Fan adaptations of manga and anime franchises are a major part of Japanese subcultures, most notably in doujinshi. But fan fiction is not always liked by the original creators, especially when it is depicting beloved characters in sexually explicit settings.
As one of the most popular and obsessed-about franchises, Evangelion has attracted plenty of such fan fiction and doujinshi attention. And given the popularity of the female character Rei Ayanami, who is regarded as a sex symbol by many, it is inevitable that Evangelion fan fiction is often sexual explicit — or, in another cadence, pornographic.
Ahead of the Japanese release of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time in movie theaters on January 23, Studio Khara has posted a series of “guidelines” for fan works. After all, it knows it cannot stop fan fiction altogether, but nonetheless wants to stop erotic (and commercial) examples. As far as we know, this is the first official such move by the studio to address fan works.
The guidelines ask fans to “refrain” from “posting Evangelion fan works that are intended for pornographic purposes” (ポルノ表現そのものを目的としたもの).
As in specifically? Well, perhaps if your overtly sexual image of Rei is ALSO enjoyable as porn but was not, ahem, primarily intended as such, you won’t find yourself battling Studio Khara in the courts.
The guidelines also ask fans not to make work that is “any other anti-social form of expression” — which could be just about anything!
Whether or not these new guidelines, which were released in late December, are a sign that the studio is set to be more litigious about fan works is unclear. Considering that its intense fandom — including fan works, sexual and otherwise — has been the core reason for the franchise’s longevity, we suspect the studio would be foolish to go after the doujinshi creators.
