Note: The following article discusses sensitive topics below including sexual assault, slavery, domestic violence, and more. Read with caution.
There are plenty of anime out there with fun, lighthearted stories but not all shows can claim as such. Just as there is with film and television, soem stories are meant to be dark. Whether good or bad, these darker series are often marred by controversy, distracting anime fans from the source material with infamous momentsyou cannot see beyond.
Of course, anime series are used to fielding controversies on the screen, but that isn’t the only debate the industry sparks. In fact, some of anime’s worst controversies happen off-screen. Over the years, various creators ties to anime have been caught committing heinous crimes, making their art hard to appreciate. While some fans can separate art from the artist, controversies still come into play as supporting art also supports the artist whodid the unforgivable.
The first episode ofGoblin Slayeris one of anime’s most controversial premieres in modern times. The shows starts pleasantly enough, showing a group of adventurers setting out to take what should be an easy mission in a dungeon not too far away. While the first few moments are soft and idyllic, the following few are anything but. The inexperienced adventurers are quickly overwhelmed by a horde of goblins who torture the adventurers. One party member is brutally assaulted while the others are helpless to do anything about it.
The premiere garnered plenty of controversy due to how intense and horrific its story unfolded. While the Goblin Slayer shows up to save the day, he’s too late to help a few of the adventurers who have already been attacked. This first episode tries to portray the series asa dark, bleak experience,and it succeeded in doing so almost too well.
Redo of Healeris one of the mostwell-known controversial animethat made it mainstream. The show did not waste time as it opens with a brutal first episode that lets viewers know exactly what they’re in for. During the premiere, a character named Keyaru is sexually abused by almost everyone he comes across. He was brutalized and treated as sub-human for four years before he finds an out. It all changes when Keyaru uncovers the power to go back in time, setting himself on a path of revenge where he abuses everyone who abused him in increasingly sadistic ways.
Redo of Healerleans into controversial tropes like sexual assault, deception, and manipulation. It’s a seriescentered around vile actions,and as such, it sparked a huge amount of controversy across the Internet.
K-On!is one of thebest anime series about bands to date. The show follows a group of girls who really love playing music, and there are few moments where anyone would ever believe the anime was capable of sparking controversy. Unfortunately forK-On!,the show itself has little control over what happens once it is thrust onto the Internet. Fringe forums used social media to somehowassociateK-On!with racist memes.In the show itself, such commentary is nowhere to be found, but the Internet is going to do what it will.
In fact, some netizens even created memescomparing the anime’s stars to Nazis,and netizens still used characters fromK-On!as their profile pictures to make room for disturbing tirades. It’s a sadK-On!is now associated with such behavior, but if there is any solace in this, it is that the controversy has been contained to the Internet.
To callPokémonone of thegreatest franchises of all timewould be an understatement.Pokémonconsists of more than 1,000 anime episodes, dozens of video games, a trading card game loved around the world, and so much more. However, during its first days, the franchise was hit with a now-famous controversy. The anime episode"Dennō Senshi Porygon"became the most famous episode in all ofPokémonfor all the wrong reasons.
In the episode, Pikachu stops a wave of missiles and prompts a series of flashing red and blue lights to appear the screen. These flashing lights caused over 600 children in Japan to require hospitalization with seizure-like symptoms. In fact, some of the children being treated were left unconscious after watching the episode’s epileptic scene.
The widespread event became known as"PokémonShock",and given the incident, the anime episode was never aired anywhere ever again.Pokémonitself went into a four-month hiatus after the episode aired, leaving many tofear the anime would never come back.
Death Noteis often called one of thedarkest anime series of all time. It follows a high school boy named Light Yagami as he looks to “save the world” from violent criminals by killing them with his titular Death Note. By writing someone’s name in the journal, he can kill them with ease no matter where they are. The show is based ona pretty dark conceptthat swings to extremes as fans watched Light descend into madness.
Because of its dark nature and political themes,Death Noteisbanned in a number of countriesincluding Russia and China. There have been reports ofDeath Noteinfluencing the real world as children have been caught creating their own Death Notes while at school.
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnationis a complicated show. At its core, the anime is one of the topisekai seriesin history thanks to its incredible story, world building, and mysteries. However, the show’s success doesn’t mean doesn’t obscure itscontroversial elements.
Rudeus Greyrat, the anime’s main character, is reincarnated into the world ofMushoku Tensei.Before he was reborn, he was a 34-year-old NEET, and he retains all the memories from his past life. While Rudeus might be in his teens physically during the series, he’smentally closer to someone in their 50s.This age gap makes some fans question his relationships as the people Rudeus romances are actually in their teens.
Animated By Silver Link, Based on the Story By Sadanatsu Anda and Shiromizakana
Kokoro Connecthouses one of theweirdest controversiesin all of anime. While the show itself has garnered a huge fanbase, the events that happened during the anime’s promotion gained some unwanted infamy. It all began when popular voice actor Mitsuhiro Ichiki was reported to voice a role in the anime. During a promotional event forKokoro Connect, when Ichiki was meant to have their role announced, the show admitted Ichiki’s character wasn’t real and left the actor hanging.
To avert disaster, the anime staff offered Ichiki a job as the show’s publicity head. While the actor accepted the gig, his army of fans were furious about the incident. Ichiki was targeted bya childish level of bullyingbut the team behindKokoro Connectknew better. Enough said.
Animated By Feel, Based on the Manga By Kenya Suzuki
Please Tell Me! Gaiko-chanis an anime series that fieldeda lot of controversy off-screen.The show itself is a relatively normal ecchi anime with few surprises. However, the series' author marred the simple show with their personal life. Kenya Suzuki, the creator ofPlease Tell Me! Gaiko-chan, was convicted of possessing materials depicting child sexual abuse. Not only did Suzuki admit to owning such material but also to importing it from Russia a few years prior.
Kadokawa, the publisher behindPlease Tell Me! Gaiko-chan,suspended Suzuki after he wascaught with the illegal materials.While some controversies can come from a show’s triggering storylines, real-life incidents like this one linger because of the actual victims involved.
The controversy surroundingRurouni Kenshinishard to stomach.There is no denying the influence ofRurouni Kenshinin the anime industry, as its gorgeous action-inspired fans across the globe. However, the series' creator Nobuhiro Watsuki soured the story after he was found possessing child sexual abuse material. In November 2017, police later raided Watsuki’s home and studio as part of a larger investigation and found nearly 100 DVDs containing explicit images of young girls under the age of 15.
In his deposition, Watsuki admitted he “liked girls in higher grades of elementary school to those in their second year of junior high”. In America, the artist may have seen jail time between 10–20 years, but in Japan, he received a small fine of $1,900 USD andno jail time at all.While Rurouni Kenshin’s publication was pulled from global publishers like Viz Media for an extended time, Watsuki returned to work on the manga’s sequel at Shueisha some months after his trial ended.
