As many of my friends know, I’ve been an anime (used to be called Jap-animation) fan (otaku) for the longest time. Probably longer than most of you who are. At times, I’ve been a causal, poser-type, fan but for most part, really deep into it. There was even a time in my life of self-discovery when I didn’t touch the stuff for a couple years. We all know, as fans, that there are a many facets of anime and being an anime fan. There’s just too many things to know about anime for any one person know, short of breathing, living and sleeping all about it. But if there is such a person, I bow to you...“Ota-King.” Other than the mainstream anime that “posers” are into, real fans know what’s new before they even hits the US shores. This brings up another aspect of being an anime fan that most of us don’t talk about publicly or talk about jokingly–hentai. As defined by Wiki, “Hentai is a Japanese word that, in the West, is used when referring to sexually explicit or pornographic comics and animation, particularly those of Japanese origin such as anime, manga (Japanese comics) and computer games.” For this opinion, let’s use this definition. Whether or not this is an accurate definition will be up to you. This opinion will be focused on hentai as it is by the eyes of the current statues of the law.

For the past two years, I’ve been studying to become a digital forensics technician. As a part of this course, law classes are required, as well as technical classes. While taking these law classes, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, I gained an interest in reading criminal case briefs (a summary on cases, trials and judgments) in my spare time. During the summer, I was curious if there were any cases in relation to anime. For years, I was aware of the grey area of fan-subbing anime (the subtitling and distribution of unlicensed anime in North America). But I was also curious if there were any cases where US anime companies brought any lawsuits to any of the fan-subbing groups. I’ve read many arguments between both groups and attended panel discussions in conventions. Many of the fan-subbing groups seem honorable and removed fansubs from their websites when requested by anime companies from Japan and North America. But some less honorable groups went underground.

In my search for cases, I came across the 2007 case of “US vs. C. S. Handley.” By coincidence, a topic about sexual predators in my studies. The case involved the defendant, Christopher Handley, was charged “with receipt of obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children and possession of obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children.” Hadley had violated statues 18 USC § 1466A(a & b) and § 1461, 2. You could look up these statues in your own time if you’re interesting in knowing them in detail. In common terms related to anime, he was in the possession of hentai material, was caught and charged by the law. Are we not protected by the First Amendment, the freedom of speech? We are, but there are some exceptions. In the case, it was stated that the material “are drawings from Japanese anime comic books that were produced either by hand or by computer, and the drawings depict fictional characters.”

Let’s face it, as anime fans, we know that these materials are easily obtainable (either at conventions, through mail order or the internet) and what type of material they depict and/or represent. This brings up the question “is the possession of these materials against the law?” The mere possession of obscene material is not a crime, but in the case of most hentai, I’m afraid my answer is “yes.” Here’s the reason. If you get caught, you have to prove that the material you have is not obscene to mainstream society standards and must have some artistic value to society. It’s called the Miller Test. If you can’t prove it to a jury of your peers, then the material is obscene. In addition to possession, there also the matter of how it’s obtained. In current statute, § 1466A, it’s illegal to receive or distribute obscene material though interstate commerce. Meaning, we, anime fans, cannot buy, sell or download most hentai and not realizing what it is and what it’s about. Doing so is, in fact, the act of committing a crime. So, what about those retailers who sell hentai at conventions or through the internet? That’s a good question. Legally, I really don’t know the real legality of it when it comes to retailers. Personally, it’s a violation of § 1466.

I’m not an expert at the law, trying to scare you or put a damper in your hobbies. It’s just my interpretation of the law as a student. I scare myself sometimes when I learn how law relates to anime. It makes me think twice sometimes. But I do feel that this is an issue of Japanese culture that we, as anime fans, have to address in our own society. Are you familiar with the show, “Taboo,” on the National Geographic Channel? Good show. And just like the show, we cannot say that what’s acceptable in one culture is acceptable in another, mainly ours. Anime is still a niche hobby in mainstream America that’s, for the most part, still largely misunderstood and too alien. You know the look in people’s faces when you tell them you’re an anime fan. The media mostly feeds the negative aspects of anime to the mainstream. When was the last time you heard anything good through mainstream networks about anime? Disney doesn’t count. For those of you who attended Anime Expo 2000, remember the fiasco with the irresponsible retailer? People still talk about that incident today. We have to be responsible fans for the growth of our hobby or the mainstream will just see us, all, as “hentai.”

Related Info:
US vs. Christopher S. Hadley
Stanley vs. Georgia
US vs. Willimas
Flynt vs. Ohio
Miller vs. California
US vs. Whorley
Kaplan vs. California

Statues 18 USC:
§ 1461
§ 1466A (a) & (b)
§ 2256(2)(A) & (B)

For the longest time, I had people ask me to help them with their computers. All problems stem from how to copy files to a diskette, yes they still exist, to no boot up due to missing or corrupt system files to system crashes. Sound familiar? I sure they do. So why do I help them? That’s an excellent question. One that think about seriously too. My answer is “because it’s good to help out friends and family,” “because it’s my job,” and “because I got cornered to help.” Do I really want to help them? No. Through experience, those problems will happen to the same people again and again, it’s a total waste of time for me and I get no financial gain from it. Look around you. How many ma-and-pa computer stores you see now-a-days? How often do computer shows come around? And if they do, how many vendors show up? A decade ago, I did build computers as a part-time business and because of competition, small profits and ungodly amount of problems, I gave it up. Don’t get me wrong. I do enjoy building computers, but I to it for personal gain and satisfaction. Still sound familiar? Here’s a hint–Wintel computers.

