On China's SNS, Xiaohongshu (RED), a post recently introduced that a complaint was made to Japan's Broadcasting Ethics and Program Improvement Organization (BPO) regarding the late-night anime 'Yanineko,' and it has become a hot topic among Chinese netizens.

'Yanineko' is based on a manga by Nyannyan Factory, serialized in Kodansha's 'Weekly Young Magazine.' It is a comedy work set in a fictional city where humans and beast-people live together, depicting the lazy daily lives of the heavy smoker Satou Yaniko, known as 'Yanineko,' and her friends who surround her.

According to the summary of proceedings on the Broadcasting Ethics and Program Improvement Organization's website, critical opinions were submitted by viewers regarding the work, stating, 'There are repeated depictions of smoking and scenes of what appear to be illegal drug use, which raises the question of whether this is appropriate, even for a late-night broadcast.' This matter was taken up for discussion on July 28.

A committee member in charge of this issue stated, 'Broadcasting during a late-night period, premised on children not watching, shows consideration from the program producers. Furthermore, since it is not explicitly stated as illegal drug use, I believe it falls within the permissible range in terms of freedom of expression.'

However, another committee member pointed out, 'When (illegal drug use) is a social problem, I think it's better not to broadcast anything ambiguous.' They seem to have criticized the self-injection scene of 'Yaku Neko' that appeared in Episode 2, asking, 'Can you think of anything else (besides stimulant use)?'

This discussion was also picked up on Xiaohongshu, and netizens raised comments such as, 'This work isn't targeting teenagers. All they need to do is avoid involving children,' and 'If children are watching this anime during its broadcast time, that's clearly a level where parents should be reprimanded for insufficient supervision. They haven't put their children to bed, even though it's late at night.'

Furthermore, views were also submitted that the work serves as a negative example for smoking, with comments like, 'On the contrary, it's an anime that clearly promotes quitting smoking. After watching one episode, just seeing tobacco makes me nauseous,' and 'Even as a smoker myself, watching this anime made me want to quit.'

On the other hand, there were also opinions such as, 'How many people even watch anime on TV these days?' suggesting that viewing through streaming services is unavoidable, and 'This might have a negative impact not just on children, but on people in general. I'm afraid that if things continue like this, some dangerous anime might emerge.' (Translation/Editing by Iwata)