Rurouni Kenshin Creator Avoids Jail Time For Child Porn

According a report translated by SoraNews, Nobuhiro Watsuki, creator of the Rurouni Kenshin series, will not be facing jail time as per the Tokyo Summary Court.

Watsuki was arrested late last year for possession of child pornography. Under Japan's Child Prostitution and Child Pornography Law, possession of material depicting minors naked or engaged in sexual activity results in up to one year imprisonment or a fine of One Million Yen (over $9000). The statute exempts fictional minors depicted in anime, manga, and CGI.

On Feb 27th, the Tokyo Summary Court has sentenced Watsuki to only pay a fine of 200,000 yen (around $1900).

Japanese publisher Shueisha, who serialized the Rurouni Kenshin manga in Shonen Jump, has suspended the release of the ongoing sequel manga, while TV broadcasts of the Ruruoni Kenshin live-action movies are canceled in Japan, altogether.

Rurouni Kenshin Creator Arrested

The creator of Rurouni Kenshin and Buso Renkin, Nobuhiro Watsuki, is arrested on possession of child pornography, according to Yahoo News Japan, and the Yomiuri Shinbun.

According to reports, police had uncovered DVDs of women aged 15 and under at Watsuki’s office in Tokyo, as well as inside his home. Watsuki quoted to the police “I liked girls from the upper grades of elementary school to around the second year of junior high school”.

Possession of child pornography is illegal in Japan (with the exception of lolicon or sexual depictions of fictional young women under the age of 18). If convicted, Watsuki would face one-year in prison, as well as having to pay a fine of 1 million yen (around $9000).

Serialized in Shonen Jump from 1994 to 1999, Watsuki’s Rurouni Kenshin depicts a former assassin defending the people of Meiji-era Japan, while vowing to never kill again. It was adapted to an anime series that aired in Japan from 1996 to 1998. Columbia Pictures Television (a division of Sony) would release the series internationally under the title “Samurai X”. Media Blasters acquired the rights for the US release and aired on Cartoon Network’s Toonami block in 2003. Three live-action films adapting the manga were released from 2012 to 2014.

In September of this year, Watsuki produced a sequel manga series of Rurouni Kenshin, which is serialized in Jump Square. Publisher Shueisha has announced that in light of Watsuki’s arrest, the Rurouni Kenshin sequel manga will be put on hiatus, according to a report from Buzzfeed Japan.

In addition to Rurouni Kenshin, Watsuki also created the manga series Buso Renkin, of a young teenager who uses the power of alchemy to combat various monsters. It was serialized in Shonen Jump from 2003to 2005, and was adapted into an anime series airing from 2006 to 2007.