Tokyo's Anime/Manga ban passes

[FluffyDango]

Hate to tell you about this, but:
Read about it here

This really suck.
Apparently they can ban just about anything they want, it`s a very open law so :S
Argh, I really hate that politican that is the reason for this.

[Aulos]

I thought this had already been rejected. o_O

Figures, I guess. I just hope it doesn't really effect the anime/manga I care about. I'm really not into the anime/manga that go into that kind of stuff, so maybe it won't too much.

[Kyubi-no-kitsune]

they will try to ban it but it will fail if the general populous wants it they will do exactly what they did in the US during the prohibition years it will go under ground and be sold illegally or they could just move it to another city/prefecture thats more accepting, i mean this law is as stupid as the whole ban on macdonalds happy meals in san francisco

[Shinn Kamiyra]

Good grief, what a mess. The real problem here is the vague wording of the actual bill itself, which is going to deal a severe blow to the anime and manga industry if it's used to its full potential. This Ishihara guy really is a narrow-minded twit. >.>

Regardless, it's comments such as this that continue to bring hope to fans and manga authors out there:

Shueisha senior managing director and editor Kazuhiko Torishima said at the New Manga Creators Awards ceremony on Monday: “I want new manga authors to produce manga that would blow away [Tokyo Governor] Shintaro Ishihara.” Masahiko Ibaraki, the editor-in-chief of Shueisha's third editorial department, added to the new manga creators, "Don't let the chilling effect [of increased regulation] stop you from doing material you want to do. Jump will feature anything [we feel] that is exciting [to read].“

[Kyubi-no-kitsune]

Good grief, what a mess. The real problem here is the vague wording of the actual bill itself, which is going to deal a severe blow to the anime and manga industry if it's used to its full potential. This Ishihara guy really is a narrow-minded twit. >.>

Regardless, it's comments such as this that continue to bring hope to fans and manga authors out there:

Shueisha senior managing director and editor Kazuhiko Torishima said at the New Manga Creators Awards ceremony on Monday: “I want new manga authors to produce manga that would blow away [Tokyo Governor] Shintaro Ishihara.” Masahiko Ibaraki, the editor-in-chief of Shueisha's third editorial department, added to the new manga creators, "Don't let the chilling effect [of increased regulation] stop you from doing material you want to do. Jump will feature anything [we feel] that is exciting [to read].“

the video game industry in the united states as well as the american comic industry was almost ruined when the government enforced tougher regs but they're doing fine now

[Jmosies]

Good grief, what a mess. The real problem here is the vague wording of the actual bill itself, which is going to deal a severe blow to the anime and manga industry if it's used to its full potential. This Ishihara guy really is a narrow-minded twit. >.>

Regardless, it's comments such as this that continue to bring hope to fans and manga authors out there:

Shueisha senior managing director and editor Kazuhiko Torishima said at the New Manga Creators Awards ceremony on Monday: “I want new manga authors to produce manga that would blow away [Tokyo Governor] Shintaro Ishihara.” Masahiko Ibaraki, the editor-in-chief of Shueisha's third editorial department, added to the new manga creators, "Don't let the chilling effect [of increased regulation] stop you from doing material you want to do. Jump will feature anything [we feel] that is exciting [to read].“

Well this is a bit encouraging at least.

[Capitán]

This ban needs to be banned.

It has as much sense as lecturing a raccoon in your backyard about the french revolution.

[Ichiriku Orihara]

the video game industry in the united states as well as the american comic industry was almost ruined when the government enforced tougher regs but they're doing fine now

Only it wasn't the government in either case.

There is not much to say about this, yet.
We will need to see what happens.

Certainly, I doubt a solution would be moving business out of Tokyo.

The sociological theory in this is totally retarded however.

[Gjallarhorn]

I'm not entirely against it; particularly considering the fact that a large portion of manga and anime have become essentially pornographic. This has been a rapidly growing trend over the last five to seven years, and something that definitely needs to be toned down. At the same time, a law doesn't really need to be passed to enforce this, and it would have been better if the two industries had come to the decision to grow up a bit on their own. But, worse comes to worse, there won't be 14 year old girls getting sexually assaulted and appearing nude every other page/scene, and that is something we could do without in the first place.

Also, take anything you read on SankakuComplex with a large grain of salt; they're a site which panders exclusively to the mindless otaku. If a bunch of obese men in their mothers' basements spend their time fawning over 2D 12 year olds and fantasizing about rape, SC would endorse that 100% and take that stance into as many articles as they could.

[Skylar1]

Well, it's not like they're banning it completely, just separating it out. I don't really see that being much of a problem really.

Though, this does look more like a ban on a vice rather than a ban on anime/manga; aka, an attempt at censorship, which, being the die-hard liberal that I am, I can't say I entirely agree on. But, I just now learned about this supposed law, the details of which I know very little about, and it says it doesn't go into effect until the middle of next year.

I'm interested in seeing what will happen in that time. The wording is incredibly vague and subjective though, so again, I can't really give a full opinion on this until I know more information on it.

[Kentaro Kurosaki]

Some laws state as long as there isn't an actual person doing this it's not against the law. Plus some of the things that are there are the things that make the user buy. Most of the stuff is just fan service.

[Shinn Kamiyra]

Well, it's not like they're banning it completely, just separating it out. I don't really see that being much of a problem really.

