10 Anime Banned in the US

With a wide variety of genres, anime is quickly becoming one of the most significant forms of entertainment globally, even more so recently. However, since it is recognized and loved so much, a large number of people scrutinize and criticize anime. In this article, we will look at some anime banned in America.

We get why anime is screened and inspected before safe release in a particular region - while most anime is fun to watch, there are also some with questionable concepts and themes that may lead to an anime ban in some countries. Some anime have even been banned universally due to its "not safe for work" content.

We have made a list of anime that have been banned in the United States. Please note that the anime are listed in no particular order.

Transformers: Robots in Disguise

The first episode of Transformers: Robots in Disguise was pulled from circulation in North America. The reason? It showed Optimus Prime crashing into a skyscraper, which was quite similar to the World Trade Center in America. So, due to its eerie similarities with the 9/11 incident, the American audience considered the episode unpleasant.

The studio decided that it was improper to let that episode be released unaltered, so it was remade in a better and "nicer" way so that no one was hurt. The rest of the anime made it to the American audience without issues.

Shoujo Tsubaki

Shoujo Tsubaki was not just banned in America but also worldwide, including in Japan. Here's why: the anime movie can be called one of the most horrifying, depressing, and disturbing anime ever made. The intense storyline revolves around a young girl, Midori, who loses her mother. From then on, her life only went darker and harder.

The depiction of child sexual abuse and graphicly disturbing scenes led to a global ban on Shoujo Tsubaki. It turns out some of the people were so shaken by this movie that they went as far as to destroy the copies that they owned. We can see why it is banned globally.

Paranoia Agent

Picture this: you are casually walking down the streets, minding your own business. But suddenly, you get hit by a kid wielding a golden bat. The kid runs away on his rollerblades, and you get angry but can't do anything about it, so you go about your way. But then, it turns out you weren't the only victim of that golden bat. The frequency of attacks kept increasing, and nobody knew the real identity of the attacker. Paranoia is induced among the residents, and detectives Keiichi Ikari and Mitsuhiro Maniwa take responsibility for finding out the attacker's identity.

Paranoia Agent was banned because of its disturbing yet fascinating themes, and it was deemed unsuitable for television broadcasting in Japan. It was banned in the United States for a short while before retelecasting the edited and censored version.

Wicked City

Another movie with themes like horror, sexual abuse, and violence is Wicked City. The anime dabbles with the concept of a demonic world co-existing with the human one. Two agents are deployed to ensure that the treaty succeeds and maintains peace. It has a dark plot where the female lead is sullied, and the male main character comes to her rescue.

The dark portrayal of sexual abuse and violence lead to the ban of the uncensored version. The edited version is available on DVD and streaming.

Lily Cat

Lily cat was deemed unfit for children in the United States. The movie revolves around astronauts floating across space in a ship that only aged one year in 20 years. Suddenly, the ship is attacked by a shape-shifting alien species, and the astronauts and the alien are locked in a deadly survival match. The question is, will they survive without any external help?

Lily Cat was banned in the United States because the content wasn't child-friendly. However, the edited and censored version is still available on various platforms.

My Hero Academia

My Hero Academia is a shonen manga about a group of high school students in a society with superpowers. The main series and its spin-offs, like the light novel My Hero Academia: School Briefs by Horikoshi and Anri Yoshi, have faced criticism and been censored for being inappropriate and too sexual for younger readers.

The manga series features considerable fan service, often depicting adult female characters in a way that many view as overly sexualized. The bans aim to limit access to content deemed inappropriate for school libraries and young audiences.

Soul Eater

Soul Eater follows groups of students who have the ability to turn into weapons and those who use them. They work together to gather the souls of 99 corrupted humans and one witch. Like My Hero Academia, this manga has faced criticism for being inappropriate and too sexual for young readers. The first volume includes several scenes with nudity. Some volumes of Soul Eater have been banned in one school district. In another, the books were removed without a formal ban.

Black Butler

Black Butler is a shonen anime that tells the story of a 12-year-old boy and his demonic butler as they solve crimes in Victorian London. Some US school districts have banned Black Butler because of concerns about its content. The series includes darker themes compared to other titles. It has plotlines related to murder, kidnapping, torture, and child sexual abuse.

Kodomo No Jikan/Nymphet

Kodomo no Jikan, which is also known as Nymphet, has been banned in the United States due to its controversial themes and content. The series features a third-grade girl named Rin Kokonoe, who develops romantic feelings for her male teacher. The portrayal of this relationship includes sexually suggestive elements, which raised significant concerns. As a result, the series faced heavy censorship, and Seven Seas Entertainment decided to withdraw its licensing, leading to its unavailability in the US.

Assassination Classroom

Assassination Classroom has been banned in some US states, like Florida and Wisconsin. The main reason for these bans is the concern that it seems to promote violence against teachers.

In the anime Assassination Classroom, the students of Class 3-E must find a way to assassinate their alien teacher to prevent him from destroying Earth. This homeroom teacher then challenges them to learn assassination skills throughout the school year. However, the show's violent premise and weapon use have created worries about its impact on real-life school shootings and gun violence.