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The controversy over NYMPHET, the planned American version of Kaoru Watashiya’s KODOMO NO JIKAN ust keeps going. Now Watashiya-san has addressed the controversy in her diary. As this translation shows, however, there is still some confusion:

There are differences in the border [between what’s acceptable and not] for representations of young girls in each place, time, and culture, so if the people there have decided that it’s unacceptable then that’s that. To those commendable Americans who wanted to read it, I’ll say “There’s always the original.”

I especially felt the difference between cultures in regards to the comment [by Seven Seas president Jason DeAngelis] that the 2nd volume and beyond were problematic. I wondered what was in the second volume that would cause a problem that wasn’t in the first, so I used a web translator to look at the BBSs over there and “incest” was pointed out, so that’s probably about Reiji [Aki’s cousin, currently taking care of Rin] and Aki [Rin’s mother].


However, it wasn’t the second, but the THIRD volume that was the problem, as Seven Seas’ Jason DeAngelis explains in his brand new blog:

Their opinion may be due to some inaccurately translated scanlations out there. Or, if you’re just looking at the pictures and can’t read Japanese, you might miss the gist of what is really happening in this scene. But for me, this was the scene that, beyond a shadow of a doubt, changed my mind about the appropriateness of this title. See, my whole defense before was based on the idea that Nymphet was not so bad because it was about a girl who tries to sexually entrap her teacher but fails because he in no way reciprocates. But in this scene in the third volume, it shows him getting literally, physically aroused by her (the original Japanese text unmistakably and unequivocally backs this up.) This is what completely crossed the line for me, and showed me that I could no longer defend releasing this title. Yes, there are other questionable scenes as well, but it isn’t my job to go through a graphic play-by-play of all the objectionable material. Suffice it to say that this one scene crossed the point of no return. I don’t see how anyone can possibly defend this scene. ‘Nuff said.


These scenes have been shown on a blog somewhere, but I managed to lose the link. If someone has it, please send and I’ll put it in so everyone can judge for themselves.

This cultural divide thing is fascinating stuff, and as we hinted earlier, we’ve heard many theories about why showing a grown man becoming sexually aroused in Japan just doesn’t offend (or alarm) the way it does here.

We did have one of our correspondent’s point out something that we’ve heard many times over the years: that a lot of the so-called “shojo manga” is actually read by middle-aged salari-men. Yes, can you believe it? Middle aged men getting off on the adventures of teen-aged girls. That’s not to say that stuff like NANA or the work of the Forty-Niners doesn’t have a loyal female readership. You could probably write several books on the issues of voyeurism and repression all of this brings up. Maybe someday when we have time.

1 COMMENT

  1. Before anyone mounts his or her high horse, remember there are folks in the Middle East who would freak out just as much about what’s currently being printed in Archie comics.

  2. Okay, so here’s me on my high horse. This sort of thing is degrading to women, girls, little kids, ect. It is. I teach kids ages 5 to adult and I’m going to tell you right now that an 8 year old isn’t thinking about sex. It would undo there little minds to have sex. That’s why it’s against the law. Now, I do not dispute this type of materials right to exist. If you want to read that sort of thing, fine. I won’t judge you. There are many good people indulging in far worse then what only comes down to ink on paper here. I just want everybody to keep in mind that when you objectify anybody at any time (and we all do, sometimes, and that’s okay) that in those moments, we are pushing away any other aspects of their worth. Do we really want to do that to an 8 year old? I know we don’t want it done to our moms and our sisters. Just keep in mind who an 8 year old girl really is. She loves her mommy and daddy, little furry animals, playing with her friends, and in my case learning to draw at her art class. There is so much that is unrealized in the future of a child. Just keep that in mind before you make a little slut out of her, in your thoughts. If thinking this way is why so many other countries hate us (for those of us posting here who are Americans) then those other countries can go to hell. Our little girls, are going to be the great women of tomorrow, who will not be shot in the head for disobeying their husbands, or sold into slavery. You should take example by us.

  3. “I teach kids ages 5 to adult and I’m going to tell you right now that an 8 year old isn’t thinking about sex.”

    How do you know that?

    Maybe your students think about sex but aren’t give safe space to discuss their thoughts questions and feelings.

    I think reducing children to asexual teddy bears can be as destructive as sexualizing them against their will.

    I think it’s a real problem that in many ways, the only outlet children have for their sexual curiosity is predatory relationships.

    Remember back to when you were 8. Ever look at a Playboy? Or watch a sexy movie when no one was looking? Was it exciting? I know I did– I got caught looking at the Playboys my dad stowed under his bed–boy was I embarrassed! When I got caught I broke into tears and ran to the bathroom and locked the door (MIND OUT OF GUTTER –all I did there was weep.)

