Fellow otaku, let’s try to avoid ‘Nobunasty’ label
Trigger warning: This story contains elements of child pornography. The subject of this article was charged in November 2017 and found guilty in February 2018 of violating Japan’s Anti-Child Prostitution and Pornography ordinance.
The year was 2003. As a soon-to-be minted college graduate, my reignited passion for anime and manga was emboldened by Cartoon Network’s announcement of a new anime 
series coming to its Toonami block. This series was set in Meiji era Japan’s final days during which a legendary swordsman who is a former assassin began to atone for his actions by taking up his sword to fight for the innocent. His name was Kenshin Himura, and his story was called Rurouni Kenshin.
Nobuhiro Nishiwaki
When I saw Rurouni Kenshin, I was hooked. I’m an aficionado of things samurai and action, and I was excited to watch every episode and read the manga series created by Nobuhiro Nishiwaki. The manga adaptation was perfect in the areas of storytelling and art just as the anime. Kenshin and company’s adventures made Nishwaki (under the pen name of Nobuhiro Watsuki) an overnight manga star with more than 70 million copies of Rurouni Kenshin sold globally and adapted into several anime movies, a live action trilogy and a 2023 reboot of the anime. However, with news of the 2023 reboot, Nishwaki reignited years of controversy that brought shadows of division among Kenshin fans and spotlighted a dark problem festering in the anime industry in Japan and the West.
In November 2017, Anime News Network reporter Rafael Pineda broke the story that Nishiwaki was charged with possession of child pornography. Acting on an anonymous tip regarding a different investigation, Tokyo Metropolitan Police raided Nishiwaki’s office and home resulting in the discovery of numerous DVDs containing footage of nude young women in their early teens. Pineda noted Nishiwaki’s deposition where he stated that he “liked girls in late elementary school to the second year of middle school.” As a result, Nishwaki was convicted of child pornography possession under Japan’s Anti Child Prostitution and Pornography ordinance in 2018 and he was fined 200,000 yen (U.S. $1,900).
This action led manga publishers Shueisha and Viz Media to suspend publication of 
Kenshin’s Hokkaido arc (Viz Media ultimately decided to cancel future issues) and brought a chorus of international condemnation upon Nishiwaki. Despite the anger and calls for cancelation of Rurouni Kenshin by otaku worldwide, Nishiwaki returned to the manga and anime scene with a 2021 exhibition project that was supported by mangakas Takeshi Obata (Death Note), Masashi Kishimoto (Naruto), Eiichiro Oda (One Piece), and Hiroyuki Takei (Shaman King). These creators also caught displeasure from their readers for having contact with Nishiwaki. In July 2023, Aniplex of America premiered the reboot at Anime Expo in Los Angeles.
Although the premiere did include some of the Japanese voice cast and an Aniplex producer, Nishiwaki did not attend because of possible violations of U.S. and California sex offender laws. When news of the English dub was released, I and other otaku were understandably upset, believing that Nishiwaki should not profit from this project. However, CBR.com’s Renee Senzatimore reported that actors Howard Wang, Bill Butts and Yong Yea who voice Kenshin, Saito, and Jin-e Udo stated that they condemn Nishiwaki’s actions and have donated their profits from the remake to Child Rescue Coalition, a organization that assists law enforcement by tracking down child predators through technological support.
As an otaku, I understand that Kenshin and Co. are NOT the criminals here, Nishiwaki or “Nobunasty” as I refer to him, is. Nobunasty, you should be ashamed of yourself and be denied royalties from any future Kenshin projects. I know that is a far stretch in legal terms, but he should learn from Kenshin and use the rest of his life to fight against this most evil of crimes. I also hold Shueisha and Aniplex responsible as well, since having knowledge that Nobunasty was found guilty in a court of law that he had possession of child pornography, they brought unjust work upon those who worked on various Kenshin projects to clean up his image. This foolishness forced anime licensors, dubbing companies and actors in Japan and outside of it to say that anime and manga do not condone such behavior of artists such as Nobunasty and should donate profits to organizations that fight crimes such as child pornography.
Finally, to Viz Media, Mr. Butts, Mr. Wang, and Mr. Yea; I have the utmost respect for your separate actions to hold Nobunasty accountable. Canceling future releases and donating profits may not stop him from profiting off Kenshin but it sends a clear message that sexualizing children is NOT COOL. I will state this for GI readers new and old: GI will keep to our bread and butter of reviewing the latest and greatest in gaming and geek culture, but when real world issues step into these topics, we will speak up and inform our readers. Why? Because Kenshin Himura said so that he did. It’s also the right thing to do. Don’t be an ignorant otaku.
Brandon Beatty is editor-at-large of Gaming Insurrection. He can be reached by email at brandonb@gaminginsurrection.com
