There are plenty of big anime series out there these days, but it seems one Australian politician is ready to wage war against a few they feel depicts child exploitation. Recently, headlines went live overseas documenting the crusade of Stirling Griff, a South Australian senator. The politician is asking for the government to do a review of every anime and manga available in Australia for instances of child exploitation.
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As reported by Anime News Network, Griff shared his pitch with fellow senators on Wednesday at Parliament. It was there he told those in attendance manga series like Eromanga Sensei are filled with “wide-eyed children, usually in school uniforms, engaged in explicit sexual activities and poses, and often being sexually abused.”
As you might expect, the senator continued to use Eromanga Sensei as an example for his peers. Griff mentioned the anime and how it “heavily features incest themes” and more. In fact, he said the show features enough disturbing content that he “can’t” describe them.
Currently, shows like Eromanga Sensei are rated MA15+ in Australia which acts as a slightly more restrictive version of the TV-14 rating which U.S. audiences are used to. Griff is taking issue with the Australian Classification Board for rating anime like Eromanga Sensei apart from the country’s criminal law. Australia is firm with its policies on child exploitation as it is illegal to produce, possess, or distribute material of a minor that is pornographic or abusive. Griff appealed to his colleagues that any anime with such controversial themes need to be better reviewed and regulated. To do this, he has filed a motion asking for a ban on any anime or manga which shows child abuse, and Griff has contacted several high-ranking Ministers on the issue.
As for netizens, reactions have been mixed to the ordeal. In Japan, any content showing fictional depictions of child exploitation are mostly exempt from legal bans. The same cannot be said in Australia and even the U.S., and this legal issue has caused friction before. In the past, a committee at the UN heavy critique manga and anime which contained exploitative content, and it seems Australia is taking that warning to heart.
What do you make of this growing debate? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!
