by Russia is one of the most regulated countries in Japanese animation, and it is effortless to regulate works that deal with strangers and different worlds.
The biggest reason seems to be that attracting many people to the “invisible world” poses a significant threat to the Putin administration. Looking back on history so far, an influential person who does not recognize the “invisible world” will likely get stuck. Russia, which attracted the world’s attention due to the invasion of Ukraine, has been one of the most regulated countries for Japanese animation in recent years. In particular, works dealing with strangers and different worlds are more likely to be forbidden, but this seems a significant threat to the powerful Putin administration.
Background of “Death Note” regulation
Japanese manga and anime are widespread worldwide, and Russia is no exception. In November of last year, university students from Japan and Russia raised funds through crowdfunding under Corona and held a J-Anime Meeting online, playing a part in cultural exchange.
On the other hand, some works are regulated, and in January 2021, a Russian court banned the broadcasting and distribution of “DEATH NOTE” and the sale of books. The reason was that “violent depictions have a negative effect on the minds of young people and children.”
Russia is one of the most regulated countries in Japanese animation, and it is effortless to regulate works that deal with strangers and different worlds.
The biggest reason seems to be that attracting many people to the “invisible world” poses a significant threat to the Putin administration.
Looking back on history so far, an influential person who does not recognize the “invisible world” will likely get stuck.
Russia, which attracted the world’s attention due to the invasion of Ukraine, has been one of the most regulated countries for Japanese animation in recent years. In particular, works dealing with strangers and different worlds are more likely to be forbidden, but this seems a significant threat to the powerful Putin administration.
Background of “Death Note” regulation
Japanese manga and anime are widespread worldwide, and Russia is no exception. In November of last year, university students from Japan and Russia raised funds through crowdfunding under Corona and held a J-Anime Meeting online, playing a part in cultural exchange.
On the other hand, some works are regulated, and in January 2021, a Russian court banned the broadcasting and distribution of “DEATH NOTE” and the sale of books. The reason was that “violent depictions have a negative effect on the minds of young people and children.”
Focusing on Light Yagami, who got the note that the person whose name was written there will die, Ryuk, the god of death that he can only see, and L, the world’s best detective, follows the incident. “Death Note” is a question that asks, “Is it justice or murder to judge the one who is not good for the world and aim for the ideal world?” It also became.
However, in Russia, the death note fan girl committed suicide in 2013, and the world view and depiction of this work were linked, and there were strong voices from parents asking for a ban.
Also, in China and the United States, “Death Note making” was prevalent among junior high school students (the teacher’s name was often written), and the local police sometimes called attention. As a result, it is also banned in China.
Japanese animation regulations in Russia
However, Russia regulates much Japanese manga and anime other than “Death Note”, and it can be said that it is one of the best in the world in terms of the number.
For example, in the court ruling last year that banned “Death Note,” “Tokyo Ghoul,” and “Inuyashiki” were also banned at the same time. According to the prosecutor, “every episode consists of atrocities, murders and violence.”
Before that, in Russia, distribution and broadcasting of “Attack on Titan” (prohibited in China), “AKIRA” (prohibited only on terrestrial broadcasting), “Mortal Kombat”, etc. have already been regulated. It is also said that “NARUTO”, “Elfen Lied”, “Interspecies Reviewers”, etc. are under consideration.
In addition, according to Anime Corner, a news site organized by multinational anime fans, “Blessing this wonderful world!”, “Zombie Land Saga”, “That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime”, etc., are not prohibited. , The episode that the authorities have determined to be problematic has already been pinpointed.
Regulation of “regulation.”
Why are so many Japanese manga and anime regulated in Russia?
It may be sure that violent depictions and cruel scenes stand out in many regulated works.
Also, depending on the work, there is an element that the Russian Orthodox Church frowns upon. Characters with a demonic appearance and setting will be rejected by church officials who are not familiar with anime by themselves, including homosexuality and sexual depictions.
Furthermore, reincarnation and reincarnation depicted in “another world” is also a doctrine that Christianity has denied since its dawn (in that sense, Roman Catholicism and Protestantism are the same).
It is no wonder that the Putin administration (which may be different from China), which uses the Russian Orthodox Church as the basis of Russian nationalism, does not like this content. The more popular, the younger generation, the more so.
However, if it is “unfavourable for education”, it should be possible to specify R, but if it is skipped and banned, this will be “regulated”.
An influential person who hates the “invisible world.”
Why does the Russian government see these works as enemies?
