Anime and Human Trafficking: More Harm or Good?

Published June 13, 2009 @ 09:00AM PT

Move over Pokemon, there's a new anime star in town: human trafficking. Award winning Chinese actor Zhang Hanyu will star in the upcoming MTV anime film "Intersection," which will look at human trafficking from the perspectives of a brothel owner, a trafficker, and a victim. The film been called "both humorous and darkly depressing". MTV specifically chose anime as the medium to appeal to young Asian audiences and stir up conversation among anime fans. In which case, anime can do a lot of good.

I find this choice interesting, since anime and a related medium, manga, have been specifically criticized by a number of activist groups for promoting the sexual exploitation of children. While most anime and manga are harmless cartoons of superheros and the like, there is a sizable portion of manga for "mature audiences". These cartoons famously depict drawn images of children nude and engaged in sexual acts, and there has been controversy over whether these images are child pornography. If it is, anime can do a lot of harm.

I have to wonder if MTV chose anime as the medium for it's new film because of the controversy or in spite of it. Is this a McLuhan moment where the medium is the message, or can anime be used to combat exploitation and trafficking even as it is accused of promoting such abuses? MTV seems to think that anime is the medium which can reach Asian youth, warn them about the dangers of trafficking, and inspire them into action. And quite frankly if anime can do all that, more power to it. It would be a moment of beautiful irony if something accused of promoting human trafficking ended up preventing it.

Image from freefever.com

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Comments (6)

I happen to enjoy Anima (not Manga). You have to understand Anime and Manga are NOT the same thing. Referring to Anime as 'part of the problem' that 'can do a lot of harm' is akin to saying all movies that exist are the same as those that exploit children. It's a gross generalization of what Anime is.

Anime is simply japanese animation. Most children and young adults in the United States now watch Anime, in one form or another. For example, Bleach, one of my current favorite anime series, has nothing to do with pornography. Manga, on the other hand, is an adult form of Anime. Manga is in essence animated pornography. I do not personally watch Manga (as it does not appeal to me sexually), but I have seen it. Most Manga does not show children, albeit most of it is unusual by Western standards. It is true that SOME Manga does include images that could be considered child-like. However, the assumption that all Manga is going to include animated children is false. This is the same as assuming that all pornography that exists is somehow going to be child pornography. These are two very different things. The latter being something that is illegal, uncommon, and something I (and most people) find utterly disgusting.

Posted by Alan Haggard on 06/14/2009 @ 10:25PM PT
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actually, manga is a japanese comic book which is, like anime, not purely pornographic. there are manga for kids, such as naruto and bleach,(If you can say they're for "kids", more for adolescents.) (they started out as manga), and animefor adults, such as hellsing and speed grapher, and a variety of pornographic anime. just saw your post and decided to clarify.

Posted by does my name really matter? on 08/12/2009 @ 08:42AM PT
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In fact, I would consider your irrational assertion that all Japanese Animation is somehow the same as adult-oriented manga featuring child pornography to be racist, and entirely inappropriate for a site like change.org.

Posted by Alan Haggard on 06/14/2009 @ 10:42PM PT
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It just occurred to me I made a mistake earlier in regard to the terminology of this post.

Manga does not mean pornographic anime. That would be Hentai. Hentai is what I meant to refer to in regards to pornography. Manga, on the other hand, is generally no more pornographic than Japanese animation.

Manga is simply the Japanese version of a comic book. In fact, most Anime series' are based on Mangas.

Now Manga or Anime that IS pornographic is referred to specifically as Hentai. As I said prior, I'm not much of a hentai afficionado, but have seen it and am aware of the genre.

To clarify, I will say it one more time..
Manga IS NOT specifically pornographic. It is most often NOT pornographic. It is just another form of media, resembling a comic book, but with a few specific cultural distinctions (i.e. is written from back to front, is usually as thick and the size of a small novel, but with comic book-like imagery and text).

Posted by Alan Haggard on 06/15/2009 @ 01:17AM PT
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Hi Alan,

Thanks for clarifying that terminology. I'm glad to learn that pornographic anime has a specific name, hentai, which is different from manga.

Posted by Amanda Kloer on 06/15/2009 @ 05:56AM PT
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You're welcome. It is understandable that those unfamiliar with Anime or Manga in general might not understand the genre, and could mistake Hentai for mainstream Anime.

IMO the best way to avoid this is to learn more about the subject. A good way to do that is to actually watch it.

My favorite Anime series' and movies are generally either Sci-Fi or with a Supernatural premise. One of the first Anime movies to become mainstream in the US was Akira. If you're interested in learning more about Anime, you should consider renting that, among others. If you recall Aeon Flux, made popular by MTV in the early 90’s, was arguably the first Anime series to become mainstream in the US.

I'll give a short list of some of my personal favorites:

Series: Bleach, Mushi-Shi, Code Geass, Death Note, Aeon Flux (I believe the first series to become mainstream in the US), Gungrave, Naruto, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Full Metal Alchemist, Cowboy Bebop, Samurai X, Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex, .hack//SIGN, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Shin-Chan (a sometimes vulgar but utterly hilarious comedy series, for teenagers & young adults), Elfen Lied, Lupin the 3rd, Tenchi Muyo (and spinoff series'), the Gundam series', Last Exile, Ghost Stories, Afro Samurai, Serial Experiements Lain, Blood, Gurren Lagann, Jyu-Oh-Sei, Trinity Blood, the Slayers series'

Movies: Akira, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, Jin-Roh, Princess Mononoke, Blood: The Last Vampire, Perfect Blue, Full Metal Alchemist: The Movie, The Animatrix (a US production, CGI & Anime), Demon City Shinjuku, the Bleach movies, Ninja Skroll, Karas: The Prophecy, Karas: The Revelation, Appleseed, Appleseed: Ex Machina, Black Blood Brothers, Kite, Noir, Paprika, the Final Fantasy series (CGI), the Gundam Movies, Neon Genesis Evangelion movies, Origin: Spirits Of The Past, Memories, Ghost In The Shell 1-3

As well as some family-oriented movies:
Spirited Away (an Academy Award winner), Howl's Moving Castle, The Cat Returns, Castle In The Sky

And family-oriented series:
Naruto, Avatar, Inu-Yasha, Dragonball Z, Voltron, Case Closed, Samurai Jack, etc.

As you can see, Anime is a diverse form of media, encompossing various genres with movies & series' that can appeal to pretty much any audience. That is, once you are able to get past any preconceived notions or prejudices you may have of the genre itself.

Posted by Alan Haggard on 06/15/2009 @ 02:28PM PT
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Amanda has been a full-time abolitionist for six years. During that time, she has created reports, documentaries and training materials on human trafficking in the United States and around the world.