Impact.
Showtime is a fan Zine (basically a smaller indie magazine format) that started in 2020 and sold 1,517 copies via Etsy to global fans of the popular Atlus RPG. It has since become a project involving 28 illustrators, 5 merchandise artists, and 6 writers. The employee who seems to have taken the money, Ree, is the founder of zine and has previous experience with other similar projects.
While the rest of the team has sought legal counsel on the matter, there appears to be little hope of regaining lost funds for a variety of reasons. According to the official statement posted on the SHOWTIME Twitter account, “We immediately sought legal counsel and received the last letter from the lawyer last night, June 22, and unfortunately cannot take legal action against her to recover the funds. ; Like all magazines, the moderators have no formal contract with Ree, and all money is processed directly through Ree’s Etsy and bank accounts.”
They did, however, state via their official account on Twitter, “However, the customer owes a product and if the sole proprietor Ree fails to meet this obligation, the customer may seek legal action against Ree.” The official statement also suggested A personal “client counsel”.
As for the current status of SHOWTIME, another staff member has taken over the financial handling of the magazine. They are currently unable to process refunds for people still waiting for orders on Etsy, and have prompted those seeking a refund to email Ree directly and request a refund. They also held a fundraiser to try to make up for lost funds.
The reaction from fans and viewers was a mix of sympathy and confusion – why no legal documents were written for SHOWTIME, and why anyone could spend so much money on Genshin Impact. It’s worth mentioning that it’s not unheard of for players to spend huge sums on Genshin, especially when it comes to maximizing five-star characters and weapons.
We also reached out to Ree via email for comment, and as of this writing, we have not received a response.
