Russia: Anime Banned as Child Pornography

MOSCOW – Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Communications has banned the distribution of the Japanese “hentai” cartoons. Reason for banning are 13 episodes published on the Russian social network Vkontakte, Voice of Russia reported.

Hentai is a genre of the Japanese animation (anime) which as basic elements contain erotic or pornographic scenes. First complaint on the anime Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Communications received in April, but at the time there were no competent experts of the cartoon evaluation available.

As the result, outside experts made an expertise and rendered the verdict: hentai is a child pornography. Analyst assessed that these animated films “exploit interest to sex”, often “in perverted form”, as well as that there is no “storyline and any cultural or historical value”.

Also, according to experts “all characters are presented as minors who participate in pornographic scenes”.