"The psyche of a child is deformed": the anime "Death Note" was banned in Russia

The Kolpinsky District Court of St. Petersburg has declared the Japanese anime Death Note, as well as the third episode of the Inuyashiki series, banned in Russia.

According to TASS, a lawsuit with a corresponding requirement was filed by the prosecutor's office in December 2020.

According to the prosecutor's office, the series contains a naturalistic depiction of the death of people, as well as scenes of violence, mental and physical, and episodes demonstrating non-traditional sexual relationships.

Some fragments of the series were shown at the meeting, as a result of which the court announced a decision to satisfy the claim.

The expert who was present in the hall explained that such scenes promote suicide and can have a negative impact on the psyche of the child.

“I agree that the demonstration of an overabundance of violence on the screen ... actually leads to the fact that the child's psyche is deformed.

Children are impressionable, cartoons through emotions act just on the subconscious ... Here we see all the elements of manipulation of the mass consciousness, ”the TASS expert quotes.

Interestingly, the comics and the Death Note series demanded to be banned back in 2013 after the body of a schoolgirl was found in a courtyard.

Several volumes of comics from the popular series were found in her room.

In this regard, a criminal case was initiated under the article “driving to suicide”.

Then, on the initiative of the public foundation "Ural Parents' Committee", a study was carried out of the work for its possible impact on the psychological state of the deceased.

A year later, experts concluded that Death Note had no effect on the teenager's psyche and could not push him to commit suicide.

The Japanese comic series Death Note was published in the weekly manga magazine Weekly Shonen Jump from December 2003 to May 2006.

A total of 108 chapters were published, which were combined in 12 books.

In the center of the plot is the Japanese schoolboy Yagami Light.

One day a notebook falls into his hands, which turns out to be a magical artifact created to kill people.

Yagami decides to check the operation of the notebook and writes down the name of the culprit.

A few seconds later, he dies of a heart attack.

Then the hero sets out to save the world from evil and cruelty and becomes the culprit of a whole series of murders.

This attracts the attention of law enforcement agencies, who entrust the search for Yagami to an experienced detective.

The manga was filmed.

The anime series of the same name aired on local television since June 2006.

Soon the tape was shown in other Asian countries, and in the late 2000s, the series was also released in the United States and Europe.

Death Note was popular with audiences and won a large following worldwide.

Its rating on the IMDb website is 9/10.

Russian viewers also highly appreciated the tape - based on the estimates of almost 100 thousand users of the Kinopoisk portal, its rating was 8.6.

In 2007, based on Death Note, a computer strategy game was created, which received several sequels. 

Also, the story of the confrontation between a schoolboy and a detective formed the basis of a series of full-length feature films shot by Japanese filmmakers.

The first part premiered in the summer of 2006.

The project was presented at a number of major shows, including the Brussels International Film Festival of Fantasy, Science Fiction and Thriller Films.

The tape earned $ 29.6 million in theaters and received high marks from both critics and viewers: its rating on the Rotten Tomatoes website is 78% and 85%, respectively.

In November 2006, the second film in the series was released.

It surpassed the first one at the box office (almost $ 48 million) and was also warmly received by the audience (80% "fresh" according to critics and 83% according to the audience on Rotten Tomatoes).

The rest of the films in the series, released in 2008, 2016 and 2017, were less successful.

Another project created as part of the Death Note franchise is the musical of the same name, which was first presented in Japan in 2015.

The music for the production was written by the American composer Frank Wildhorn, who has worked on a number of Broadway shows.