Search
Partners
Anime News
|
NANA Glamorizes Underage Smoking? Date: 1/30/2007 |
| Ai Yazawa's manga, NANA has sold over 36.5 million copies in Japan, the live action movie version has brought in box-office profits in excess of four billion Yen. A sequel film is now in the works. The TV anime is broadcast by Nippon Television Network. The mix media franchise has excelled to heights of popularity. Recently, accusations have been levied that the series, which features excessive smoking in all its forms, possibly glamorizes the unhealthy habit, especially among minors. Manabu Sakuta, professor of Kyorin University's Department of Medicine and president of the Japanese Society Of Tobacco Control recently made some comments on the issue to the Gendai Weekly: " Scenes are being broadcast in which minors are seen smoking in a dignified manner." He added in that in some of the illustrations of the TV anime the brands, cigarette brands could even be made out. "Such TV animation is unprecedented." The society posted an official letter of protest to both Nippon Television Network Corporation and JT (Japan Tobacco) on January 18. NTV made the following comments to Weekly Gendai regarding their coverage: "Though it has been decided not to handle the situations in a was as to beautify smoking, the descriptions concerning smoking in the work are essential to the story." The same society listed above supposedly sent a sent a similar letter to Yazawa last June. |
| Source: Anime News Service |
