A newly proposed Texas bill, Senate Bill 20, aims to criminalize the possession of material depicting minors in “obscene” ways, making this a law that could have major implications for anime, manga, and video games due to the murky and not clearly defined wording of it. The bill, which has already unanimously passed the Texas Senate, is primarily targeting AI-generated content but also includes "cartoon or animation" in its wording, meaning many popular series could be affected if the law is enacted.
As to how the Bill Defines Obscene Content, Senate Bill 20 seeks to amend Chapter 43 of Texas’ penal code, stating:
“A person commits an offense if the person knowingly possesses, accesses with intent to view, or promotes obscene visual material containing a depiction that appears to be of a child younger than 18 years of age engaging in activities described by Section 43.21(a)(1)(B), regardless of whether the depiction is an image of an actual child, a cartoon or animation, or an image created using an artificial intelligence application or other computer software.”
The definition of "obscene" material is open to interpretation, making it unclear how strictly or how this law would be enforced if passed. The bill states that obscene content includes material that:
“Taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, and scientific value.”
Many anime and video game franchises prominently feature high-school-aged characters, raising concerns about whether some mainstream titles could be criminalized under the bill. Here are just a few examples across some popular video games and anime / manga series.
Persona 4 and Persona 5 are a few popular games that include dating sim mechanics where underage characters can be involved in romantic relationships. Though these games do not contain explicit content or scenes, the romantic elements could still fall under scrutiny.
Another long shot for a game that could be hit for example is Marvel Rivals, with Peni Parker wearing very skin tight suits and her age not being clearly defined. It gets confusing because in the spiderverse films she is still in her early teens, but this is her from a different time in the future.
Here is a short list of anime / manga series that could also be impacted.
- Bleach: Features high-school-aged characters who are sexualized in early story arcs.
- Kill la Kill: Protagonist Ryuko Matoi is a high-schooler who wears a revealing outfit throughout the entire series.
- Gurren Lagann: Yoko Littner is only 14 years old yet wears a bikini top as her default outfit.
- Arifureta: Features Yue, an ancient vampire with a smaller body type, with scenes that could be interpreted as explicit involving the protagonist Hajime and her. Despite the fact that she is ancient in age, her body type does not reflect that.
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: With a few of the main characters literally being in their teens. As well as the event of Shinji literally unloading on his friend Asuka while she was unconscious, or some of the other scenes in the show. It is pretty obvious why this anime could be hit by this bill.
Since many anime, manga, and games depict characters under 18 in ways that could be considered "suggestive", it's unclear how Texas lawmakers would interpret the bill if it becomes law.
Although Senate Bill 20 has unanimously passed the Texas Senate, it has not yet been signed into law. It does appear unlikely that it will go much farther than where it has, but you can never be too sure until happens. If enacted, this bill could have major legal consequences for anime fans, gamers, and collectors in Texas, depending on how broadly its language is applied.
What are your thoughts on the bill? Do you think it will go through? How much do you think it would effect anime, manga and video games? Let us know your answers in the comments below! As always, stay tuned to Animemojo.com for more anime news!