Anime Pornography News

Downloaded pictures of the animated likenesses of characters from The Simpsons television show engaged in sexually explicit acts does not constitute child pornography, an Ottawa judge has ruled, acquitting a man of possessing the graphic images.

Ontario Court Justice Robert Fournier ruled a pair of sex pictures of Bart and Lisa Simpson and Bart's friend Milhouse found in the recycle bin of Richard Osborn's computer can't constitute child pornography because an objective observer would find it difficult, if not impossible to assign ages to the characters from the popular show by looking at the picture.

My perspective is that the characters depicted could just as easily be perceived as teenagers or young adults, said Fournier.

However Fournier did find Osborn guilty of possessing child pornography for a separate collage that included pictures of naked children, adult pornography and bestiality.

A man who led the Paedophile Information Exchange, admitted charges relating to 3,000 drawings found at his south London home.

The drawings found at the man's home, where the group met, were described at the Old Bailey as vile and disgusting . Police found he had been drawing images of children being raped. The harrowing drawings were said to be amongst the worst seen by police.

The trial was the first under the 2009 Coroners and Justice Act which includes sketches among indecent images.

Police also found about 14,500 pictures and films on computer disks at the home of the man and two of the other defendants. Tens of thousands of images were stored on encrypted hard-drives, officers believe.

The man pleaded guilty to 10 specimen charges of possessing incident images, three charges of distributing the material and one count of failing to disclose the password for an encrypted computer. He was given an indeterminate term for public protection with a minimum term of 30 months.

The other defendants were given prison sentences from 12 to 24 months.

Comment: In the shadow of more serious offences

From Angelus

So, the first prosecution under the "Dangerous Cartoons Act" was successful. And as usual in these matters, the police and the CPS have started with the low-hanging fruit. Given the gravity of the other offences these people were charged with, there is no doubt that no questions were raised about the legality of the Coroner's and Justice Act's provisions to criminalise the possession of drawings with respect to universally accepted and understood principles of freedom of conscience.

A drawing is a record of a thought, an idea, and the freedom to think and to communicate ideas is essential in a free society. It does not and should not matter that the thought itself may be repugnant to the vast majority of people - what matters should be the right of people to think what they choose and to communicate those thoughts. If those thoughts then lead to actions then full weight of the law should rightly descend upon them, but the transmission of ideas, even repugnant ones, should and must remain a fundamental right.

A video game containing violence and partial nudity has had its PG rating upgraded to an M classification by chief censor Andrew Jack.

Nintendo's 3DS game Dead or Alive: Dimensions bypassed New Zealand classification as it had already been classified PG overseas.

Dr Jack called the game in for re-classification last month after the Waikato Times alerted his office to its content. He subsequently issued an instruction that copies must carry an M label and a note indicating it contains violence and nudity.

The game temporarily banned in Australia before receiving a higher rating can be switched to figure mode , which allows players to dress or undress female characters and photograph them from any angle, including up their skirt.

The Office of Film and Literature Classification found a small number of partial glimpses of cleavage, buttocks, thighs or underpants but they were not in significant detail to warrant a rating above M. It concluded the game was designed for a mature audience at least 16 years old. An M rating, however, does not restrict its sale to minors as it is only an advisory.

According to several sources, Nintendo of Europe will not be distributing Dead or Alive Dimensions in Sweden and possibly Norway and Denmark.

The rumour has is that the distributor is afraid the game may break a typically ludicrous Swedish child pornography law.

There is a mode in the game that allows players to take pictures of the characters in canned poses. According to a post on NeoGAF, the law says that if someone is picturing a girl under the age of eighteen, fictional or not, in a pornographic situation, that accounts for being child pornography.

Of course, none of the poses are pornographic, there's no sex, and aside from one character who, according to the ESRB, is briefly depicted topless, there's no nudity. But Kasumi's bio says she's 17 and the youngest character in the game is 16 and Swedish Kotaku reader Doneaux points out that the age of consent in his country is 15.

Update: PG in Australia

1st June 2011. See  article from  gamepolitics.com

The Nintendo 3DS tactical fighter Dead or Alive: Dimensions has been banned in some ludicrously PC countries because it features sexualized depictions of children. The children are three teen characters named Ayane, Koroke and Kasumi who game makers describe as under 18 years of age.

Scandinavian laws say it is illegal to show young girls as animated characters in a sexualized way. The concern is mostly with the game's photography mode, which allows players to look up characters' dresses when they are in certain poses.

Controversy about the game in other parts of the world has not affected the game's rating in Australia: the country's rating Classification Board has given the game a rating of PG.

Update: Maybe Not PG in Australia

2nd June 2011. See  article from  couriermail.com.au

A Nintendo game that allows players to look up the skirts of teenage characters is likely to lose its PG rating.

A spokesman for the Australian Classification Board told The Courier-Mail the authority had given Nintendo seven days to prove why Dead or Alive: Dimensions shouldn't have its rating revoked after media reports exposed the raunchy aspects of the game.

After concerns were raised in the media, the Classification Board requested preliminary information from (Nintendo) about whether the content described in media reports was contained in the Australian version of the game, said a spokesman for the Classification Board.

Update: PG Revoked

Perhaps Australian toy retailers should be worried that teenage dress-up dolls may be banned for the same reason.

10th June 2011. See  article from  news.smh.com.au

A video game that has been ludicrously accused of child pornography is to be pulled from the shelves after having its classification revoked.

The Australian Classification Board originally gave the Nintendo 3DS fighting game Dead Or Alive: Dimensions a child-friendly PG rating.

But the board was forced to reconsider the rating after media reports brought some supposedly risque content to its attention - namely the ability to look up the skirts of scantily clad teenage characters.

The board asked Nintendo to advise it why the classification should not be revoked but apparently was not satisfied with the response. The game is now officially unclassified, meaning it cannot be sold in Australia unless Nintendo resubmits it for a new classification.

Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor welcomed the decision: The material in this game is clearly not appropriate to be played by children. I am pleased the Classification Board took swift action to address community concerns.

Update: The New Zealand Dimension

13th June 2011. See  article from  stuff.co.nz

Meanwhile, the game remains on sale in New Zealand but chief censor Dr Andrew Jack has called the game in for classification.

Update: Uprated to M in Australia

22nd June 2011. See  article from  computerandvideogames.com

Dead or Alive Dimensions has been now been reclassified from PG to M in Australia.

M is an advisory rating that the game contains material is not recommended for persons under 15 years of age. (note that it is one step below an MA15+ which requires age verification for purchase).

The game is now described as containing violence and sexualised gameplay on its classification sticker, and will hopefully return to Australian retail shelves within days.