Indonesia to censor 'pornographic' Japanese cartoon

Good prioritizing, Indonesia. Never mind that 30% of prostitutes in your country are children, "Crayon Shinchan" is a more worthy adversary to the moral integrity of your nation.

I enjoy Shinchan and doesn't get bothered by his butt, it's just funny. It's actually my favorite comedy. Indonesia and rest of muslim world should.open their minds and come out from their caves once in a while.

Every country and culture has different moral standards. Respect them. They don't like butts on TV, its their right to want to cover it up, can't hate them for it.

Sorry folks to be difficult here. Crayon Shinchan plants the seeds of adult cynicism early in a child's mind, IMHO. I refused to let my children watch it on TV here in Japan. I can understand the concerns of the Indonesian authorities.

I feel that cartoons are the start to sexuality, young kids don't need that kind of images at that young age. Unfortunately my kids watch it because it's on right after Sazai-san.

@Speed Someone should make a Shincan video with the music from sir mixalot's Baby got back, that would really rile them up :P

Shin-chan's buttocks are pornographic? These Muslim regulators in Indonesia can't be this stupid...

My condolences to the Indonesian people.

Oh... I thought that was his face.

not only sinchan,tom and jerry and little krisna too......actually,the rule is just tool to protect local content and to force tv station to buy local cartoons.

The Indonesian "pornography" laws were pushed through by a coalition of muslim parties They represent Shariah in disguise, and it is only going to get worse from now. Those who point to Indonesia as an example of "moderate islam" will be surprised soon.

Let's pray that Urotsukidoji never makes it Malaysia!

Childish, annoying, and dumb? Yes.

Pornographic? No.

so... if Crayon Shinchan is pronographic.... that rules out... Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Beauty and the Beast,... let say most of the Disney animations.

Also we should censor, sponge bob, teletubbies, Dora the Explorer.... Popeye will be soft porn.....omg... Betty Boop and Looney toons are triple X porn then!!!

ProbieSEP. 26, 2014 - 11:31AM JST Childish, annoying, and dumb? Yes.

Disagree. The show is very witty, fun, and more mature (but not sexual) than any cartoons. There are a lot of psychological and behavioural manipulation to characters, which makes Shinchan a funny character for adult audiences.

Indonesia doesn't real@ize this. The show was never harmful.

" Pornographic? No. "

Shin-Chans mom is quite shapely, which is too much for the Shariah crowd. Remember, the original version of the "pornography law" also outlawed cosmetics and tight-fitting dresses for women. Look at Aceh province to see where Indonesia is heading.

Shin-Chan and mom in bath, NSFI (Not Safe for Indonesia):

http://z.mhcdn.net/store/manga/4105/01-005.0/compressed/upage_19.jpg

my sense was that they toned it down to try and repair the reputation that it had as being a bad influence for children

I am sure you are correct. I remember many years ago, when Shin-chan would drop his trousers and sing the 'elephant song'. For those not in the know, he was not singing about his buttocks and he was facing forward, not backward. Worse, there was a generation of kindergarten kids that would do the same thing at a moments notice in public copying the show they watched. So, it definitely has toned down and rightly so.

@Beer4me

I feel that cartoons are the start to sexuality

Uh, I'm thinking you need to find some different cartoons then.

He regularly shows full frontal nudity as well, I was quite shocked this was okay in Japan.

Full frontal nudity in a 5-year-old - and a cartoon character at that - is a problem in the mind of the beholder, not a problem with the cartoon. I can't say I like Shinchan, but banning it is going way overboard.

Having said that, when my kids were little I tried to encourage them to watch/do something else when Shinchan was on the telly. Not because it was pornographic, but because I thought it lacked class and there was better stuff out there I could be filling their tiny brains with. I haven't seen the programme recently, but if they've stopped doing the 'elephant dance' it sounds like it's better now than it used to be.

I don't think there's any parent on earth who hasn't had a conversation similar to the one between Shinchan and his mum in the bath - though I hope most folk don't just push the 'difficult' questions onto the other parent.

Daniel mate i don't get it where ares you coming from? Little mermaid porno Alladin porno where ,how?

