Child Safety Bill Could Cripple Anime Industry

[Ultra_Caboose]

WTF?! Goddammit censorship... Ah well lets see how many ways the anime industry finds around this. I'm guessing there's a few

Also don't you think "cripple" is a bit strong a term? They'll find a way around it, its hardly gonna destroy anime and manga forever

I don't doubt that the industry will find a way around the bill, but it will still have a huge impact on the industry. Tokyo is the largest and most populated city in Japan, which would understandably make it a huge center for anime and manga. If the nation's largest city puts forth an overbearing content filter, huge amounts of series will end up being deemed as profane and either won't be sold or will be edited and santized by the publishers.
In turn, the industry will still have to make money. I can imagine that many publishers will pull an Activision, and only truly invest in anime and manga which are deemed as safe products, which could lead to stagnation. If nobody will invest in a series that while interesting and compelling that is deemed unappropriate by the Tokyo gov't, less people will create them. Titles like Battle Royale, Berserk or even Sgt. Frog will be less and less common, cleared out for titles that are safe and non-offensive.

 

[Gaming King]

So, hardcore lolicon manga is still legal in Tokyo, but Kodomo no Jikan is not? LOL WUT? This global anti-lolicon movement is sick and actually EXTREMELY dangerous to REAL CHILDREN. Yeah, sexually repress and discriminate against paedosexuals. Great idea. That TOTALLY won't make ones on the fence between good and evil fall to the wrong side. Jesus! How fucking dumb can moralfags get? I'm a pretty huge moralfag myself, but not on THAT insane level.

 

[Gaming King]

Also, Tokyo just shot its own economy in the face.

 

[EarthBoundGiygas]

Hopefully the TouHou series of games wont be ruined by this damned law. The games are awesome but the fanbase is pretty fucked up so things may just happen.

Children need to be exposed to this kind of stuff. Now all of American Tv shows are all happy happy, no more violence lets all act like ritards! Which make them absolute crap. Compare its to something good like Casshern sins, were there is meaning, a real world lesson, which is not acting ritarded is ok!

 

[L-J-F]

Fuck child safety. Natural Selection. The kid who swallows too many quarters doesn't get to make more quarter-swallowing retards.

This sums up my feelings 100%

Why is everyone so geared towards censorship lately?

I really want to know. Because I just don't get it. What's even more baffling is the general public's apathetic attitude towards it. No one cares.

Pretty much. I'm so bloody sick of pretentious, self-righteous, moralistic, "doo-gooders" ruining absolutely everything. Don't want to have fun? Fine, go live in a cave and take all your friends with you ...

 

[Arehexes]

NOOOOOOOOOO! Negima! isn't finished yet! This bill would kill it dead! Waaaaaaahhhh! Bad bad bad idea. Gutting the industry is an understatement.

Holy crap no T_T

 

[boradis]

I'm by no means an enemy of porn. But the pedophiliac content of so much children's manga and anime is a serious issue.

Everyone knows there's no shortage of scorn, amusement, disgust or even horror at the content of many manga and anime from *fans* of manga and anime in the west. I'm one of them. Every panty shot in a show marketed to kids in Japan just makes me furrow my brow, every time a school girl with the face of a pre-teen and the boobs of a stripper jumps on a male character and demands sex I slap my forehead. As much as I think franchises like "Sailor Moon" have good things to tell girls, I have to really wonder at the creator's decision to cater simultaneously to middle-aged pedophiles.

I'm not really going to talk about things like tentacle rape though, which I think we can all agree is adult content. And hey, I'm totally down with rough porn... just as long as it doesn't involve children. But I think we all know the words "hentai" and "schoolgirl" go together like sushi and soy sauce.

The problem is that this perception of Japan as a nation of pedophiles (who happen to make great cars, cartoons, seafood and electronics) grows every year. And, going by the media their animation industry produces, it's hardly unearned.

