Tezuka In English Discussion Forums

Why does everyone on here insist that the Japanese are more open about everything, and that Americans are prudes?

That is not true.

I'm scared to even ask what makes you believe that? That's a rather serious allegation, with nothing to back it up... and I'd imagine rather insulting to quite a number of people (japanese or not)! How would you feel if I said "many people are afraid of the USA because they sell guns to children"

Regardless, I'm no expert on anime or the japanese legal system, but I find that extremly hard to belive.

Unless, of course, you are talking about X-rated anime - which, as Lugt has already clearly pointed out, is NOT intended for children. The prevailing myth that animation (and not just anime) is for children simply cannot reconcile that fact. That misguided logic that "animation is for kids" and "there is x-rated animation", so "x-rated animation is for kids" is truly sad.

Having said all that, I caution all posters to tread very carefully over the topic of child porn. It is an extremely serious subject, not one to be treated lightly - and this thread will get locked/deleted in the blink of an eye if it goes one fingernail over board....

I have heard people say that Japanese people are "sick", because of that.

I know this is insulting to Japan. Keep in mind that I never said this, it was other people that said it.

There is indeed animated child porn in otaku places like Akihabara in Tokyo, in some marginal doujinshi stores. But Akihabara is not Japan, it's only a district. If you search, but it's a bad idea, you'll unfortunately find the same kind of dirty things in any giant urban perimeter. Some districts in New-York, like the Bowery, were known two decades ago as places where illegal market of this sort was moving. Today it has certainly migrated in other corners.

I was trying to focus metropolisforever's comments. By simply stating: "Many people are afraid of Japan, because they sell animated child porn." It makes it sound like this is freely available in every corner store.

I was trying to make sure there wasn't any confusion about the diference between "x-rated anime" and "child porn anime".

I am quite sure there are blackmarket illegal sales of all kinds of things in every country in the world. To paint Japan or the Japanese people as "sick" because such things exist in their country... well I'm sure none of us would be like to be labeled based on all the unfortunate things that go on in our own countries.

They told me that they saw animated child porn in regular stores in Japan.

It's more complex than "animated child porn".
"Animated child porn" is prohibited in Japan. It exists, but not in large stores, it's illegal activity practised in some rare little business in otaku's districts, often in doujinshi which are complicated to check. Make the distinction between panties and pornography, to begin.
There's a recent trend in anime and manga culture called "moe". This very discussed tendency is scrambling the lines and sometimes it's difficult to clearly distinguish moe, as an artistic style essentially focused on little girls esthetics, and "animated child erotism". A female mangaka has denounced moe a few months ago, claiming its possible dangerosity, but she had been vilified by otaku's community. There is ambiguity since the beautiful women of Leiji Matsumoto or Buichi Terasawa have partially disappeared in the market and female characters have become younger. But ambiguity is tolerated, see Lewis Carrol and his strange novels and pictures. Ambiguity is not yet "child", "porn", and "child porn", even if there are problems. If I remember correctly, the UNESCO organisation explained three years ago that there were numerous pedophile's website in Japan, more than in other countries, due to legislative holes. And if I remember correctly one more time, since that day japanese government has voted a law which allowed progress in this field. That's true there are specific problems in Japan, which takes time to be completely resolved, like everywhere, but you can't simply say "Japan sells animated child porn" as if it was a banality, something that you see everyday in the street when you're living in Japan.

"They" told you lies or infinite extrapolations.
If "They" are existing of course...

Rest assured Metropolisforever, you cannot buy child porn anime at general stores in Japan. If you could, you would have been able to name the titles by now. Though of course, truth is in the eyes of beholders so believe what I wrote or not is up to you.

As far as I know, child porn is certainly prohibited in Japan by the so-called child porn law, but as a legal term,

If child porn was outlawed in Japan in 1999, then why is there several anime and manga with child porn?

I think that child porn is disgusting, but if someone were to draw two child stick-figures together, they could actually be prosecuted. I think that's a bit silly.

What if an anime/manga were to depict a non-pornographic flashback scene of a character having sex for the first time?

Someone also told me that drawing 6 year-olds with their skirts all the way up is "sick".

When I looked up Japanese titles that were banned from Australia, I got lots of things that sounded like child and animal porn.

I would add that much of what can be bought in Akihabara (Tokyo)
can also be found in Nagoya, Osaka, at certain doujin conventions
all over the country, and of course online.

That said, seems like less a discussion about Tezuka, however
much we stretch the point,.

Can we take some of these questions to the offtopic area and
I'll jump in a bit more.

David

But what about Shota-con/loli-con? My friend has several things like "mimi to shippo" or whatever it's called as normal printed manga officially bought from amazon.jp. o.

Split and moved.