    The thing is–shouldn’t kids have better teaching tools about sexuality than Playboy? Kids don’t just become curious about sex and nudity at puberty. Certainly not at age 18. We’d do well to give kids more resources to learn about how sexuality can be empowering and positive, why it may not be a good idea to do some things they might not be ready for, how to say “no”,–and how and when it might be time to say yes.

    Abstience-only DOESN’T WORK. Better to give kids tools to make choices and trust them to act intelligently with the tools we give them than to have sex remain this taboo subject and pretend it’s not something they think about and have young girls, with no real support systems or useful info end up getting knocked up at age 12.

  4. “Before anyone mounts his or her high horse, remember there are folks in the Middle East who would freak out just as much about what’s currently being printed in Archie comics.”

    So what? Like that makes Nymphet okay?

    “Abstience-only DOESN’T WORK. Better to give kids tools to make choices and trust them to act intelligently with the tools we give them than to have sex remain this taboo subject and pretend it’s not something they think about and have young girls, with no real support systems or useful info end up getting knocked up at age 12.”

    I think there’s a HUGE difference between making sure kids have decent sex education from an early age and a manga about a sexually provocative pre-teen. Sex education = for the benefit of children. Nymphet = manga written for the titillation of older men. The two are like apples and oranges. Do you think Nymphet is a tasteful, balanced way to make more adults aware that children have sex drives and

  5. “Before anyone mounts his or her high horse, remember there are folks in the Middle East who would freak out just as much about what’s currently being printed in Archie comics.”

    So what? Like that makes Nymphet okay?

    “Abstience-only DOESN’T WORK. Better to give kids tools to make choices and trust them to act intelligently with the tools we give them than to have sex remain this taboo subject and pretend it’s not something they think about and have young girls, with no real support systems or useful info end up getting knocked up at age 12.”

    I think there’s a HUGE difference between making sure kids have decent sex education from an early age and a manga about a sexually provocative pre-teen. Sex education = for the benefit of children. Nymphet = manga written for the titillation of older men.

    Do you think Nymphet is a tasteful, balanced way to make more adults aware that children have sex drives and require proper education about such things from an early age?

  6. she can try and explain it any way she wants.

    here, in the U.S. I hope, as always, sex with underage kids will be despised.

  7. she can try and explain it any way she wants.

    here, in the U.S. I hope, as always, sex with underage kids will be despised.

  8. she can try and explain it any way she wants.

    here, in the U.S. I hope, as always, sex with underage kids will be despised.

  9. Adam Weissman,

    Honestly, my knee-jerk reaction to your post was, “Are you kidding?” But I guess you do raise some valid points. However, I don’t know what your points have to do with this Nymphet controversy. You make a good argument in favor of sex education. However, when you ask, “The thing is–shouldn’t kids have better teaching tools about sexuality than Playboy?” I have to ask in return, do you think this manga about a nymphomaniac 8-year old girl that teaching tool? I haven’t read this comic, but from what I’ve read the answer is a clear NO. I don’t think an American publisher refusing to translate and print this equates with reducing children to asexual teddy bears.

  10. I wonder if “commendable” was mistranslated somehow? I would think “I appreciate it” is a more likely sentiment.
    Translation’s tricky. Anyone speaking in a language not their first knows this.

  11. “How do you know that?”

    I’m mildly shocked, and a little irritated by this question, but I’m going to answer it, because I feel it’s important for people to understand this. I know, because I talk to kids on a daily basses, and most of them can’t wait to tell you what’s on their mind. They talk about what happened at school, the play date they’re going to have that day, a movie they’ve seen, what mommy said about daddy, and all sorts of other T.M.I. The only time I’ve ever had a child try to talk about sex with me, it was quit apparent that they really didn’t know what they were talking about. They only wanted to impress upon me that they had some “adult” knowledge, so that they themselves could feel like they were one of the big kids. They may know that it’s there, but they don’t know what it really is. I’m going to take it on faith (as we all should) that 99.9% of all kids do not think about having sex at age 8. They shouldn’t at that age. They’re not ready for it, and they don’t need to be. K.I.S.S.I.N.G is a big enough deal for them. Please, take my word for it. Children are better off not knowing about having sex until they really need to. Let them discover it on their own, and then we can help them to understand it in a way that dose not brake their trust in us, as adults. But hey, that’s just me. Believe what ever thing makes you happy to believe about it.

  12. Thom, I was thinking the EXACT SAME THING when I read “commendable” XD

    I was like… WTF!? Commendable? :O

    I dun think there’s nething WRONG with ppl who would want to read it (or maybe so? I haven’t read it so I dunno how bad it might get XD)

    But they shouldn’t be “commended” for it XD

  13. Lea, I think you’re right tho :O That it’s a mistranslation? :o A lot of languages, esp eastern ones, have words that we just dun have a good translation for (at least not one you could put into 1 or 2 words) in English :O

    As somebody who speaks both Chinese (Cantonese) and English, I have some experience with having trouble articulating myself when I’m thinking of a word in one language but I dunno how to explain what I mean in the other. :(

    I think she prolly meant something like “open minded ppl who are willing to give the book a chance” :)

  14. I speak both Japanese and English, and I can agree with what both Ami and Lea said: I’m pretty sure that “commendable” is just a lousy translation. Japanese is notoriously difficult to translate into sensible English (I know, I’ve done some manga translation before).

