Thread: Rurouni Kenshin Creator Nobuhiro Watsuki Charged With Child Pornography Possession

https://kotaku.com/rurouni-kenshin-c...820633519?IR=T

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/new...ession/.124308

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/new...charge/.124313

Not sure if this is the right board to discuss this but whatever. God damn was this a shock, that the author of one of my favourite series turns out to be a convicted pedophile. While it probably won't affect me being a fan of said series, I don't know if I can continue supporting official releases in good conscience.

What kind of "child pornography" are we talking about here? Don't get me wrong—neither is okay—but at least with hentai real people aren't being hurt. A lot of people are being convicted recently for possessing underage doujinshi, etc. I'm guessing this is the case with underage hentai DVDs. The problem with these articles is the vagueness.

Apparently it's the real thing. Japan is very laissez-faire about hentai in general, including loli stuff, but still just as serious about real CP as the rest of the world.

I thought they changed the anime/manga CP laws recently, but I may be wrong. If it is the real thing I understand your level of frustration. I never actually got round to checking out that show/manga. Sucks to hear this all the same. How much creative input did he have on the anime's production? You should take that into consideration. An anime is a collaboration of so much talent.

I heard about this, and it destroyed my day. What's even worse was that the series was set to return, but is obviously going to get the axe now.

Blarg. I don't know how to feel about this. On one hand, he has never personally victimized anyone (that we know of). The articles don't explicitly state that the DVDs themselves were pornography. They said they "contained nude footage of children". So part of me wants to just say "it's not that bad". Part of me wants to believe that the videos he had may be disgusting, but that the vagueness in the article leaves room to believe that it was some home video of a bath or something that ended up getting circulated, and that no kids were actually harmed.

But possessing that kind of material supports the industry that creates it, so even indirectly, his actions hurt kids. And ultimately, I have to recognize that these rationalizations and "what-ifs" are just not being able to accept the depressing reality. Ugh.

I'll probably still be able to enjoy the series. But it's certainly dead now.

This sucks, Kenshin is one of my favorite anime up there with Outlaw Star. Also he had just released a new ARC last spring that I really liked, not sure how far along it was though as I only read the first chapter. The live action movies from 3 years ago were amazing too...

Well, isn't this a turn of events.

Now, this is coming from someone who never got into the show and manga. I've seen only the first 4 episodes way, way back on DVD and it's a show I've been meaning to watch in it's entirety but I can't say that I'm a fan. Still, this is some sick shit that is indefensible. I want to know what is going through his head thinking this crap is OK.

I feel bad for folks who wanted to get into the series but changed their minds after hearing this. I'm a firm believer in separating the art from the artist, but in light of these events, I can't say that I blame them for no longer wanting to support his works.

Originally Posted by Mantis

I thought they changed the anime/manga CP laws recently, but I may be wrong. If it is the real thing I understand your level of frustration. I never actually got round to checking out that show/manga. Sucks to hear this all the same. How much creative input did he have on the anime's production? You should take that into consideration. An anime is a collaboration of so much talent.

He's the author of the manga. If he was just the director of the anime series or some producer I wouldn't have cared less (because honestly the animated adaptation barely stayed true to the source material to begin with) but him being the literal creator of the franchise makes it all the more disheartening.

Doesn't change my positive opinion of Rurouni Kenshin one bit. Sad to hear, though

Oi, just stumbled over this thread.

Sad times we live in dudes, sad times...