Elf-sensei no Toilet wa Doko desu ka Manga Has Controversial Marketing
We recently had the release of volume 1 of the manga Elf-sensei no Toilet wa Doko desu ka, which is a comedy manga with a rather strange theme that caught the attention of many Japanese people online due to its advertisement in a bookstore.
But before talking about the advertisement, what is Elf-sensei no Toilet wa Doko desu ka about? Well, the manga is about an elf woman from a fantasy world who starts working as a teacher at an all-boys school.
And at this school she encounters a big problem, because because she is an elf, she can only pee where there is nature, so she cannot urinate in a human toilet. So the manga shows the “creative” ways that the elf teacher finds to urinate at this all-boys school.
Elf-sensei no Toilet wa Doko desu ka Manga Has Controversial Marketing
The manga is written by Chizuna Nakajima and as I mentioned, its first volume came out recently in Japan. How do you promote the manga volume? Well, there are some mangas that find creative ways to promote themselves, but this one went way beyond that!
Well, the publisher decided to create this thing that you see in the video below, where the teacher is near a toilet but as soon as you pull the paper, her pee jumps all over you:
Forma que a editora encontrou para divulgar o vol 1 do mangá Elf-sensei no Toilet wa Doko desu ka.
É sobre uma professora elfa que ñ consegue fazer xixi em banheiros humanos, ela TEM que fazer na natureza. Então o mangá mostra ela encontrando formas de urinar. pic.twitter.com/yy4cw2aivH
— Você Sabia Anime / Hoss (@VoceSabiaAnime) July 29, 2024
It turns out that the above ad is in a regular bookstore, where anyone can see it. This video has caused a lot of noise on Japanese social media, with some people complaining that Japanese streets are full of vulgar ads like the one above. Below you can see some reactions:
“Haha”
“Didn’t they check this? How awful…”
“I stopped going to Ikebukuro because of this. It’s dirty, smelly, vulgar and undecent. Even though it’s not Akihabara, Ikebukuro station is also polluted with ecchi otaku culture.”
“I don’t understand what the problem is.”
“This is simply unacceptable. Being an open otaku is good, but if you lose your decency, you’re done for.”
“It’s like “the grass is greener on the other side.” In Germany, they openly sell adult magazines in stations, and in Spain, nude postcards are sold on the streets.”
“Ikebukuro has a lot of parents with children. This is really harmful to children. It has always been an underground neighborhood, but this situation… I want to protest to the Toshima administration.”
“It’s too vulgar. You can’t walk around Ikebukuro Station with children. I’m surprised there are people advocating this.”
“If you have grievances, become powerful and put an end to this culture. No skills and no money, but lots of grievances. The world revolves around money. Make these things disappear with money.”
“This kind of hobby is free, but depending on the content, it should be done in places out of the public eye.”
“This also happens, as well as internet searches and YouTube ads that show this kind of thing. It’s really hard to completely separate the world of children from all this. I wonder how to educate them when they grow up a little bit.”
“This shouldn’t be in public places… These game ads are also quite uncomfortable and appear on unrated game apps.”
“It’s very embarrassing for children and tourists. If it’s inside the station, it means the railway company is ignoring it… Even if it’s for the sake of advertising revenue, where are the ethics? Having it in places where children can see it just gives off the image of a ‘country that doesn’t care about children.'”
“The manga “Nigori” on the right is a legitimate publication of Shueisha’s Jump… As someone who follows the series, it’s hard to see it being interpreted that way.”
“I remember there was no uproar over the “Free” ad with half-naked men at Ikebukuro or Shinjuku Station.”
“If you don’t want to see it, just don’t look.”
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