As with many of my generation and socio-economic background, I want to use a computer without any problems whether it’s for play or for business. So why am I writing about this now? A couple days ago, I was reading–yes, reading–news about issues with the new Mac OS upgrade. Most of it stems from some Macs becoming bricks–unusable to system crashes and failures. What a rarity! If you look at this from a computer tech point of view, this is not new to upgrading any system software. Historically, service OS system upgrades pose more problems on Wintel machines as opposed to Macs. The next biggest headache is the upgrading from a previous OS version. The third most problematic issue is the issue of system drivers. Regardless of which OS you use, these issues causes the biggest problems when improving your system.

Whenever a new service pack or system patch comes along, many of us jump on the bandwagon to get it and install it. I, too, have to admit I’m prone to such hype. Remember service packs 1 through 3 or the OS X updates? Vividly. When the media gets hold about a new update coming out, all hell breaks out–litterally. Everything about the service pack, features and fixes, are hyped to a point where the user feels that it’s a necessity to obtain it. OS updates for the Mac are not so hyped. Instead, whenever the software update window pops up, it’s always an option to download and install the update. Without the hype, as opposed to the hype of the Windows service packs, how many of us Mac uses actually read the new fixes and features for the system update for OSX? I admit I read what’s given, but not more extensive view with the “ see more” option.

Remember the switch to Windows 98 to XP? Most thought it was the greatest move in history. I do concur that it was. I used Windows through most of my computer experience. I still remember all blue screens and system crashes that occur very, very frequently in 98 that was taken care of in XP. The most memorable problem are the driver issues. Moving from a 16-bit OS to a 32-bit one caused many hardware manufacturers to update their drivers, most not perfect. It’s true that basic driver issues were taken care of with XP, most still need drivers from the manufacturer to the hardware to work to its full potential. Now, when Vista came on the scene, it was also thought to be the best version out there. When users go their hands on the very expensive monster, they were treated to a lot of aggravation, not to mention spending more money on hardware upgrades to make Vista work “as advertised” with it’s Aero interface. Vista is where I drew the line on helping out.

The Mac OS fared no better. All long-time Mac users remember the transition from OS9 to OSX (OS 10). A lot feared that this upgrade will be a bumpy right. It was. On top of that, the OS was completely rewritten and based with a version of the Debian linux OS. How terrifying was what? Even I had serious concerns with the new OS, for personal and work-related issues. But what concerned all users with the new OS is “will my current programs work?” Many of us Mac users invested a lot (or not) of money in programs that were written for OS9. It was good that Apple had enough foresight to overcome this serious issue...Rosetta. Even with Rosetta, there were still OS problems to overcome. At least the new was a lot more stable then previous OSs. Again the driver issue came up, just like its counterpart. As with XP, Apple did a better job at porting device drivers to the new OS. Still, there were some devices that worked at the basic level and not to its full potential. The initial transition was difficult, but with constant updating, the new OS became better, less buggy and more stable after each subsequent version. And then in the mid-2000s, Apple made that all important decision to switch from PowerPC to Intel processors. All believed that it was the best move Apple has made. It was. No longer I had to explain the why a slow PowerPC processes information much faster than a faster Intel processor to the “not so well versed” person. Now, Apple is on almost equal footing with hardware. Consumers could now compare hardware directly to other manufacturers. With comparable hardware, the Mac OS was faster, stable and user-friendly than XP.

What I’m trying to get at–is that what ever OS you use, upgrading and updating will have issues. Each OS developer tries their best to take into account these issues and make the transition less painful for their users. Unfortunately, most people don’t realize or understand some issues when they upgrade or update their systems. It’s like “a new update is out and I have to install it” mentality. There are a couple major things to do when you do upgrade or update; always back-up your files or your entire system drive, check for system requirements, and, if you have the knowledge and patience to do so, instead of updating system software with a new version, do a complete re-install of all software whenever a new version comes out.

At one time, a friend of mine asked me [to paraphrase] “why pay for an update when there’s linux out there for free?” I do use linux, but for experimentation on an old Pentium II machine. I installed the Ubuntu version of linux on the beast and it runs a lot faster than Intel Core 2 Duo. Really. So why doesn’t everyone use linux? Well, here’s what I think is a good answer…usability and money. Most people use a Wintel computer because they’re cheap, readily available and useful to most people, but tend to forget the problems that come with such machines. People use Macs to get good hardware, ease of use and very little problems, but you pay a premium. Linux, on the other hand, is cheap (free in a lot of cases), doesn’t use a lot of system resources, but is somewhat difficult to use. So what would I choose? Most of you probably already guessed. I use a Mac. Why? For all my personal history in using computers, I know firsthand all the problems and costs that come with owning a computer. There’s too many manufactures making too products…some are good, but many more, cheap and unreliable. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for all the choices out there, but the hodgepodge causes too many incompatibilities. And many users don’t understand them at all. In addition to that, I don’t like the fact that whatever hardware I buy becomes obsolete in a few months, therefore wasting more money in upgrades. So with a Mac, I get good, reliable hardware and software, it’s easy to use, saved money I would’ve wasted in constant hardware upgrades, protection from obsolescence and it’s also used as a standard for creative people in the graphic design industry. But on top of it all, it just works.