Ah yes… I remember this. Before most Americans even knew what Pokemon was back in ’98, we’d heard about this “weird cartoon” that gave all these kids seizures in Japan. Time Magazine remembers that, too, because it’s included that episode on a list of “Top Ten Controversial Toons” along with SOUTH PARK, THE SIMPSONS, SONG OF THE SOUTH and Warner Brother’s infamous “Censored Eleven.” For those of you haven’t heard of this or were, perhaps, too young to have gotten the full story when it first happened, it basically broke down like this…
The use of fast-strobing red and blue lights in one POKEMON episode incurred adverse physical reactions in around 12,000 of its viewers. “Victims” claimed nausea and seizures, and some 700 of the worst sufferers went to the hospital. Two of them even stayed in the hospital for two weeks. Because of this incident, TV Tokyo instituted guidelines limiting the using of strobing effects in programs and the episode in question was re-edited to be less intense.
I do find it amusing that this episode is grouped with toons that were controversial for a number of volatile racial and political reasons. I suppose this is the only time you’ll ever see POKEMON described as provocative. I think this would be a fun opportunity to start our own list. What do you lunatics in the Anime Vice community think are the most controversial anime of all time? I want names and incidents!
-- Tom Pinchuk is the writer of UNIMAGINABLE for Arcana Comics and HYBRID BASTARDS! for Archaia. Pre-order the HYBRID BASTARDS! hardcover now on Amazon.com.
