Anime “Obscene” “Disrespects the Dead” “Boosts Smoking”

Broadcast busybodies have been at it again, with Japan’s toothlesss TV watchdog BPO receiving all manner of complaints about TV anime, ranging from “obscenity” to inappropriate behaviour at a fictional funeral.

Although the overall numbers of youth TV related complaints are down slightly (perhaps because everything raunchy has already been forced off the air), being reduced by 20 to 129,  the usual faintly ridiculous moralist complaints about the evils of anime are still well in evidence:

“There was a scene of a funderal in an anime, and my child found it so creepy that they are still shaking even now.

There were horribly indecent jokes, sexual depictions and insults toward the dead. I wouldn’t have thought this was a supper-time programme.

Even an adult like me was put out.”

“I’m surprised by the amount of murder you see on TV these days. It can’t be helped with news, but they are in almost every drama and may anime aimed at children. I feel a lack of creative effort and originality is responsible.

They are going to make children think murder is an every day occurrence.I think broadcasts in this timeslot should be trying to inspire their dreams.”

Sex gets a look in, as always:

“Recently many late night anime have become obscene. They say lascivious things, girls show off their pantsu, it’s all very disagreeable.

And the seiyuu in these series are often minors! However popular, it’s inappropriate for them to be voicing characters in these kinds of anime. Isn’t some kind of ban in order here?”

Gratuitous cruelty, in more ways than one:

“A recent late night anime had constant lurid scenes of bizarre murder and massacre. And at the end they reveiled everyone had tricked the protagonist and that you’d have to watch to movie to find out what happens. Such scenes of cruelty and farcical content are most disagreeable.

There were mosaics and so on, but no matter how late at night this programme is, I can’t accept it as being a normal programme for terrestrial TV.”

And of course, the evils of smoking;

“In a certain popular anime there are often scenes with the main character smoking. This series ispopular with both kids and adults, I think they should stop including content which could encourage middle and high schoolers to try smoking.”

Otaku waste no time in condemning all this:

“Could they just not watch the TV?”

“If you don’t lik it, don’t watch it! Especially late night anime.”

“What funeral? Negima’s?”

“Gintama?”

“What minor seiyuu? Who?”

“The smoking stuff is Working?”

“How many times do we have to tell them, those are trousers, not pantsu.”

“They are watching late night anime just to have something to complain about?”

“These people are warped, they want a world cleansed of every last speck off dirt.”

“Obviously it isn’t mainstream or else it would not be on late at night.”