Anime Cancelled Following Axe Murder

Date: 2007 September 24 19:27

Posted by Jeremy

Two anime series get cancelled after a girl kills her father with an axe!

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As it turns out, Japan's no different when it comes to pulling certain series from the TV airways following violent crimes. Two Japanese broadcasting companies have each cancelled an anime series they were airing due to the violent content they contained. The reason for this was a recent incident in Kyoto, where a 16-year-old girl murdered her father, an officer with the Kyoto Prefectural Police, with an axe.

Television Kanagawa cut the final episode of School Days, about a love triangle between three high school students, after hearing about the murder. The series is based on a computer love simulation game, which contains about 20 different endings. The final episode of the anime, which shows a schoolgirl acting violently, is no doubt based on the ending in the game where a girl is slashing a victim with a knife. Though the violence of the scene had been toned down by making the blood black instead of red, TV Kanagawa decided to cancel the episode after learning about the killing.

In addition, the Tokai Television Broadcasting C. (Tokai TV) completely cancelled the series Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai. Also based on a computer video game (this one a visual novel), the series is set in a village where a series of mysterious murders take place. Viewers pointed out that the series contained violent scenes, one of which featuring a girl swinging an axe. Upon learning this, Tokai TV decided to cancel the program.

So far, no relation has been made between the crime and the two anime. The suspect, whose name has been withheld under Japan's Juvenile Law, has confessed to her crime to investigators, though her stated reasons for a motive (she reportedly claimed that she hated her father and was troubled over his relationships with women) are still being examined. Tokai TV is still considering whether or not to broadcast Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai in the future, and communication satellite broadcaster AT-X, which airs anime restricted to viewers aged 15 or over, is debating whether or not to screen the final episode of School Days. No doubt these decisions, along with the crime itself, will determine whether or not either series will be picked up for release and distribution in North America (especially the United States, who're particularly anal about that sort of thing lately) and Europe.