(Content Warning: Discussion and imagery of simulated sexual assault)
Japanese online spaces are once again abuzz today with rancor over guests’ inappropriate behavior at Ghibli Park, a space meant to stoke the imagination and provide an escape to a world apart. The uproar began late last month; Ghibli Park, the sole theme park of animation legend Studio Ghibli, features numerous life-size dioramas of characters and scenes from Ghibli films with which visitors can take selfies. When a group of male visitors posted images of themselves perverting the purpose of these dioramas by engaging in the mock sexual assault of statues of young female Ghibli characters, the resulting anger online was palpable.
Ghibli is the animation studio behind numerous of Japan’s most beloved films on both a domestic and international scale; Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, and Whisper of the Heart are just a few examples of multi-generational hits for the company. Despite Ghibli’s status as a family entertainment juggernaut, for long decades the studio resisted moves to cash in via a Disney-esque theme park, instead limiting physical tourist attractions to its more art-and-education oriented Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo.
However, all that changed in November of 2022 with the opening of the much-anticipated Ghibli Park outside of Nagoya. Taking advantage of a pre-existing full-scale reproduction of the family home featured in Totoro, originally made for the 2005 Aichi Expo, the park encompasses various sections themed after different Ghibli worlds and environs. Ghibli Park purposefully eschews the usual rides and other thrilling attractions, instead cultivating a sense of wonder and immersion in a Ghibli-esque environment. One of the available experiences is taking pictures with full-scale replicas of characters. (Something which has garnered uncharitable reviews for the current iteration of the park, which has yet to open all of its attractions, as a “selfie factory.”) The park’s official guidelines limit where one can take photos, and restrict photography for commercial purposes. But as for inappropriate photography? That’s where the issue at hand arises.
An Insult to Childhood Innocence
The offending pictures feature various men mock assaulting the statues of the young female characters Marnie and Therru (from When Marnie was There and Tales from Earthsea, respectively). One shows a park visitor taking a surreptitious photo up Marnie’s skirt with his cell phone. (In other words, engaging in tousatsu, non-consensual photography, a crime so common that Japanese cell phones legally must always make a shutter sound when taking a photograph.) Others show visitors clasping their hands over Marnie’s mouth, as though in the process of abducting her. Adding to the upsetting nature of the gag photos is that Marnie is canonically a 12-year-old character; her statue reflects her age, and she visibly looks like a child next to the guests.
Other images feature what appears to be the same group of visitors mock-assaulting the statue of Therru from Tales from Earthsea, groping her chest from behind. Therru is a character in her mid-teens; worse still, she’s canonically a victim of abuse, her face bearing a scar from where she was burned by her birth parents. She comes from a world where slavery and kidnapping is rampant; Marnie is similarly a character with a difficult history of neglect and hardship. Such character histories and age ranges, well known to many Ghibli fans, make these images of visitors playing at assaulting them all the more upsetting for many viewers.
Reactions of Disgust
Livedoor News recorded some Japanese-language reactions to the photos in an article covering the controversy:
「これは普通に引いちゃうな……」 (“You’d usually think this would put people off….”)
「下品、、、悪ふざけがすぎます」(“Vulgar… This goes beyond mere horseplay”)
「ジブリの世界観壊すのやめてほしいです」(“Would be great if they could stop treading all over the Ghibli worldview.”)
Discussion often centered around comments like this one:
What sort of upbringing do such people have to have to do this sort of thing?
Were they raised by monkeys in the deep mountains?”
Much of the outrage stems not just from the gleeful perversion of young, family-oriented characters, but from the fact that this was done in an amusement park where children and families could easily have seen the proceedings. Commentators worried about what effect seeing such scenes could have on young park attendees.
From Ghibli, a Disatisfactory Response
This controversy has reentered online discourse after two weeks following additional reports of Ghibli’s official statement regarding the images. Livedoor reports that online commentators originally called for Ghibli to make an official response to the controversy, hopefully banning such actions in the future. Instead, they initially received a non-response: a representative from the Ghibli Park PR department told Livedoor “please allow us to respond regarding this incident with ‘no comment.'”
