Ask John: Could the School Days Anime be Released in America?

Question:
How likely do you think it is that School Days will be licensed for American release? I realize that its ending is particularly shocking and had to be censored for its television broadcast for a variety of reasons. Despite its many flaws, the series teaches several valuable lessons about relationships, bullying, and mental deterioration.

Answer:
If the School Days anime series had premiered a few years ago I would say that its probability for American release would be low just because dating simulation style anime had no market presence and no audience in America. However, the domestic release of titles such as ToHeart and Rumbling Hearts has established a small but viable American audience for this genre within recent years. Taking into account the status of the present American anime community – both the commercial anime distribution industry and the American anime fan community – I actually consider School Days a probable candidate for American acquisition. The fact that there’s suspicion that the series won’t reach America, which conflicts with my own confidence that the series will reach America, may provide evidence that a certain percentage of American anime fans have a mistaken impression of exactly how influential anime is in America. The other possibility is that I’m simply wrong.

Suspicion that School Days won’t be officially released in America is likely based on anxiety that the show’s sexual and violent content will be deemed too controversial for American release. The School Days anime series illustrates sexually promiscuous teens and relationship conflicts that lead to a central character’s mental breakdown and graphically violent physical assaults on other characters. An instinctive American reaction would be to assume that an animated depiction of frank teen sexuality and shockingly brutal violence would offend conservative American sensibilities, leading to undesirable public criticism, boycotts, or even legal action. However, there’s no historical precedent to support that fear. In fact, there are numerous precedents in the American industry to suggest that the School Days anime could be easily released in America without ever raising any eyebrows.

The Kite anime series was released in America in edited forms twice before finally being released in a fully uncut version on the third domestic release. The initial release was heavily censored to avoid accusations of child pornography that never materialized. The initial American release of the Night Shift Nurses erotic anime was censored to avoid possible conflicts with obscenity laws. No conflicts ever arose, the censored footage was released in America soon after the initial release, and now uncut Night Shift Nurses episodes are routinely released in America without any censoring or fear of prosecution. The Berserk and Elfen Lied television series have been released in America without any controversy, despite both series containing intense, bloody violence, and underage nudity in sexual situations. To put it simply, numerous other anime having at least as much potential for outrage and controversy as School Days have been widely available in America for years without ever creating any public outrage or controversy.

Anime is simply not remotely as acknowledged or influential in America as many American fans assume that it is. Even anime containing content that’s not only shocking, but may be arguably even illegal in certain areas of the United States are widely available throughout the U.S. because anime is largely beneath the notice of mainstream American society. Mainstream American society may be more aware of the existence of anime now than ever before, but anime is still too insignificant in the minds of average Americans to cause outrage or controversy. Anime in American can get away with depicting imagery or themes that would possibly cause controversy in a different medium because average Americans just don’t care about anime enough to get vocal or angry about it.

Rather than hinder its possible American release, the outrageous content in the School Days anime may actually increase its chances of American release. If School Days was a typical school romance drama it would have minimal American commercial potential. No one expects anime series like Wind ~A Breath of Heart~, Tsuki ha Higashi ni Hi ha Nishi ni, Canvas, Gift ~Eternal Rainbow~, and Happiness to reach American audiences. There’s just no significant consumer interest in this variety of mundane romantic anime in America. However, the inclusion of illicit sexuality and shocking violence suddenly turns an otherwise inconspicuous show into a word-of-mouth “must see.” The fact that the series’ bloody finale had to be censored in Japan with bright red blood darkened to black can only enhance the show’s mystique. Officially promoting the series’ Japanese censoring by associating it with the real-life murder of a Japanese police officer would be unthinkable. But despite the fact that certain Japanese television networks refused to broadcast the bloody final episode of School Days as a matter of coincidental timing, not because of any objections to the content of the episode itself, the very fact that the final episode of School Days was taken off the air in Japan as a result of a real-life murder will doubtlessly further enhance the morbid attractiveness of the anime for American viewers. Rather than jeopardize its chances of American release, the extreme content of the School Days anime, and the mystique surrounding the show in Japan, are its strongest selling points. The School Days anime is, ironically, much more viable and attractive for American acquisition specifically because there’s such an aura of controversy around it. School Days’ extreme content and reputation of being too extreme for Japanese television exponentially increase its desirability as a domestic license. Without its shocking content and reputation, the School Days anime would be nothing more than an insignificant title that American distributors wouldn’t give a second thought about.