# Texas "anti-anime" law kicks in, already having fallout **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** cartoons-animation\ **Created:** [September 13, 2025, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-anti-anime-law-kicks-in-already-having-fallout/1023023 "2025-09-13T20:00:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2025, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-anti-anime-law-kicks-in-already-having-fallout/1023023/1 "2025-09-13T20:00:54Z")
The language and intent of the law is vague enough to potentially include vast amounts of widely available anime and manga, (This topic came up in the nutty “demons and porn” thread weeks ago but has been declared off-topic there.) > On Sept. 1, Texas embraced the Senate Bill 20, dubbed ‘Anti-[Anime](https://www.cbr.com/tag/anime/)’ by the fandom, and it has already led to some popular manga being pulled from the shelves and publishers being banned from conventions. > > According to the new legislation, anyone who owns or shares obscene material featuring a character who appears to be a minor is now committing a serious crime, punishable by jail time. While the law uses a broad legal definition for what is considered “obscene,” the trickiest part is how widely it applies. The [bill’s text](https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/billtext/html/SB00020I.htm) specifically states that it covers not only real images but also “cartoon or animation” – a clause that directly puts anime and manga content at risk of prosecution. [https://www.cbr.com/anime-censorship-texas-law/](https://www.cbr.com/anime-censorship-texas-law/) [https://screenrant.com/anime-censorship-ban-texas-senate-law-unconstitutional-op-ed/](https://screenrant.com/anime-censorship-ban-texas-senate-law-unconstitutional-op-ed/) > **[Texas Senate Passes Bill That Could Criminalize Owning Anime, Manga &...](https://animehunch.com/texas-senate-passes-bill-that-could-criminalize-owning-anime-manga-games-with-loli-characters/)** > > The Texas Senate has unanimously passed a bill that, if enacted into law, could potentially criminalize the possession of anime, manga, and video games ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2025, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-anti-anime-law-kicks-in-already-having-fallout/1023023/2 "2025-09-13T20:26:18Z")
I’m sure the people of Texas will band together and speak with a voice that cannot be ignored against their Christian government overlords. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2025, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-anti-anime-law-kicks-in-already-having-fallout/1023023/3 "2025-09-13T20:29:03Z")
OK, so which Republican Texas senators have a terabyte stash of loli hentai? ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2025, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-anti-anime-law-kicks-in-already-having-fallout/1023023/4 "2025-09-13T20:31:11Z")
And all of the cartoon victims of violence breathe a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, another school shooting in Texas is inevitable. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2025, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-anti-anime-law-kicks-in-already-having-fallout/1023023/5 "2025-09-13T20:38:34Z")
BTW, the quote I gave was from the first (and most recent) article about titles being pulled from shops and publishers being banned from conventions. The link didn’t get a boxed preview. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2025, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-anti-anime-law-kicks-in-already-having-fallout/1023023/6 "2025-09-13T20:42:29Z")
> [@Disinfectus](#): > > And all of the cartoon victims of violence breathe a sigh of relief What about [projected holograms](https://youtu.be/qQw_rJmnzi8?si=lCpL5DfZhdt01Ho8)? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2025, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-anti-anime-law-kicks-in-already-having-fallout/1023023/7 "2025-09-13T20:50:36Z")
Looks like you may have found a loophole. For the time being. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2025, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-anti-anime-law-kicks-in-already-having-fallout/1023023/8 "2025-09-13T20:55:36Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > dubbed ‘Anti-[Anime](https://www.cbr.com/tag/anime/)’ by the fandom Wait—so this “anime” stuff is full of sexual images of minors? Sounds like of course we should ban it—and I certainly wouldn’t want the children to watch it! ↑ That’s not _really_ my own sincere reaction, but as someone who doesn’t typically watch/read anime and manga, and who is just now hearing about this, it’s the first thing that popped into my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2025, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-anti-anime-law-kicks-in-already-having-fallout/1023023/9 "2025-09-13T23:28:05Z")