Though, this does look more like a ban on a vice rather than a ban on anime/manga; aka, an attempt at censorship, which, being the die-hard liberal that I am, I can't say I entirely agree on. But, I just now learned about this supposed law, the details of which I know very little about, and it says it doesn't go into effect until the middle of next year.

I'm interested in seeing what will happen in that time. The wording is incredibly vague and subjective though, so again, I can't really give a full opinion on this until I know more information on it.

You're right about that, but what concerns me are the consequences that have already begun to surface. Talk has been circling about the possiblity of the Tokyo International Animation Fair being canceled due to the controversy related to what this bill also address: the safety and preservation of youthful development. In addition, there's also talk of Comiket being canceled as well; though there's no confirmation yet.

Perhaps my concerns boil down to a sense of unease about this Ishihara guy. I don't know too much about him, but from what little I do know; he seems like the kind of politician willing to do whatever it takes to advance his agenda. Given the vague wording of this bill, I'm concerned if he might have some ulterior motive by which to use this bill as a stepping stool. I suppose we'll find out sooner or later.

[Videogamer555]

Not a Japan ban, just Tokyo. What's the chance it will be adopted in other cities? What's the chance their national government will adopt it?

[Gjallarhorn]

Not a Japan ban, just Tokyo. What's the chance it will be adopted in other cities? What's the chance their national government will adopt it?

Very low. The Japanese Prime Minister has already spoken out against it, and figures on the national stage seem to be generally against it.

I doubt it will last very long if there's enough public outcry, but a bunch of otaku going out to protest or write to their representatives seems unlikely.

[AutisticOtakuGirl]

I had been reading about this on ANN about the bill. I still can't believe they passed it. What a load of BS. Doesn't their government realize that this could really hurt the anime and manga industry and in turn hurt their economy further? I don't really know where the Japanese economy stands right now, but I do know that it became really bad back in the 90s. I'm also concerned about how this will affect current anime. For example, what will happen to anime such as Evangelion, Utena, Code Geass and Black Butler?

[Ray^Sama]

This stoopid bill has just destroyed my entire world... I just happily came back from AKIBA 2 days ago with all my loots... but now... DAMN!!!

[FluffyDango]

This stoopid bill has just destroyed my entire world... I just happily came back from AKIBA 2 days ago with all my loots... but now... DAMN!!!

It`s spelled "stupid"
And this bill probably won`t last long.

[Shinn Kamiyra]

This stoopid bill has just destroyed my entire world... I just happily came back from AKIBA 2 days ago with all my loots... but now... DAMN!!!

Whoa, calm down for a moment. First of all the bill isn't going to take effect until around July 2011. That's plenty of time to do something about it. And, really, all we know about this bill is that it divvies up manga for those more suitable towards children and those 18+. No need to start freaking out just yet.

[Ghost]

That sucks to hear that

[Yukitomon]

Also, take anything you read on SankakuComplex with a large grain of salt; they're a site which panders exclusively to the mindless otaku. If a bunch of obese men in their mothers' basements spend their time fawning over 2D 12 year olds and fantasizing about rape, SC would endorse that 100% and take that stance into as many articles as they could.

Hey! I'm not mindless, my brother's the one living in the basement, I don't fawn over them, and I don't have fantasies!

Anyway, this seems like a way to get rid of the shameless perversion Japan has become infamous for. I don't live in Japan, so I don't know what's happening. I think we have some Japanese people on AF. Maybe they can tell us what's going on.

[Ray^Sama]

Whoa, calm down for a moment. First of all the bill isn't going to take effect until around July 2011. That's plenty of time to do something about it. And, really, all we know about this bill is that it divvies up manga for those more suitable towards children and those 18+. No need to start freaking out just yet.

I can't imagine how my world looks like without Anime and kawaii bishoujo!! World is cracking! END OF THE WORLD!!! Once this bill is implemented, more restriction on mangaka and kill their creativity! Mayb more of them will stop drawing Manga and produce Anime and turn to selling chicken rice!! I only see darkness in the Anime World... If Jap realli wan to ban those child porn den they shud go ban their AV and not Anime!!! Stoopid politician!

[Light Buster]

I never thought that this will get through. Regardless, let's enjoy what we got before the law takes effect.

[Token Black Guy]

My reaction to this:

[Ultor grissom]

If anime was more mainstream in North America I could imagine it turning into a political football here.
Guess we have the video game debate for that here.

[Desulishor]

We gotta do something here! How about we start gathering a list of real names on the internet. If we gather the real names of, let's say a 10 million (I imagine the real number of people buying anime is much larger, but realistically speaking it's impossible to get em all.) otakus around the world, and these people swear to use at least 200$ on anime and manga on a yearly basis (a huge understatement on some of us) We could instantly prove the japanese government that they're throwing away over 2 billion dollars of yearly revenue. And that would be just in exports. Judging from the visitors of comiket, there's over 5 million more otakus in japan who are even more crazy about spending money on anime. If all that money slips away from them, there's no way these guys will stay on the government for another season.

well, since it's a tokyo ban, and other cities seem to be against it, this might be nothing but a false alarm. Still, it's very depressing to see that laws like that can be passed. That level of censorship is nothing short of an Orwellian dictatorship or that fahrenheit novel where the government was burning the books of their citizens.