Jody Serrano
Editor in chiefEditor in Chief at Xataka On. Before joining Webedia, I was a tech reporter at Gizmodo and The Messenger. While I've covered all sorts of things related to technology, I'm specialized in writing about social media, Internet culture, Twitch, and streamers.
There’s no doubt that anime in the U.S. is more popular than ever. Just a few weeks ago, One Piece’s famous Monkey D. Luffy and his crew took the stage at a Los Angeles Lakers game for a special collaboration. And last year, the Texas Rangers delighted fans with a My Hero Academia theme night.
However, over in Texas, just because something’s popular doesn’t mean it’s off limits. In fact, if a new bill becomes law, watching certain anime in the state could even be illegal.
Senate Bill 20. Last week, the Texas Senate unanimously passed SB 20, a bill that aims to stop the proliferation of AI-generated child porn. The bill would make it a felony to own and view “obscene visual material” that depicts children under 18 years old.
Notably, the bill covers all content depicting children in obscene situations, “regardless of whether the depiction is an image of an actual child, a cartoon or animation, or an image created using an artificial intelligence application or other computer software.”
Given that many anime shows feature stories with teen protagonists, SB 20 immediately raised eyebrows among anime fans, as well as a lot of confusion.
Defining obscenity. Overall, many have left with one question: What would you consider obscene? And relatedly, is it obscene if the scene has nothing to do with main story?
While there are some clear red lines that aren’t crossed in most anime—hentai content is a different story—Texas’ definition of obscene also leaves some content open to interpretation. As noted by ScreenRant, would the pervy Master Roshi’s interactions with Bulma in Dragon Ball be considered obscene? Personally, as a woman, I think they’re cringe and kind of gross, but as a fan I know that those scenes have nothing to do with the overall story.
A scene from season one of Ranma 1/2.
Furthermore, what about Netflix’s recent reboot of the famed Ranma ½? That anime is full of boob shots and partially naked bodies, as you can see from the image above, because the main characters are cursed to turn into different things when they come into contact with water. However, the majority of these scenes are for comic effect, and it is far from a sexual show.
The AI-generated child porn problem. To be fair, the intentions of SB 20 appear to be in the right place. AI-generated child porn has become a major problem in recent years, driven in part by the advancement of technology. Throughout the country, adults are creating AI-generated porn with images of real and fake kids.
In the case of real kids, even if the content isn't real, it can create a profound impact on those whose images were used, experts told PBS.
“I felt like a part of me had been taken away. Even though I was not physically violated,” the 17-year-old actress Kaylin Hayman, who appeared on Disney’s Just Roll With It show, said.
Hayman advocated for a 2024 California bill that made it illegal to possess AI-generated child porn. Before the law changed, only possessing images of real children was illegal.
Going forward. Although SB 20 has already been passed by the Texas Senate, it’s not the law of the Lone Star state yet because it needs to get the green light from the state’s House of Representatives.
Overall, the fact that SB 20 could target anime is concerning, especially when popular manga series have already been taken off the shelves in schools by bans in other states. Furthermore, it leads to a bigger question: Just what type of content is considered acceptable by today's standards?
For example, HBO's Euphoria and Netflix's Elite include a lot of scenes with nudity and sexual content. They both feature actors who are meant to be playing high school teenagers. Will those shows be on the chopping block next?
In the end, it's a question of nuance. There's no doubt that child porn and AI-generated child porn is horrible and should be banned. However, just because a TV show, anime, book, or piece of art features nudity or situations where sex is alluded to or depicted doesn't mean it's child porn. And seeing the entire panorama as either black or white means you miss out on the bigger picture.
Images | Ufotable | Netflix
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