On March 6th, Twitter user 大学のハラスメントを看過しない会 (Association for Not Overlooking University Harassment) summarized a follow-up response from Studio Ghibli regarding the incident. In it, the Ghibli representative claimed that the issue was being given thought, but that no action would be taken at present. When pressed, they added that there would be no change in policy or stated rules regarding inappropriate actions with character models; the representative stated that the sexually threatening nature of the photographs was a matter of opinion, and that in the future staff “may perhaps speak to” visitors displaying similar behavior, but would not inform such visitors that mock sexual harassment was off limits.
Imagining a More Satisfying Reaction
This reportage led to additional disappointment in online spaces, although some responses wondered as to what action Ghibli Park should take given “no actual violent acts nor property damage had been carried out.” Counter-responses tended to focus on the park’s responsibility to at least outline that inappropriate behavior would not be allowed on premises in order to make the park a safer space for all attendees.
Others highlighted the comparison to Disney parks, where strict dress codes and conduct rules are enforced; part of the appeal of Ghibli Park is its more relaxed focus on, for lack of a better word, vibes, where a level of strict control similar to that at Disney might feel out of place. Yet both the Ghibli Museum and Park have fairly strict restrictions on where photographs can and cannot be taken, and it might make sense to have similar rules regarding what actions can be taken within a similar context.
Users further discussed how safe the park felt for young children without a willingness from Ghibli management to create and enforce rules; a point that was additionally raised is that the park does not allow for the use of baby strollers. These points together left some commenters feeling that Ghibli is not doing enough to truly cater to families with young children, who would naturally be a major visitor base for the park.
An Intended Outrage
This controversy comes hot on the heels of a rash of “sushi terrorism“; young adult customers at popular conveyor belt sushi chains have been filming themselves messing with dishes as they rotated near them, leaving the adulterated food to be picked up by unsuspecting customers further down the conveyer line. Much as those videos were purposely trollish and posted for online clout, the photos at Ghibli Park were made as mean-spirited gags for an online viewership that enjoys that sort of misanthropic content. The original posters were even self-declarative Ghibli fans, if their Twitter profiles are to be believed; seeming to miss the humanistic point present in the films of Studio Ghibli is just another reason people are reacting so negatively.
In the end, these are just a handful of objectionable photographs, purposefully meant to get a reaction; perhaps they’re best left ignored. Yet, there’s something especially offensive in seeing soulful characters from a beloved studio abused by fans in a way that seems so antithetical to what Ghibli means to so many. That the park management itself would react in such a hands-off manner to simulated abuse of their own characters has understandably left some disenchanted. And if there’s one thing a place like Ghibli Park should strive to be, it’s enchanting.
Update: Aichi Governor Responds
While the Ghibli management response has been deemed lacking by some, a stronger statement has now been made by what one might call a higher power. Yesterday, March 9th, Aichi prefectural governor Omura Hideaki held a press conference in which he discussed his reaction to the offending photographs. Given that Ghibli Park was developed by the Aichi Prefectural government, his words bear attention.
As recorded by Jiji.com, Governor Omura said:
「（投稿者が）特定されれば何らかの措置は取らないといけないのではないか。極めて悪質なので、こんなことがもしこの後もあれば毅然として対応する」
“If (the uploaders) are identified, surely some sort of steps will have to be taken. These were malicious acts, and if similar occurances are to happen again, we must be resolute in our response.”
Governor Omura directly compared the photographs to the recent string of “sushi terrorism” incidents. He additionally added that he would talk to Ghibli Park management and urge them to prevent such behavior in the future. “Ghibli Park is a place for adults and children to enjoy themselves within the world of Ghibli films. I would prefer that people who act in ways that many find offensive not come to the park.”
Thank you to T. Katsumi for suggesting this update.