Full frontal nudity in a 5-year-old - and a cartoon character at that - is a problem in the mind of the beholder, not a problem with the cartoon.

Perhaps, but in Shin-chan's case, he would draw a picture of an elephant down there, swing back and forth and sing the 'elephant song'. You can find stills of it on the internet for those who have not seen it.

As you wrote, for me, it was not a matter of pornography, but of bad taste and bad influence for children as was witnessed by the many children who woud imitate the cartoon in public.

To tell the truth, I used to get quite a kick out of the show, but I would not recommend it for young children.

Slumdog, If you're watching the show, I'm pretty sure you've seen captions saying "Yoi ko mane-shinaide ne "(don't imitate) . I think Shinchan's genitals are harmless.

Gogogo, It's like seeing genitals of a five years old. No malice if you're sane. And because he's five years old it's fine for him to do some naivety like playing elephant genitals. If you're reacting too much on seeing naked little kids(real or cartoon), there must be something wrong with you.

I'm pretty sure you've seen captions saying "Yoi ko mane-shinaide ne "(don't imitate) .

Yes, because as we all know, children would never imitate bad behaviour that they see on TV, right? Come on, there are some things children are better off not being taught to do. Pulling down their trousers and swinging their private parts in public should be one of them.

And because he's five years old it's fine for him to do some naivety like playing elephant genitals

On the show, he does this in public situations. I saw quite a few children imitating this in public when it was shown. Now, I believe the show is much tamer. I am sure there were a number of viewers that suggested they tone things down a bit. I met many parents that said they did not want their kids watching it because they imitated it. Naivity is fine. Having children learn bad habits that should not be demonstrated in public and that could even be dangerous in the wrong situations is a different story all together.

I do not know whether it is the mere nudity that is the problem in Indonesia. I personally have no problem with it in a cartoon if it is done in an appropriate manner for children. But, the old shows were over the top.

slumdog, I have to admit, the show and majority of shows on tv shouldn't be watched by very young audiences. While I don't promote the show to be imitated by children, grade schoolers and older viewers are fine! They have enough reasoning to tell what's humiliating to them. The issue of influence is not solely by the program itself, it's also under parents' discretion. But for adults, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with it! It's humorous too watch and definitely not pornographic which the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission claims.

eniumfields,

I absolutely agree with what you wrote.

Because Crayon Shinchan's naked butt is so seductive and sexy....

How is the fine line drawn between pornographic and somewhat pornographic?

FarmboySep. 26, 2014 - 11:11PM JST I wonder if Shinchan in all his glory could be aired during the daytime in the US? I don't have a sense of that anymore, but it used to be that gory murders were fine, but butt views were censored, a least a bit.

Exactly. They censored the bath scenes in many of Ghibli's videos (even though only body silhouettes are visible) in the US.

... but its okay to hate on Muslims in the current US mindset. The irony is staggering.

@Frungy How long have you been out of the US? DVDs/Blu-rays are completely uncensored here. Oh, and we don't think genitals will cause society to collapse.

By their definition of pornographic, pretty much all the female characters will have to be censored the whole body in black.

The Shinchan manga are excellent, particularly the early ones. They are funny, and despite the full use of furigana throughout, contain quite a lot of smutty jokes. However, a lot of the jokes would pass over a child's head. Good for learning Japanese, too.

They are written in a way that they can be enjoyed on different levels, but there is a lot in it for adults. I think some of the subtlety is lost on TV.

The issue of influence is not solely by the program itself, it's also under parents' discretion

The problem is kid usually stay with their maid after school. And the parents never watch shincan before so they don't know about that. The most problematic thing is if the female kid also do the same what shincan do.

I used to come at one my parents friend home and discover his little daughter put down her throuser and did what the shincan did after he told her that he got a guest so would play with her later.

The father blamed on all the maid and baby sisters after that yet they said she learned it from one of cartoon and they didn't know the title. I've told him that shincan always do that, he surprised and asked me "isn't Shincan that the 5 years old kid one?"

Note to self: Never visit the excruciatingly boring, humorless and prissy country of Indonesia.