There’s been at least two people in Wisconsin charged with child porn felonies for AI child porn. > **[Felony AI-generated child porn case is a test of new Wisconsin law](https://www.wpr.org/news/felony-ai-child-porn-case-eau-claire-county-new-wisconsin-law)** > > A child pornography case in Eau Claire County is testing a recently enacted state law, because the images that brought six felony charges were created entirely by AI. The defendant's attorney has vowed to challenge the constitutionality of... ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2025, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-anti-anime-law-kicks-in-already-having-fallout/1023023/10 "2025-09-13T23:39:27Z")
Ain’t nobody more obsessed with pedo paraphernalia than the party of pedos. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2025, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-anti-anime-law-kicks-in-already-having-fallout/1023023/11 "2025-09-13T23:42:11Z")
Is the law banning _all_ anime, or just anime that depicts children or child-like characters in “obscene” ways? And what exactly is “obscene”? You could define all these things way too broadly, but at its core I don’t see why this is inherently bad. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2025, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-anti-anime-law-kicks-in-already-having-fallout/1023023/12 "2025-09-13T23:54:10Z")
From the link in the OP, it bans anime that appears to be a person younger than age 18 that is depicted in sexual/obscene content. I’d imagine that this is going to be tricky given that a lot of anime characters are drawn as people who could pass as any age from, say, 14 through 22. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2025, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-anti-anime-law-kicks-in-already-having-fallout/1023023/13 "2025-09-13T23:56:26Z")
Yeah, there’s the rub. It’s so broad in scope that it seems like it could impact a lot of shows where the characters just look young, and what looks like a minor is questionable when everything’s a cartoon. I can’t think of very many anime women who look like adults. You know, other than that lady from _Howl’s Moving Castle_. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-anti-anime-law-kicks-in-already-having-fallout/1023023/14 "2025-09-14T00:31:28Z")
[quote=“Velocity, post:12, topic:1023023”] From the link in the OP, it bans anime that appears to be a person younger than age 18 that is depicted in sexual/obscene content. [/quote] by How does that compare to where the line is drawn for live action movies? I’m not sure what the rules are for live action movies actually - obviously there are movies with “sex scenes” where characters are not 18, but I presume there are limits on what that can show. Are these anime rules stricter than that? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-anti-anime-law-kicks-in-already-having-fallout/1023023/15 "2025-09-14T00:35:41Z")
The “rules” are extremely vague. Probably on purpose, giving them the opportunity to come down on some people much harder than others. Hence the dealers/conventions taking an overabundance of caution. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-anti-anime-law-kicks-in-already-having-fallout/1023023/16 "2025-09-14T01:48:06Z")
The whole purpose of this kind of law is the chilling effect. Things are going to get banned just because they might possibly if you squint real hard fit the definition of obscene. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-anti-anime-law-kicks-in-already-having-fallout/1023023/17 "2025-09-14T02:02:12Z")
I don’t know about those live-action laws (I’m sure some Doper lawyer can step in) so I can’t compare, but this new Texas law essentially means that anime porn of any sort is going to be illegal if you can get an entire jury (or the judge, if a bench trial) to agree that the character being depicted looks under age 18. As **Spice Weasel** said, it’s a rule that sounds narrow in theory but could be very broad in practice. I do wonder, though, why anime-porn creators who are worried about such a law don’t just draw it to look unmistakably adult-aged. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-anti-anime-law-kicks-in-already-having-fallout/1023023/18 "2025-09-14T02:06:48Z")
TIL that Rooster Teeth, the company that makes RWBY, is based in Texas. As far as I know it doesn’t fall foul of this law, but I’m sure they will be affected. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-anti-anime-law-kicks-in-already-having-fallout/1023023/19 "2025-09-14T02:15:44Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I do wonder, though, why anime-porn creators who are worried about such a law don’t just draw it to look unmistakably adult-aged. Probably for the same reason porn videos don’t use titles like “I banged two hot ADULT WOMEN” ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2025, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-anti-anime-law-kicks-in-already-having-fallout/1023023/20 "2025-09-14T02:26:03Z")
Though they won’t hesitate to add “step-” before any references to family members. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-anti-anime-law-kicks-in-already-having-fallout/1023023.md?page=2)