Novels with incest themes are becoming popular in Japan, reported Japan Today's news website Sunday.
These novels are popularly known as ‘light novels' and usually stretch no longer than 200 pages. They are also often serialized and target mostly middle and high school students. One of the more popular light novel series is My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute, which chronicles the life of a high school student who finds out his younger sister has an obsession with anime and incest-themed adult computer games.
Testament to the popularity of this series is the planned release in October of 12 Little Sister novels, added the report. Some of these include My Little Sister Who Is Popular With Girls and Me Who Suffers (Volume 5), My Little Sister is Mad Because My Girlfriend Came Onto Me?, I Know You're My Brother but as Long as There's Love It Doesn't Matter, Right? (Volume 7) and Little Sister Complex (Volume 3).
The popularity of incest-themed light novels has spawned adaptations into video games, manga and anime series in the country. Recently, an anime adaptation of Hajime Taguchi's light novel titled My Little Sister is Among Them! premiered in Japan through video streaming service Crunchyroll on July 6. A home video release is planned for launch in 2013.
The trend has drawn the attention of the Japanese authorities who have taken continual measures to crack down on publications and material they consider unsuitable for youths in the country. In 2011, the Tokyo Youth Health Development Council imposed new restrictions on the number of publications it deems "excessively disrupting of social order" using the Tokyo Youth Healthy Development Ordinance, a law passed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly in 1964 to promote the healthy development of youths under the age of 18 by restricting their access to published material that is considered harmful.
This followed an earlier announcement by manga comics creator Masahiro Itosugi in April 2011 on ending the printings of volumes 1 and 3 in her Aki Sora manga series. Itsosugi cited the story's depiction of incest as the main reason for this.
EW
