Many manga and anime series have experienced some kind of restriction in terms of publication or release in different countries because of their own rules and regulations. One such manga series is Goblin Slayer, a popular anime and manga series that faced a ban in Australia a few years ago.
Australia has a decent amount of anime and manga fans and such bans easily affect the name, fame, and revenue of these anime or manga series. Not only that but the Goblin Slayer series also was banned in Texas for the same reason as that in Australia. These anime and manga bans are usually a result of cultural or philosophical differences which can easily become a sensitive topic.
However, the reason for the ban of Goblin Slayer is somewhat disturbing. In Texas and Australia, the series was banned because of the accusations of the series promoting child p-rnography, thus hurting the sentiments of everyone.
Goblin Slayer Got Banned in Australia
Japanese dark fantasy light novel series Goblin Slayer was created by Kumo Kagyu and features illustrations by Noboru Kannatsuki. The story takes place in a fantasy setting, where explorers aspire to join the Guild from all over the world. They fulfill contracts to gain fame and fortune.
A novice priestess accompanies her first adventuring party and finds herself in danger when her first goblin contract goes awry. She is rescued by a 20-year-old silver-ranked adventurer Goblin Slayer, who is solely focused on goblin hunting.
The manga was one of seven books taken out of Australia’s Books Kinokuniya in July 2020 due to allegations that it promoted child p-rnography. Also, Matt Shaheen, an American politician serving as a member of the Texas House of Representatives, deemed the book as pornographic and got it banned in Texas schools.
Reason Behind Goblin Slayer Getting Banned
Several well-known manga were removed from circulation by Kinokuniya, one of the biggest chains of Japanese bookstores in Australia, following concerns raised by a legislator regarding their content. According to Anime News Network, legislator Connie Bonaros filed a formal complaint against the store, which sparked the ordeal.
The politician asked for the offending books to be taken out of the bookstore because she was worried that it was allegedly selling “child p-rnography material” there. In response to the complaints, seven manga or light novels were taken out of Kinokuniya. These mangas included Dragonar Academy, No Game, No Life, Inside Mari, Sword Art Online, Goblin Slayer, Eromanga Sensei, and Parallel Paradise.
Later, the bookstore claimed that the books were taken down because Australia’s Classification Board decided the titles needed to be submitted for classification, and not because of political pressure.