I'm firmly against this legislation as it is described in the article, I'd defend to the death your right to draw pictures of girls showing their underwear (if the war on censorship ever came to blows), and the idea of singling out my favorite artistic mediums (comics, animation and video games) as less deserving of free speech boils my blood. But anyone who thinks about it for more than a few minutes is going to wonder how healthy the environment of Japan is when shows that deal with teenage girls always have to include a pervert character.

But "cripple" the industry? In its current form, as described here, it could certainly have a chilling effect, and it is certainly homophobic and anti-sexual to a degree that could be considered puritanical. But if I were a Japanese citizen I know I'd be wanting the government to do something about the pedophilia inherent in so much popular entertainment. The impression one gets is of a society with some deeply rooted and disturbing problems with sex. IMHO, Japanese men need to stop trying to have sex with adolescents, robots, pillows and cartoon characters and get to know adult human women on an equal footing. But that's beside the point.

But while I'm against it, I hope this legislation is the saber rattling that's needed to make manga and anime creators decide at the outset if a series is going to be for kids or adults. If only the industry had chosen to make the decision a couple of decades ago:

* Sailor Moon wouldn't become essentially nude during her transformations, and the upskirt shots in the manga, anime and live-action versions would not be included.

* Zorc Necrophades, the ultimate final boss monster of the original "Yu-Gi-Oh!," would not have a hundred-foot long dragon-headed penis.

* Muten Roshi and Oolong of "Dragon Ball" would not collect the used underwear of teenage girls.

* Jiraiya of Naruto wouldn't have spent most of his life as a peeping tom.

Yes that legislation absolutely must be defeated. But the manga/anime/game industries need to change.

And personally I think they should outlaw the pedophilia stuff entirely.

 

[EarthBoundGiygas]

But while I'm against it, I hope this legislation is the saber rattling that's needed to make manga and anime creators decide at the outset if a series is going to be for kids or adults. If only the industry had chosen to make the decision a couple of decades ago:

* Sailor Moon wouldn't become essentially nude during her transformations, and the upskirt shots in the manga, anime and live-action versions would not be included.

* Zorc Necrophades, the ultimate final boss monster of the original "Yu-Gi-Oh!," would not have a hundred-foot long dragon-headed penis.

* Muten Roshi and Oolong of "Dragon Ball" would not collect the used underwear of teenage girls.

* Jiraiya of Naruto wouldn't have spent most of his life as a peeping tom.

Yes that legislation absolutely must be defeated. But the manga/anime/game industries need to change.

And personally I think they should outlaw the pedophilia stuff entirely.

Some of the stuff actually makes the anime more interesting and or funnier, like Roshi and Oolong, Jiraiya, and Zorc. That made those shows hilarious in a more sexual orientated way. But does it mean that its wrong? No. Its used as a comic relief of sorts. In those shows for sure. But games like Touhou were every character is almost if not "loli" like are amazing, sure they have some "sexual" themes to it. But does it mean its wrong? no. Children sometimes need to be exposed to these kinds of things in moderation. It may sometimes pose a negative influence, but on the other hand, it is good to have children not too naive.
Lately ive been watching a good anime called Kamen No Maid Guy, recommended by a friend. The fanservice and sexual references are heavy, but thats what makes the show so funny, because it can be handled by a mature audience. That dosnt mean you need to kill the fun for others to "Protect" the few, sooner or later they're gonna learn about this stuff.

 

[boradis]

Yes that legislation absolutely must be defeated. But the manga/anime/game industries need to change.

And personally I think they should outlaw the pedophilia stuff entirely.

Some of the stuff actually makes the anime more interesting and or funnier, like Roshi and Oolong, Jiraiya, and Zorc.

Yes it does make it funnier, and I would have no problem with any of those characters or their behavior in material entirely intended for an older audience. Roshi, Oolong and Jiraiya are all pretty harmless caricatures of dirty old men and in the cases of the literary inspirations for Jiraiya (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiraiya) and Oolong (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhu_Bajie) it's fitting. However it's one thing for a cartoon character to go goggle-eyed at a pretty girl and want to kiss or kidnap her ... it's something else when they're sniffing her underwear. But they are pretty mild, as I said.

