Russian Court Bans Isekai Anime For Promoting Reincarnation Beliefs

Popular isekai anime KonoSuba and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, as well as several others, have been banned on certain sites in Russia recently. The Russian court decided that the isekai (meaning "otherworld") titles "promote reincarnation beliefs" and show that "after death, there can be a more full and interesting life, free from control of one's parents."

On Monday, the Russian district court in Saint Petersburg banned a total of five anime titles, citing the federal Russian law for the protection of children from harmful information. The list of banned series includes isekai anime KonoSuba and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, comedy horror anime Zombie Land Saga, comedy romance Nekopara and harem anime Princess Lover!.

In the announcement posted in the court's official Telegram channel, the court's press service wrote that the decision to ban KonoSuba was made after invited experts deemed that the series promotes reincarnation beliefs.

The court has ruled that, for example, KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! promotes reincarnation beliefs by showing that after death there can be a more full and interesting life, free from control of one's parents. The world after death is shown to be colorful, full of adventures and offering an opportunity to lead an indulgent life full of drinking, sexual relations and unlawful activities, while the real life is shown as joyless and filled with loneliness.

The court also mentioned that some of the material found in the banned titles was deemed to be pornographic, although the exact title or titles were not named.

As with the bans of Death Note and Tokyo Ghoul that took place in January, the ban only applies to a handful of hosting sites, including Animejapan.tv, Animego.org, Jut.su and Animeonline.cc, however, it is possible that Russia's censorship agency Roskomnadzor could interpret it as more encompassing.