“Like most artists I am inspired by work I admire. There are certain similarities between some of my work and the work of others. This was simply meant as an homage to artists I respect, and I definitely want to apologize to any Manga fans or fellow Manga artists who feel I went too far. My inspirations reflect the fact that certain fundamental imagery is common to all Manga. This is the nature of the medium.

“I am a big fan of Bleach, as well as other Manga titles. And I am certainly sorry if anyone was offended or upset by what they perceive to be the similarity between my work and the work of artists that I admire and who inspire me.”

It doesn't seem like general public is buying it, with a Facebook group calling for legal action and people angrier than before that he's trying to mask his plagiarism as an "homage" to the artists who inspire him. This was clearly a bad PR move on his part, but then again so was plagiarizing Bleach.