    I went to Watashiya’s blog to see for myself what she wrote… Only the blog entry that everybody’s talking about doesn’t show up. In fact, nothing more recent than an entry from 5/19 shows up. Er?

  15. My husband was a deputy prosecuting attorney in Honolulu for 18 years before chucking the legal profession to become a pastor. Despite his rather gruff appearance (think Toshiro Mifune in Yojimbo), kids seem to instinctively know he’s a safe adult. He often helped the social workers in the office who dealt with sexual abuse victims, and they brought him the kids. Little kids. 3-year-old girls. Toddlers who could barely speak. My God. They’d sit on his lap, pull on his beard, and tell him stuff; sometimes they didn’t have the words to describe what happened, and he’d have to use the pictures provided by the Sex Abuse Treatment Center so they could point to where on their body the adult had molested them. Then they’d pull on his beard some more, maybe eat a piece of candy from the jar he always kept on his desk, hug him, and go off with the social worker. He’d come home after a session with one of these little ones and have to rant and vent, because he didn’t dare rant in the office. I have absolutely no tolerance for any fiction – graphic or otherwise – that depicts child sexuality because of what I saw my husband go through. He would tell me a little, and that was enough for me, to know just how horrible the experiences these little kids went through. Sure, there may be some precocious youngsters out there who aren’t traumatized and are purely curious about sex. But there are too many out there who are being victimized by human monsters who think nothing of hurting a child just to feel a sexual high.

  16. You know, you could always lobby to bring back the CCA…that way, we could be sure that all comic fiction met a minimum level of moral and ethical standards.

  17. All the attention this book is getting might be somewhat justified if the subject matter was remotely believable….oh and subject matter like this put back the rep of Manga in the eyes of the mainstream by years….

  18. *smiles*

    Yes, silly Americans. BTW, your children are not future leaders of the world, they’re the laborers of the future. Don’t believe, compare your academic test scores to the rest of the worlds’. Compare your countries physical health assessment to the rest of the world. Any of you ever traveled to Europe, South America, Asia? A majority of the people there, thin and inshape. Hell, it’s not even a question or not if a guy should have visible abs in most of those places, it’s a given. The women, many of them could naturally pass as models (Shakiras where everywhere when I last went to Columbia).

    Americans are fat, dumb, and arrogant. The only reasons why present day Americans have it so good, is due to the blood, sweat, and tears of your ancestors. The Democracy you’re so proud of is already slowly losing itself due to the lack of abilities of your own people. Feel free to the get on the high horse when you want, since it’s all you seem to like to do, just remember that when you get off, don’t forget to shovel the horse shit before you leave.

  19. I REALLY want to move to japan, America has gone downhill fast over the last 15 years. What I dont get is that they have ecchi anime in the USA that mention CLEARLY that they MAY be offensive to people and yet Nymphet didnt or couldnt fall under that cat. They show porn in america, they have hentai here too, who the fuck will care if Nymphet gets relesed just for the fans who actully want it? I personally think they should have made the english version and just made them avabile for anime store vendors? (I stil ldo see alot of places with the thing that says “Waiting to be stocked”) To further harm the so called offensiveness of the anime they could even give it an M rating.

  20. I only just got started into this series and let me just say one thing. America can have anime/hentai depicting rape, bondage, gore (such as Blood Shadow), but it can’t have a little girl with a crush on an older man which happens alot in real life. There are a whole hell of a lot of worse things than that, and our economy shows it on television on the 9’oclock news! And I do agree with the statements above. America has gone downhill over the last two decades. If people like the series, than release it. After all, it’s just a god-damned anime. Let’s just let people enjoy watching it, end the series, then get along with our lives. What is the whole deal about a show? It’s fictional, not real. Who cares what it has in it, it isn’t going to harm anybody. I, being a downright anime otaku, and starting plans for my own anime one day, believe that America is starting to bury itself. The U.S. is starting to go to Hell in a handbasket! It’s just a fucking show! It’s fictional, nothing else.

  21. Oh, and one more thing. If you aren’t posting about the anime series, don’t post at all! I’m sick and tired of reading a comment or two like American-Japanese’s where it has absolutely nothing to do with what the article was about in the first place. If you need to say something like that, or hate Americans for your own personal reasons, keep it to yourself. Nobody wants to read about how much you believe we, Americans, proven ourselves time and time again or didn’t. Whatever you have to say, keep in on topic. Assholes…