I actually have less of a problem with Zorc since I don't have a problem with nudism if it's a culture-wide practice, and kids have to be near puberty before that stuff even begins to register as unusual. So in a way, his dick is kind of like when Hinata has lions on her hands.

I'm actually more upset at the "fanservice" present in the stuff that's intended for kids. It bugs me that clearly pubescent girls are always flashing their panties. Aside from giving the older perverts what they want, it also validates it as a cultural norm for the boys and girls in the audience. A message of "Pinching, grabbing or spying on young girls is funny to boys and harmless to girls" is not true and not healthy.

That made those shows hilarious in a more sexual orientated way. But does it mean that its wrong?

Sexuality is not a bad thing, and in the abstract it's not traumatizing to children. My problem is primarily with the pedophilia angle.

But games like Touhou were every character is almost if not "loli" like are amazing, sure they have some "sexual" themes to it. But does it mean its wrong? no.

By your definition it features sexualized pubescent girls: "Loli" from "Lolita." If you think there's nothing bothersome about that then Chris Hanson would like you to have a seat over there.

Children sometimes need to be exposed to these kinds of things in moderation.

No, they don't. We're not talking about sexuality between two consenting adults, and if we were I'd agree with you wholeheartedly. What we're talking about in this case, and in the other fanservice cases I'm talking about, is adults fetishizing children.

No it's not molestation, but it certainly creates a threatening environment for kids during a period when they are particularly insecure.

It may sometimes pose a negative influence, but on the other hand, it is good to have children not too naive.

"Alright class, today we have a guest who's going to teach you about pedophiles. Suzie, Nancy and Claire? Would you please go to the girl's bathroom and change into these outfits? Thank you. No, Mr. Miller, please don't follow them. ... And keep your raincoat closed until they get back."

The fanservice and sexual references are heavy, but thats what makes the show so funny, because it can be handled by a mature audience. That dosnt mean you need to kill the fun for others to "Protect" the few, sooner or later they're gonna learn about this stuff.

The legislation, news article and my first post have to do with sexual content in children's entertainment. Yes they will learn about sexuality eventuality, but firstly it should be handled by the parents, and secondly we're not talking about healthy adult sexuality ... we're talking about humor and thrills derived solely from pedophilia.

 

[Kopikatsu]

NOOOOOOOOOO! Negima! isn't finished yet! This bill would kill it dead! Waaaaaaahhhh! Bad bad bad idea. Gutting the industry is an understatement.

It wouldn't kill it at all. Actually, I'm fairly certain that the mangaka wouldn't mind it at all. (He acutally wanted to do a straight up shonen series, but his editor forced him into ecchi. That's why Negima is paced the way it is.

 

[KezzieZ]

Honestly, I'm not really sure what I feel about this law. I think I'm probably slightly more against it for the most part.

I mean, it's not controlling outright porn, I would think that's already controlled by its own set of laws/regulations, and I'm not fond of the stereotypical anime fanservice (like superfluous panty-shots and shower/bath scenes) but it sounds like the government could crack down on almost anything that's even slightly objectionable. Like Evangelion, as the article pointed out, or maybe even things like Tokyo Godfathers (a fun movie made by the late Satoshi Kon, which I really enjoy but it does have some partial nudity, a grope on a teenage girl, and references to homosexuality and transvestites) if the wording is loose enough and I do stress that "if" since I need to study the wording of the proposed law better.

 

[EvilEggCracker]

This is the same bullshit that is coming for the Governator's mouth. It's to "protect the children" when "the children" are under the age of majority (ex. I'm 16. Am I a child? No. Can I think for myself and make rational decisions? Yes.)

Actually, you are a child, legally speaking.

Am I the only one that would prefer this law to be passed? I can't stand anime.

 

[Adrian Guran]

im more worryed about Vampire Bund and anymore anime versions of Spice and Wolf

What's wrong with Spice and Wolf? It was a bloody great series...