10 Infamous Anime You'll Know Best For the Controversies They Sparked

Note: The following article discusses sensitive topics below including sexual assault, slavery, domestic violence, and more. Read with caution.

There are plenty of anime out there with fun, lighthearted stories but not all shows can claim as such. Just as there is with film and television, soem stories are meant to be dark. Whether good or bad, these darker series are often marred by controversy, distracting anime fans from the source material with infamous moments you cannot see beyond.

Of course, anime series are used to fielding controversies on the screen, but that isn't the only debate the industry sparks. In fact, some of anime's worst controversies happen off-screen. Over the years, various creators ties to anime have been caught committing heinous crimes, making their art hard to appreciate. While some fans can separate art from the artist, controversies still come into play as supporting art also supports the artist who did the unforgivable.

9 Goblin Slayer

Animated By White Fox, Based on Story by Kumo Kagyu and Noboru Kannatsuki

The first episode of Goblin Slayer is one of anime's most controversial premieres in modern times. The shows starts pleasantly enough, showing a group of adventurers setting out to take what should be an easy mission in a dungeon not too far away. While the first few moments are soft and idyllic, the following few are anything but. The inexperienced adventurers are quickly overwhelmed by a horde of goblins who torture the adventurers. One party member is brutally assaulted while the others are helpless to do anything about it.

The premiere garnered plenty of controversy due to how intense and horrific its story unfolded. While the Goblin Slayer shows up to save the day, he's too late to help a few of the adventurers who have already been attacked. This first episode tries to portray the series as a dark, bleak experience, and it succeeded in doing so almost too well.

8 Redo of Healer

Animated By TNK, Based on the Story By Rui Tsukiyo and Shiokonbu

Redo of Healer is one of the most well-known controversial anime that made it mainstream. The show did not waste time as it opens with a brutal first episode that lets viewers know exactly what they're in for. During the premiere, a character named Keyaru is sexually abused by almost everyone he comes across. He was brutalized and treated as sub-human for four years before he finds an out. It all changes when Keyaru uncovers the power to go back in time, setting himself on a path of revenge where he abuses everyone who abused him in increasingly sadistic ways.

Redo of Healer leans into controversial tropes like sexual assault, deception, and manipulation. It's a series centered around vile actions, and as such, it sparked a huge amount of controversy across the Internet.

7 K-On!

Animated By Kyoto Animation, Based on the Manga By Kakifly

K-On! is one of the best anime series about bands to date. The show follows a group of girls who really love playing music, and there are few moments where anyone would ever believe the anime was capable of sparking controversy. Unfortunately for K-On!, the show itself has little control over what happens once it is thrust onto the Internet. Fringe forums used social media to somehow associate K-On! with racist memes. In the show itself, such commentary is nowhere to be found, but the Internet is going to do what it will.

In fact, some netizens even created memes comparing the anime's stars to Nazis, and netizens still used characters from K-On! as their profile pictures to make room for disturbing tirades. It's a sad K-On! is now associated with such behavior, but if there is any solace in this, it is that the controversy has been contained to the Internet.

6 Pokémon

Original Anime Series Created By Satoshi Tajiri and Animated By OLM

To call Pokémon one of the greatest franchises of all time would be an understatement. Pokémon consists of more than 1,000 anime episodes, dozens of video games, a trading card game loved around the world, and so much more. However, during its first days, the franchise was hit with a now-famous controversy. The anime episode "Dennō Senshi Porygon" became the most famous episode in all of Pokémon for all the wrong reasons.

In the episode, Pikachu stops a wave of missiles and prompts a series of flashing red and blue lights to appear the screen. These flashing lights caused over 600 children in Japan to require hospitalization with seizure-like symptoms. In fact, some of the children being treated were left unconscious after watching the episode's epileptic scene.

The widespread event became known as "Pokémon Shock", and given the incident, the anime episode was never aired anywhere ever again. Pokémon itself went into a four-month hiatus after the episode aired, leaving many tofear the anime would never come back.

5 Death Note

Animated By Madhouse, Based on the Manga By Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Death Note is often called one of the darkest anime series of all time. It follows a high school boy named Light Yagami as he looks to "save the world" from violent criminals by killing them with his titular Death Note. By writing someone's name in the journal, he can kill them with ease no matter where they are. The show is based on a pretty dark concept that swings to extremes as fans watched Light descend into madness.

Because of its dark nature and political themes, Death Note is banned in a number of countries including Russia and China. There have been reports of Death Note influencing the real world as children have been caught creating their own Death Notes while at school.

4 Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation

Animated By Studio Bind, Based on the Story By Rifujin na Magonote & Shirotaka

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation is a complicated show. At its core, the anime is one of the top isekai series in history thanks to its incredible story, world building, and mysteries. However, the show's success doesn't mean doesn't obscure its controversial elements.

Rudeus Greyrat, the anime's main character, is reincarnated into the world of Mushoku Tensei. Before he was reborn, he was a 34-year-old NEET, and he retains all the memories from his past life. While Rudeus might be in his teens physically during the series, he's mentally closer to someone in their 50s. This age gap makes some fans question his relationships as the people Rudeus romances are actually in their teens.

3 Kokoro Connect

Animated By Silver Link, Based on the Story By Sadanatsu Anda and Shiromizakana

Kokoro Connect houses one of the weirdest controversies in all of anime. While the show itself has garnered a huge fanbase, the events that happened during the anime's promotion gained some unwanted infamy. It all began when popular voice actor Mitsuhiro Ichiki was reported to voice a role in the anime. During a promotional event for Kokoro Connect, when Ichiki was meant to have their role announced, the show admitted Ichiki's character wasn't real and left the actor hanging.

To avert disaster, the anime staff offered Ichiki a job as the show's publicity head. While the actor accepted the gig, his army of fans were furious about the incident. Ichiki was targeted by a childish level of bullying but the team behind Kokoro Connect knew better. Enough said.

2 Please Tell Me! Gaiko-Chan

Animated By Feel, Based on the Manga By Kenya Suzuki

Please Tell Me! Gaiko-chan is an anime series that fielded a lot of controversy off-screen. The show itself is a relatively normal ecchi anime with few surprises. However, the series' author marred the simple show with their personal life. Kenya Suzuki, the creator of Please Tell Me! Gaiko-chan, was convicted of possessing materials depicting child sexual abuse. Not only did Suzuki admit to owning such material but also to importing it from Russia a few years prior.

Kadokawa, the publisher behind Please Tell Me! Gaiko-chan, suspended Suzuki after he was caught with the illegal materials. While some controversies can come from a show's triggering storylines, real-life incidents like this one linger because of the actual victims involved.

1 Rurouni Kenshin

Animated By Liden Films, Based on the Manga By Nobuhiro Watsuki

The controversy surrounding Rurouni Kenshin is hard to stomach. There is no denying the influence of Rurouni Kenshin in the anime industry, as its gorgeous action-inspired fans across the globe. However, the series' creator Nobuhiro Watsuki soured the story after he was found possessing child sexual abuse material. In November 2017, police later raided Watsuki's home and studio as part of a larger investigation and found nearly 100 DVDs containing explicit images of young girls under the age of 15.

In his deposition, Watsuki admitted he "liked girls in higher grades of elementary school to those in their second year of junior high". In America, the artist may have seen jail time between 10–20 years, but in Japan, he received a small fine of $1,900 USD and no jail time at all. While Rurouni Kenshin's publication was pulled from global publishers like Viz Media for an extended time, Watsuki returned to work on the manga's sequel at Shueisha some months after his trial ended.

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