Shin Chan director reacts to the show facing censorship in India

Talking exclusively to this publication on his recent tour of India, the director of the latest film Shin chan: The Spicy Kasukabe Dancers in India Masakazu Hashimoto has discussed how the show has developed and previously been censored in India. The movie takes the popular yet unpopular character to India a nation where his cartoon series blew up but was also widely condemned for material considered inappropriate for children.

Shin Chan director looks back on character development and Indian censorship

Hashimoto made clear that he didn’t know anything about censorship problems the show had in India. However, he said that the character of Shin Chan has evolved over the years even in Japan. The evolution is not because of censorship but because of rules on what is acceptable for kids. “For example I am now blessed with children and I ask them not to show their butts. Because Shin Chan is the children’s hero everything he does is copied mimicked by them. I feel these changes are for the good,” he said.

Hashimoto also commented on the growing market of anime in India and the more relative struggle of indigenous animated films. He suggested that Japanese animation is made keeping in mind a global audience, which results in a better product. In contrast he noted that Indian audiences are readily accepting of international content. This perspective comes as anime continues to break box office records in India with Haruo Sotozaki’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba earning over ₹63 crore in just 11 days.

The director’s link with India is not recent. He told us that his first Indian film was Rajinikanth’s Muthu: The Dancing Maharaja, a movie which was a major hit in Japan. His interest in the nation was his driving force to place the new Shin Chan movie in India. “I knew if I made him come to India I would be able to come here for location hunting too,” he admitted.

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