Ask John: Will Papillon Rose Ever Be Released in America?

Question:
What do you think the chances are of ever seeing Lingerie Senshi Papillon Rose available for North American DVD? I know that to an extent it was kind of a “hoax” tv show, but there is at least one OAV that was available in Japan. I would totally buy any Papillon Rose I could get.

Answer:
I’m also someone that would eagerly buy Lingerie Senshi Papillon Rose. In fact, I did spend $60 to purchase the official Japanese import DVD version of the 25 minute long OAV. I was quite impressed by the quality of this little semi-pro production- from its character design to its background art design and homages to its amusing script. For adult viewers and especially anime fans that are able to recognize the numerous anime and anime characteristics the show parodies, Lingerie Senshi Papillon Rose is a very enjoyable and rewarding little episode. But therein also lies the reason why I doubt this OAV will ever be legitimately released outside of Japan. Japanese society, and especially its anime community, is acutely familiar with and receptive to parody and homage. However, there’s a very significant danger of foreigners not understanding the joke or being shocked or offended by what Japanese natives may not give a second thought. If it’s true that Toei Animation refuses to allow the official American distribution of the Sailor Moon: Sailorstars TV series to minimize the risk of damage to the international reputation of the Sailor Moon franchise, then I can’t see any possibility that Toei Animation wouldn’t take measures to prevent the distribution of an intentional pornographic parody of Sailor Moon. The Sailor and the Seven Balls animated parody is commonly available in America, but it’s such a low budget production that Toei Animation may not consider it a viable threat to the image of the Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon franchise. On the other hand, Lingerie Senshi Papillon Rose is a Japanese production that clearly and unmistakably copies the style, look and characters of Sailor Moon while adding plenty of erotic comedy, doing so in a very polished way that’s hard to overlook.

Since American, and presumably Japanese law allows for free expression of parody, the Lingerie Senshi Papillon Rose anime probably does qualify as parody rather than blatant copyright infringement. So there’s probably no legal reason why the OAV couldn’t be officially licensed and released in America. In fact, it would probably be quite successful in America, with the exception of taking some criticism for its short running time. But I can easily imagine any major domestic distributor having to weigh the advantages of licensing this anime for American release against the possibility of inciting the displeasure of one of Japan’s largest and most powerful anime, film and home video companies. If Toei Animation is indeed as concerned about protecting the image of the Sailor Moon franchise as is commonly thought, it probably wouldn’t be wise for a domestic anime distribution company to challenge or upset Toei Studios when a business affiliation or involvement with Toei sometime in the future may be a very likely possibility.