Interest
Yo-kai Watch Character's Groin Target in Latest BPO Complaint
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
The kids' anime Yo-kai Watch is the target of a yet another published complaint on Japan's watchdog group Broadcasting Ethics and Program Improvement Organization's (BPO) website. The anime previously drew ire for suggestive banana-eating, but this time it's a character with a suggestive crotch adornment that's drawing concern.
The yokai Zundonmaru appeared in the Yo-kai Watch: Shadowside television anime's fourth episode that aired on April 27, "Mottainai Otoko" (A Wasteful Guy). The character resembles a luchadore wrestler, with the exception that his spandex includes the spout of a teapot. Overall, it's a comically suggestive character design, but once Zundonmaru's hip thrusts were added to the mix, some parents thought it was too much for children's TV.
The BPO published a complaint in its June 2018 edition. The complaint cites "a kettle-like character that appears with a pour spout on its lower body and he vulgarly shakes his waist. It is inappropriate for a children's time slot."
The BPO received 1,635 opinions from viewers in June 2018 by e-mail, telephone, fax, and mail.
Source: BPO via Rakuten Infoseek News (Otamaru), Yara-on!