The clue to think about this is that works in which a strange non-human person appears or a work set in a different world (or the world after the great destruction by a nuclear war etc.) that is far from everyday life stands out as a subject of regulation. Let’s go.
These works hypothesise that “the visible world is not the only world”.
By the way, Putin is not the only person in power who hates the “invisible world” and is hostile to it. Hitler, who can be said to be a typical “dictator”, admitted only classical and realistic art while having experience of aspiring to be a painter and suppressed modern art that was not suitable for this, but he was particularly hostile among them. He was a surrealist.
Surrealism, headed by André Breton’s 1924 “Melting Fish,” influenced Freud’s psychoanalysis and actively took up eerie motifs such as bloody birds and anxious subjects. It aimed to bring the inner world to the surface by focusing on dreams and unconsciousness that had been regarded as meaningless.
Surrealism, which is said to be the most significant art movement in the 20th century, has been based on the premise that “the visible world is not the only world”.
Hitler decided that modern art such as Surrealism was “degenerate” and wiped it out of museums all over Germany.
What are the “reality” rulers afraid of?
Why do “dictators” hate the “invisible world”? It is due to the “dictator” trying to rule inside the people.
Influential people called “dictators” generally suppress external opposition such as protests by force, what is good or bad, and what kind of world they should aim for, in the extreme, “what is the reality”. Try to control.
It can be said that it tries to unify the recognition of what is the reality of this world and what is the benefit to the country.
For example, Hitler made the people accept the “Jewish and Communist conspiracy” as “reality” and shared the persecution as “justice”. It was not only external control but also internal control.
By unifying the inside of the people, the premise that “the leader and the people are one” is completed, and it becomes the theory that they are not “dictators” at all.
That is why Hitler was hostile to Surrealism. The premise that “the visible world is not the only world” denies the legitimacy and authority of Hitler, the ruler of the “visible world,” and makes his “reality” empty. This is because it could be a thing or an open thing.
Putin and Hitler have in common.
Although it is often said that “look directly at the reality”, what is the reality is not uniform, and this is because recognition makes a difference even in the same event.
The “dictator” ignores this and tries to dye the people with their worldview. For these influential people, those who are obedient on the outside but think about something else on the inside can be said to be a significant threat.
Looking back on Russian animation regulations from this point of view, the Putin administration has tried to dye the people with the “reality” that “Crimea is Russian”, which is far from the perspective of many countries.
However, the situation where many people are attracted to the story of “Death Note” (regardless of what the creator intends to do) and other strangers who are moving and reincarnating in another world is such an “eye”. It has no interest in the “visible world,” but it also suggests that many people turn their backs on the “reality” that the influential people shout.
In that sense, dealing with strange people and different worlds undermines the Putin administration’s authority and legitimacy as the ruler of the “visible world.”
It can be said that it is a dangerous idea that can occur.
The Putin administration’s rejection of the “invisible world” will find the same tendency as Hitler, who avoided Surrealism.
Who is grotesque
Supplementally, there was a similar situation in Japan before and during the war.
From the Taisho era to the early Showa era, paintings, novels, and plays with aesthetic, fantastic, and bizarre themes gained widespread popularity and were called eroglo nonsense. It didn’t have as elaborate a theory as Surrealism, and although it was more popular, it was common in that it was still intensely attracted to the “invisible world.”
Ero Guro’s nonsense was criticized as “decay” due to the rise of militarism. It was cracked down along with communist proletarian literature (such as “Kani Kosen”), one of whom was Ranpo Edogawa (also the origin of Conan’s surname). ).
Ranpo is well known for his works for children, such as “Phantom Twenty Faces” and “Shonen Detectives”, announced from the middle to the latter half of his life as a writer. The perversion was noticeable.
The most striking thing was the “hornworm” (1929). This short story about a disabled veteran who lost his limbs in the war and his wife’s closed life was later banned for its unusual and grotesque depictions and stories, but on the other hand, it went to war. You can also read the criticism and pure love of.
The military at that time was beautifying the war and the sacrifices for it. It’s no wonder that Ranpo wanted to say, “Who is abnormal and grotesque?” To the ban by the military. It is suggestive that Ranpo’s favourite word was “a phantom in the day and a dream in the night.”
Of course, it is not that there are no regulations in Japan today, and whether or not all expressions should be allowed is another matter.
However, looking back on the path that Japan and Germany have taken, those in power who cannot admit that “the world that is visible is not the only world” are somewhat obsessive and plunge into the “reality” that they have drawn. Therefore, it can be said that it is easy to get stuck. If so, the regulation of Japanese animation in Russia symbolizes the fluctuation and the further strengthening of the Putin system.
