Trigger Warning: This article contains descriptions of disturbing topics, including pedophilia and rape. Readers decide to be advised.
Most countries, including Japan, have outlawed an anime called Shoujo Tsubaki.
As detailed on Anime Dork, Shoujo Tsubaki tells the story of a 14-year-old girl named Midori, who has suffered severe emotional and sexual trauma at the hands of a group of deranged circus performers. . When reviewing the film, most countries deemed its content too offensive and offensive to the average viewer, eventually leading to a worldwide ban.
The aforementioned film is adapted from the 1984 manga of the same name by Suehiro Maruo. Its sick story unfolds with the young heroine, Midori selling flowers by the roadside to help her ailing mother. While there, a creepy individual approaches her and offers her shelter in case she finds herself in need of it. Midori returns home to find rats eating her mother’s corpse.
Now orphaned and alone, Midori joins a circus, where she continues to be tortured mentally and physically by the theater members. One particularly famous scene is the one where Midori witnesses the brutal slaughter of a group of puppies. The killer then proceeds to rape Midori. Although Midori eventually escapes the circus, the film’s ending isn’t particularly happy. Eventually, Midori falls in love with an adult dwarf mage named Wonder Masamitsu, who unsettlingly reciprocates the young girl’s feelings.
Because of the film’s troubling subject matter, Director Hiroshi Harada (Doraemon, Folk Tales from Japan) had difficulty getting funding. Because of this, he had to finance the film with his personal savings. Harada also took on most of the key staff roles herself, acting as Director, Screenwriter, Story Artist, and Lead Animator. Due to a lack of additional staff, the final film took 5 years to complete, Harada personally created over 5,000 illustrations for the project.
In an interview, Harada was open about her influences, citing Isao Takahata, director of Studio Ghibli’s avant-garde film Only Yesterday, and Winsor McKay as the two animators who inspired the film. he. Harada dealt with bullying as a child and focuses heavily on the issue in most of his films. “Right before Midori, I made a movie about temper tantrums,” says Harada. “I myself was a victim of it in elementary school… I think this is more about supporting kids who have it than some form of individual therapy.” Harada also explained why he chose to emphasize physical disfigurement in Shoujo Tsubaki, saying it had a profound effect on him when he knew they existed and that he “tends to agree with them.” feel for them.”
Source: Anime Dork