The Broadcasting Ethics and Program Improvement Organization (BPO), known for publishing viewers’ complaints about the content shown on Japanese television, has been met with criticism of a different kind this time. In the May summary, the BPO included a comment under the “Drama/Anime” section that drew attention. At least one viewer submitted a complaint last month about a toxic subgroup of a particular anime’s fandom.
The complaint concerned an anime episode in which a female character, who was participating in a real-life dating show, is bullied and contemplates suicide.. The depiction in the anime evokes an incident that occurred in real life, and relatives of the woman who committed suicide expressed their discomfort online. Additionally, they have been receiving excessive harassment from a subgroup of fans of the show. The complainant questioned the responsibility of the production company and the TV channel in relation to these individual attacks, suggesting that there should be some kind of announcement to address this situation.
The comment in question refers to the controversy surrounding the sixth episode of the anime Oshi no Ko. The mother of the professional wrestler Hana Kimurawho committed suicide in May 2020 after being relentlessly harassed on social media due to her participation in the Japanese reality show “Terrace House“He criticized the anime for taking advantage of the details of his daughter’s death. The mother claimed that the words the anime character was exposed to were exactly the same as what Hana had faced in reality. In addition, he noted that they had spoken publicly about these issues in interviews and other media, so he could not overlook the fact that Hana’s death was being used as gratuitous material in the anime.
In last week’s recap episode of Oshi no Kosome cast members made comments about the events of episode six. However, no mention was made of Hana Kimura or the real-life reaction surrounding the performance. The voice actress of Ruby Hoshino, Yurie Igomamade a general comment, mentioning that he was able to observe the interpretation of the female character and reflect on the emotional blows that human beings experience. It was significant for her at this time in her life to be able to learn about that aspect of the world.
As for the author of the manga Oshi no Ko, aka akasaka, has not issued any specific statement on the controversy. However, prior to the episode’s premiere, she mentioned in an interview that the Hana Kimura incident was one of the inspirations behind her portrayal of Japanese show business in the series. Aka Akasaka pointed out that artists can no longer ignore the Internet and the popularity of platforms like YouTube.
In addition, he mentioned that movies are now watched with subtitles and stage plays are increasingly based on anime and manga. In this context, he mentioned the suicide case related to a reality show as one of the contemporary events that influenced his concept and his approach to the world of entertainment in Japan.
