AX Incident Conclusion

From reports by Kenny Liu by e-mail, and Megazone on Anime on DVD’s forum, the break down of the events at Anime Expo that caused the problems with regard to adult material seems to be as follows. The problems occurred when a dealer, who had a history of problems, sold pornographic material to a minor. For liability reasons Disney staff observed the dealer, who repeatedly sold pornographic material to minors. In an attempt to minimize the gravity of his actions, the dealer pointed out other dealers who also sold pornographic material. A dealer who exclusively dealt in hentai material became irate about a perceived violation of first amendment rights and demanded that the cops be called. The first amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances,” and does not extend to private institutions governing their own property. The dealer pointed out dealers selling hentai to the cops, and stated that much of anime is about pornographic material with underage girls. At this point Disney managers were called and alerted to the problem, and the police checked out the video showing rooms. At the time they examined the video room, Midnight Madness programming was running, much of which was of an adult nature. AX management defused the situation by agreeing to pull anything hentai. AX staff members stayed up through the night to help dealers pull objectionable items, and the program director redid the viewing schedule. Likewise, art show staff decided what was to be removed. Items that were not hentai were questioned. Due to box art issues, Manga was asked about Ghost in the Shell and Perfect Blue, but were allowed to keep them after explaining their content. Reportedly Himeya Soft, who sells only hentai material, left of their own decision, and were not kicked out. The movie X was not shown at the convention, but not because it was pulled. There was a snafu that caused the print to not be on hand.