In a wave of recent book bans across the United States, yet another series joins the ranks of Assassination Classroom and Sasaki and Miyano on a list of banned manga in the United States. The Richmond Reviewer newspaper, per Anime News Network, recently published a story on Thursday, November 21st that the Richmond Country School District in North Carolina had removed all copies of Unico: Awakening following a complaint filed by the parent of a first-grade child at one of the schools in the district. The series is an adaptation of Osamu Tezuka’s original work, featuring the collaborative work of Samuel Sattin and Gurihiru.
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The mother who filed the initial complaint, Nikki Fletcher, says that she was shocked by the content featured in the series and that it depicted gun violence and animal abuse. The district’s executive Director of Communications, Cameron Whitley, said that they had pulled all copies of the book for the time being so that the school board can conduct a thorough review of the manga’s contents. The series is rated as being appropriate for children ages 8-12, or for grades 3-7.
[RELATED: Controversial Manga Banned in Schools Over Violent Content]
Unico Awakening Is Far From the First Manga to Get Hit With School-wide Bans
Despite being published and marketed towards a younger audience, Unico Awakening has officially been lumped in with other recently banned manga in the US. Published by Scholastic, Unico is described as “… The story of a fierce young unicorn who angers the goddess Venus with his ability to inspire positivity and hope. Driven by jealousy, she vows to destroy him, ordering her servant, the West Wind, to abandon Unico on the Hill of Forgetfulness. Instead, the West Wind takes pity on Unico, and to protect him, brings him from era to era, constantly on the move, always forgetting where he’s been before. As he works to unravel the mystery of who he is and where he comes from, he is hunted by gods and monsters, and will need to unlock his full powers to save the world. Unico is joined by a cast of characters, some of whom – like Chloe the watchcat or the mysterious Sphinx –are brave and kind, while others – like the all-powerful Venus and her servant the Night Wind–are bent on destruction.”
Assassination Classroom has had quite the unlucky streak with U.S. school districts, being banned in Horry County Schools in South Carolina and Gifford Middle School in eastern Florida both removing the series from their libraries. The series was removed for a third time by the Elmbrook School District in Wisconsin, banning the book from their electronic library system.
In addition to the shonen classic, a popular boys’ love series, Sasaki and Miyano, was banned by the Brevard Public School Board in Florida after a parent submitted a complaint stating that “sexual orientation should not be encouraged, suggested, or implanted” in fictional media.
Banning books in school libraries is dicey no matter the circumstances, and with the recent wave of manga bans in the U.S., it’s uncertain what the future will look like for the medium in schools.
