Nobuhiro Watsuki, creator of the hit manga Rurouni Kenshin, has been charged with possession of child pornography.
[Image: Hulu]
According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, investigators discovered several DVDs that showed nude under-15-year-old girls at Watsuki’s Tokyo office. Similar DVDs were also reportedly found at his house.
Yomiuri Shimbun adds that during another child pornography case, suspicions that Watsuki had purchased illicit DVDs featuring underage girls surfaced.
Watsuki is quoted as telling authorities, “I liked girls from the upper grades of elementary school to around the second year of junior high school.”
Debuting in 1994, Rurouni Kenshin has sold over 70 million copies and went on to spawn a hit anime and several live-action films.
Comments
7 responses to “Rurouni Kenshin Creator Charged With Possessing Child Pornography”
A real shame.
Feel very conflicted. Kenshin was one of the gateway series that got me into anime, but it’s pretty hard to see it the same way after this.
You can still enjoy the anime without having to support the author’s actions. In fact I couldn’t tell you the authors of the majority of entertainment I enjoy.
Unfortunately it’s really not that simple. Beyond the obvious (he funded that disgusting habit with money I paid him, albeit indirectly…) there’s the fact that this means the continuation of the story he just started is canned, and the rumors about a reboot of the anime will never happen. And I also feel quite conflicted that I’m more upset about that than the actual charges here.
When I pirated it back in school I knew that I would eventually be in the right!
Well, he’s only had 3 years since japan made possessing child porn illegal to get rid of it. /s
http://time.com/2892728/japan-finally-bans-child-pornography/
Pity the sick pervert will only spend a maximum of one year in jail with a $10k slap on the wrist.
So much of anime is sexualising children that I hardly find it surprising at all that some of the creators have a taste for that sort of thing.