Russian Court Bans Two Isekai Anime, Says They Promote Reincarnation Beliefs
Popular isekai anime KonoSuba and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, as well as several others, have been banned on certain sites in Russia recently. The Russian court decided that the isekai (meaning "otherworld") titles "promote reincarnation beliefs" and show that "after death, there can be a more full and interesting life, free from control of one's parents."
On Monday, the Russian district court in Saint Petersburg banned a total of five anime titles, citing the federal Russian law for the protection of children from harmful information. The list of banned series includes isekai anime KonoSuba and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, comedy horror anime Zombie Land Saga, comedy romance Nekopara and harem anime Princess Lover!.
In the announcement posted in the court's official Telegram channel, the court's press service wrote that the decision to ban KonoSuba was made after invited experts deemed that the series promotes reincarnation beliefs.
The court has ruled that, for example, KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! promotes reincarnation beliefs by showing that after death there can be a more full and interesting life, free from control of one's parents. The world after death is shown to be colorful, full of adventures and offering an opportunity to lead an indulgent life full of drinking, sexual relations and unlawful activities, while the real life is shown as joyless and filled with loneliness.
The court also mentioned that some of the material found in the banned titles was deemed to be pornographic, although the exact title or titles were not named.
As with the bans of Death Note and Tokyo Ghoul that took place in January, the ban only applies to a handful of hosting sites, including Animejapan.tv, Animego.org, Jut.su and Animeonline.cc, however, it is possible that Russia's censorship agency Roskomnadzor could interpret it as more encompassing.
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KoimanZX
To play the Devil's Advocate here, Russia's suicide rate is extremely high, so I assume that the government is trying to curtail it (albeit poorly); I highly doubt that a couple isekai shows have any tangible effect on suicide rates, not compared to the lacking living conditions that Russia has had since Gorbachev and Yeltsin. Of course, Putin has been cozying up to the Orthodox Church for quite some time, so that is more likely.
baldarek
>In the announcement posted in the court's official Telegram channel
The very service they similarly tried to ban some years ago
Hootanic
Isekai's should be banned because they're mostly derivative garbage (with a few notable exceptions), not because they challenge your theological worldview.
Spider3660
wow, you made an argument better than the fucking Russian government
Generic Nick
To be fair, single celled organisms could do that too.
Timey16
But isn't the idea of the Christian heaven pretty much the same?
"Things get better after you die (if you were a good Christian that is)"
LastAngryWrestleman
With the caveat that trying to speedrun is a banable offence.
Hakajin
Isn't there a general ban on religion in Russia, though? I don't think this has anything to do with defending Christianity.
baldarek
lmao what, why would you think that? I fucking wish. Orthodox Christianity plays a big part of state propaganda in Russia, and you may risk getting prosecuted for "offending religious believes" if you say something that religious nutjobs don't like.
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Omega MISSINGNO
what the fuck
Panuru
The "Think of the children!" argument would be that they promote suicide or disregard for one's safety by showing death as being super awesome fun sexy time.