A few months ago, the world watched as the popular anime franchise Naruto broke the Japanese box office record with a staggering $4.3 billion.
The series, which is loosely based on the manga of the same name, has sold more than 70 million copies in its first two seasons and is on track to beat the previous record set by The Hunger Games franchise.
But as with all great series, the audience response has been mixed.
Despite a growing fan base, the series has not managed to match its predecessors.
In fact, its viewership has dropped since the release of the first season in 2012.
It seems that, for fans of Naruto, a lot of the negativity surrounding the series stems from its sex scenes.
According to Anime News Network (ANI), a Japanese website that covers anime and manga, the anime’s main character, Shino, was one of the most popular characters on the show.
As a result, Naruto has often been referred to as a “sex anime.”
Anime fans have criticized the series’ depiction of women, calling the series sexist and making fun of its use of suggestive facial expressions.
“It’s just the way it is, and I don’t really think it needs to be criticized, because it’s a great show,” one fan told Anime News.
But others argue that the series actually portrays women well.
In an interview with The Guardian, Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto said that he “wanted to create a more realistic world for girls” and was “really surprised” by how well that turned out.
According to ANI, Naruto fans who complained about the sex scenes were “taken aback” by Kishimura’s response, which suggested that he was more concerned about the positive reaction he received than he was about the issue at hand.
“If I were to respond, ‘What do you mean, ‘we’re really shocked’ and ‘I’m really disappointed in you’?
That would be a waste of time,” Kishiko told ANI.”
I just didn’t know how to respond.
I don´t know what I could say to say to them that I was really shocked and disappointed.
I’m really sorry.”
According to the Anime News network, Kishuchi said he wasn’t surprised by the controversy, and that he just wanted to “make a statement about the series.”
“I really didn’t expect the reaction I got,” he told ANi.
“It’s a very serious matter.
I’ve been in the business for more than a decade and I think there’s a lot more I could have done to show my sincere concern.”
For the most part, anime fans seem to be happy with Kishino’s response to the issue.
In the last two months alone, Naruto and Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku have both surpassed the $3 billion mark, and in January, it was announced that Shino had become the fourth character to become the most-watched anime on YouTube.
