Either because of its explicit violence or because it encourages gambling, these are just some of the reasons why it was decided to prevent these animated series of Japanese origin from being broadcast on television.
Indeed, many animes, some well known by millions of people, have been banned in some countries. Their explicit violence, encouragement to bet or a bad representation of a God are just some of the reasons why these anime have been decided to prevent their broadcast on television.
It is not surprising that many of them have been banned by China, a country that has also come to censor other anime that clash with its culture and religion, as is the recent case of the second season of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.
We leave you below with the list of the 16 animes that have been banned in various countries:
ElfenLied
ElfenLied
Banned in: China and Russia
ElfenLied It is considered one of the most gory anime of all time and, in turn, most acclaimed by fans. The story revolves around Lucy, a girl who escapes from a research facility after murdering several guards using what could be classified as supernatural powers.
Due to its extreme violence, nudity and gore scenes,ElfenLied was banned by Russia from some streaming websites. In 2015, anime had the same problem in China whose government banned it without any hesitation.
Record of Ragnarok
Banned in: India
Record of Ragnarok premiered on Netflix on June 17, 2021 and is mainly about a fierce struggle between humans and gods, where the former gain the power to continue living for another few years or be exterminated.
But anime was not banned in India because of its violence, but because of representation of Lord Shiva, one of the most important gods of Hinduism. Several religious organizations in India decided to echo this misrepresentation, until it was banned in India.
Mr Osomatsu
Banned in: Japan
Although its cute appearance may cast doubt on its being banned Mr Osomatsu In Japan, yes it was. Specifically the first episode that was removed from the Blu-Ray release due to its parody scenes.
The story revolves around identical sextuplets causing mischief wherever they go, each with a different personality. Japan has very strict laws on parody and it is not protected by copyright law, so they can remove certain series that break the rules and threaten the integrity of the country if they find it offensive.
Puni Puni Poem
Puni Puni Poem
Banned in: New Zealand
Puni Puni Poem is a spin-off series of Excel Saga and parodies other anime, manga, and various aspects of popular culture, but this time focusing on the Magical Girls. But what’s so bad about being banned in New Zealand?
Anime was banned in the country due to its excessive sexual content and violence. Besides, Puni Puni Poem It featured several sexual scenes involving very young characters. However, many anime fans have wondered why New Zealand banned this anime and left others unchecked. The simplest answer seems to be that he is not very popular in terms of his influence in society.
kiting
To Kite
Banned in: Norway
kiting It is an anime film that follows the story of Sawa, a deadly assassin hidden behind her apparent innocent appearance. She this one can use bullets to blow people up. However, violence is not what she has done that kiting be prohibited.
Due to Norwegian laws against child pornography, Kite was banned for hosting an extremely graphic scene of sexual assault on a minor, who in this case is the protagonist. While the United States has not banned any anime, most of the versions that can be found are censored.
High School DxD
Banned in: New Zealand
High School DxD is an anime series that follows the story of a rather perverted boy who dreams of becoming part of a harem, but is killed by his date and eventually revived as a demon to serve a demon and her family.
The series was banned in New Zealand due to its sexual content, as it has elements of traditional harem anime, but these are mostly carried out by minors. The country decided to ban anime as it is considered a sexual exploitation of young people.
Fate Kaleid/ Lines Prisma Illya
Banned in: Russia
Fate Kaleid/Lines Prisma Illya It is a spin-off from the alternate universe of Fate/Stay Night which follows the story of Rin Roosaka and Luviagelita Edelfet, two members of the Magicians Association who are on a mission to retrieve the seven Class Cards.
To succeed, they get the power of Ruby and Sapphire, which turns them into magical girls having increased their abilities. It was banned in Russia by the high sexual content with underage characters.
Hetalia: Axis Powers
Hetalia: Axix Powers
Banned in: South Korea
Hetalia: Axis Powers follows the story of several people who are personifications of various nations, thus realizing various comic and slightly political plots telling great historical events.
