http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2010/12/1 ... an-passes/
Warning, Sankakua Complex is NSFW! Also, maybe a bit hyperbolic in their predictions and anaylsis.
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Epsilon
Warning, Sankakua Complex is NSFW! Also, maybe a bit hyperbolic in their predictions and anaylsis.
Quote:Tokyo’s ban on anime, manga and games featuring “virtual crimes” orThe idea that these people are aiming to suppress drawn kiddie porn but not actual photographic kiddie porn is sickening (I hate both, but one involves actual harm to actual children). Also, not really surprised this is being used to target gay people and those friendly to them. Still, maybe Sankaku is wrong in some of their analysis here (they aren't the most reliable reporters). Anyone have links to other more thoughtful analysis?
which are “likely to interfere with the healthy development of youth”
has passed after the DPJ agreed to support it.
The DPJ’s only addition to the critical portion of the law was a short
rider which requests “prudent application of the law in light of any
artistic, social, scientific or satirical merits the work might express”
– it does not however add any legal obligation to consider these, or
establish any clear or indepdently enforced criteria for judging whether
a work can be declared “harmful” or not.
Even more bizarrely, the final draft actually removed a passage that
imposed “a duty not to possess [photographic] child pornography” on
Tokyo residents, whilst leaving the section banning erotic manga and
anime (and explicitly excluding photographic materials) all but
unchanged – that the bill is intended exclusively as an “anti-otaku” law
seems to be beyond doubt.
It is very difficult to objectively assess the scope of the law – along
with vague and subjective terms like “interfere with the healthy
development of youth,” the law also includes “etc.” on the end of most
of its examples, leaving it quite unclear, for example, whether the
“improper glorification of illegal sexual activity, etc.” applies to
only virtual sex crimes, or all crimes in general – presumably the
interpretation adopted will be whichever is convenient to censors.
Similarly, the ban’s mention of “rape and other sexual acts which
violate societal norms” seems inevitably to point to a ban on depictions
of homosexuality, considering who was behind the law.
The generally expected form the law will take is that of a “amakudari”
(a pervasive system of sinecures for retired bureaucrats) body which
will inspect all anime, manga and games, with only those titles
receiving approval as “healthy” able to be sold regularly in Tokyo shops
– the rest will be relegated to the “adult corner.”
The most immediate and direct effect of the law will almost certainly be
to see ecchi manga such as To Love-Ru, bishoujo titles such as Champion
Red and most BL manga, as well as any seinen manga with especially
mature themes, banned from general sales – presumably most will then be
cancelled due to a lack of suitable magazine or tankobon distribution
channels, with a few perhaps being resurrected as 18+ ero-manga.
As has already been seen, publishers will also likely be purging future
anime, manga and games of any content liable to fall foul of the law,
and removing older titles from distribution.
The law probably also spells the end of most late night anime in Tokyo
(and by extension, everywhere else), which it would appear to ban under
its distribution clause; given the vague wording of the current season
alone it seems Ore no Imouto, Panty & Stocking, Yosuga, Sora no
Otoshimono, Milky Holmes and others would all fall foul of its various
stipulations.
There is also some doubt as to whether Comiket will be able to be held
under the new regulations – if not, its cancellation or removal to
another prefecture seems likely, although a lack of sufficiently large
spaces may severely complicate this.
The law comes into effect in July of 2011, so with magazine, tankobon,
anime and game release schedules being what they are, it seems likely
its effects will be felt much sooner; in a genuinely democratic state
there might be scope to overturn it before then, but from what has been
seen so far it seems unlikely publishers have the guts or savvy to do
anything about it.
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Epsilon