In the nationwide crackdown on illegal horror stories, Chinese officials have seized nearly 6,000 copies of Death Note, the wildly popular manga by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.
The government began targeting toy and school-supply stores in April, searching for Death Note-inspired stationery notebooks that had become popular with students. The scope of the confiscations widened last month to include ghost and horror stories, many of which are printed illegally.
China’s People’s Daily reports that officials have seized 5,912 copies of Death Note, 1,364 horror CDs and DVDs, and 11,930 other illegal horror books.
According to a circular issued by the agency tasked with fighting illegal publications, “Death Note stories contain elements of mystery, death and revenge, and are harmful to children’s psychological development.”
Death Note has inspired an anime series, two live-action films (with a third announced), a light novel and a video game.