Being personifications of countries, the series throws a lot of stereotypes. But South Korea did not find grace anywhere. A specific complaint was filed against Hanbok, the traditional Korean dress, being drawn poorly along with his perverted behavior which was also offensive.
They also didn’t like that Korea praised Japan, as the two countries have never had a friendly history. Because of this, the studio removed all references to South Korea. Technically, Hetalia: Axis Powers It’s not banned in South Korea, but her character is.
muscleman
muscleman
Banned in: France
The story of muscleman it is quite simple and innocent as far as it goes, but its controversy revolves around the character Brocken Jr., the same one who is portrayed as a ‘good Nazi’, which made many people feel quite uncomfortable with such a statement.
He wears a Nazi uniform because his father was a German Nazi, but he did not adhere to any other beliefs related to this ideology. However, Brocken Jr. had all anime banned in France.
Excel Saga
Excel Saga
Banned in: Japan
Excel Saga It mainly follows the story of two young officers of the ACROSS organization who have the mission of executing the plan of the mysterious Il Palazo to conquer the city of Fukuoka. Although it looks like an anime to not be censored, Japan was banned from broadcasting the last episode, one of the most obscene and violent possible.
The director of the anime, Shinichi Watanabe, admitted that he wanted the episode to be banned on purpose, hence its title. ‘Go too far’. In volume 3 of the DVD, Watanabe mentions that “It felt pretty good to push the boundaries in a TV series.”
parasite
Banned in: China
As reported Anime News NetworkChina is the country that has banned the most anime, managing to ban 38 different anime in just 2015, including parasite. Although the exact reason for such a ban has not been mentioned, one of the likely reasons is the amount of gore and dismemberment in the anime.
The story revolves around Shinichi Izumi, a 17-year-old boy who lives in Yoki with his father. But his life changes drastically when strange creatures, similar to worms, appear on earth taking over people’s brains to genetically modify them.
Tokyo Ghoul
Banned in: China
Although Tokyo Ghoul Considered one of the best-selling manga of all time and one of the most popular anime series, it was banned in China by some people who believed it fostered a dangerous tendency for teenagers to sew themselves.
It was also banned because it showed several scenes of great violence and crimes against public morality. The Ghouls, whose method of survival is to feed on human flesh, are forbidden to feed on the Chinese.
Midori: The Camellia Girl
Banned worldwide
Midori: The Camellia Girl it has a pretty dark and depressing backstory which may help you understand why it was universally banned. The anime tells the story of a girl who became part of a freak show and was abused and humiliated every day until she meets an ally in the form of a mystical dwarf wizard.
It is considered as a ‘lost’ anime film at the dawn of audiovisual due to to its explicit graphic content. Many people destroyed everything that had to do with the film when it was released. Years later, it was republished and is now easier to find, like on Youtube.
Shingeki no Kyojin
Banned in: China
Neither Shingeki no Kyojin can escape the clutches of China’s ban. It is not surprising either considering that the anime houses several titans eating several humans in a quite violent way.
The whole series was banned in China but not only because of its violence, they also didn’t like how it represented authority as sometimes Attack on Titan did striking parallels between Japan and China relations.
Pokemon
Pokemon
Banned in: Saudi Arabia
Exact. How did you read? Pokemonthis endearing anime featuring a never-aging Ash and his many worlds and new creatures over the years, has been banned in Saudi Arabia for encouraging gambling.
The ban was created by the General Secretariat of the Council of Religious Academic Majors in which they stated that they encouraged gambling and belief in evolution. Yes. If Pikachu evolved into Raichu, it encouraged evolution. That’s how it is. He also, according to Saudi Arabia, promotes the Japanese Shinto religion and Christianity. For this reason, anime and games are banned in the country.
death note
Banned in: China
Taking into account that China has banned several animes in your country, death note It is positioned as one of the most popular examples worldwide. Its dark premise revolves around themes of justice, murder, and death.
The franchise has inspired real-life incidentsLike kids making their own Death Notes where they write the names of people they don’t like and wish were dead. Some schools around the world have also tried to ban manga, as is the case in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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