Are Feminist Groups Trying to Ban Ecchi Anime?

Recently, an article from a certain website went viral on social media with the headline: “Feminist Groups Call for Ecchi Ban: ‘This Isn’t Art, It’s Just Soft Porn’.” With a title like that, many people were outraged — “What do you mean, get rid of ecchi?” — and the topic even reached Japan!

Are Feminist Groups Trying to Ban Ecchi Anime?

A tweet from a Japanese user went viral in forums with many other otakus commenting on it. But what exactly does this article say?

The article claims the following:

International feminist groups have launched a campaign called “No More Fanservice,” calling for the removal of ecchi anime from platforms like Netflix and Crunchyroll. They argue that such content sexualizes women, has no artistic value, and is accessible to minors.

Anime titles such as Prison School and High School DxD were cited as examples. In response, fans accused the campaign of imposing Western values on Japanese culture and defended ecchi as a form of artistic and comedic expression. So far, there’s been no official response from the platforms, but the debate remains heated and could impact the future of ecchi anime outside Japan.

As mentioned, the article went so viral that it reached Japan, with this Japanese user commenting: “Women’s rights groups from around the world have sent a statement to platforms like Netflix requesting the removal of certain Japanese anime.”

This sparked reactions from other Japanese users, who responded to the supposed movement to ban anime with comments like:

• “Takamine-san is hopeless, as always.”

• “Even doing this, no one’s going to look at these ladies.”

• “Well, I think age restrictions are valid. They should also apply regional restrictions. Adapting everything to please outsiders is just stupid.”

• “What’s wrong with kids watching it?”

• “Well, I think setting age restrictions for erotic anime is necessary.”

• “Showing underwear in anime doesn’t do anything. Feminists should focus on real human rights violations.”

• “This anime isn’t even on Netflix, right?”

• “In My Little Pony, they’re always naked or in panties.”

• “These current anime made just for lust have no value.”

• “It’s the right thing to do. This stuff is disgusting.”

• “I want to see filthy otakus losing it, so I hope this goes through.”

• “And yet they’re okay with Mortal Kombat and violent games… makes no sense.”

• “This is just one country making boring dramas trying to end anime.”

• “Since they started focusing too much on hentai, the quality dropped drastically. Soon it’ll vanish from the global market.”

• “The point isn’t even that feminists are complaining about anime. It’s that anyone who criticizes anime is now labeled a feminist — it’s just twisted logic.”

The Site Provides No Sources

Now here’s the main issue: the website in question doesn’t provide any sources for its claims! They don’t mention which feminist groups are involved. When you read the article, you’ll see the site includes two links — one to the BBC and one to The Japan Times, both reputable news outlets.

The shady website quotes two supposed statements. One is allegedly from someone involved in the campaign who told the BBC: “You wouldn’t allow this in a live-action, would you?” But clicking the BBC link just redirects you to the homepage!

The second quote is supposedly from a “source” who told The Japan Times that “discussions are ongoing behind the scenes.” And once again, clicking the link just takes you to their main site.

Searching through both the BBC and Japan Times websites turned up nothing about any “ecchi anime ban.” While digging further into the website in question, I came across a tweet from January 2024 where Blondie commented about their experience discovering this very site.

The screenshots Blondie posted show an article from the site claiming that Black Rock Shooter: Dawn Fall is “a sequel to the original anime, continuing where it left off,” and that the main character’s name is “Mato Kurotsuki.”

However, Black Rock Shooter: Dawn Fall is not a sequel to any anime. It’s a standalone title in the Black Rock Shooter franchise. And “Mato Kurotsuki” seems to be a confused version of Mato Kuroi, the protagonist from the original anime.

Normally, you wouldn’t have a problem with sites like Otakukart, which invent most of their articles, if they were transparent about it. A few months ago, I even published a post explaining how the “Light Novel With a 196-Page Title” was a joke from the site Anime Maru, but AnmoSugoi took it seriously and made a legitimate post about it.

Anime Maru was a site that published fake anime news with the purpose of being funny, and their website clearly stated that everything was fake — unlike Otakukart, where I found no such disclaimer (if there is one, I couldn’t find it).

Anime Maru used to post stuff like the screenshot above: “Otaku devastated to learn his favorite anime came from an eroge.” So that’s it. For now, we don’t have any actual feminist group trying to ban ecchi anime — at least, not at the moment.