It’s pretty much a given, especially in the age of the Internet, that once your intellectual property gets popular enough, there are going to be fan-created derivatives. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Japan has Comiket to prove that fan-created works can be beneficial to a property. However, sometimes a line has to be drawn, and the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise (or Studio Khara at least) has finally drawn several of those lines in the sand.
In an official update posted to their website, Studio Khara has laid out the ground rules for what people can do with their IP without getting any kind of copyright strike against them and, for the most part, the claims are just and valid. They mostly don’t want to see people using their characters to promote hateful or political messages and they also want a cut if you use their characters in any sort of commercial venture (it’s still totally cool to post your fan art to social media without their permission).
Unfortunately, there is one clause in Studio Khara’s terms that I believe is going to be a real sticking point with fans. The clause in question states that artists are no longer allowed to draw the Evangelion characters in a purposely pornographic manner. That’s right, Studio Khara has outlawed lewds of the Evangelion characters.
The loophole here is that the wording is pretty vague. Purposely pornographic means (I’m assuming) no graphic tentacle doujinshi, but who’s saying that a tasteful swimsuit or plugsuit piece isn’t crossing the line?
With the new Evangelion movie titled Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time hitting theaters in Japan within the next few weeks and Comiket returning to Tokyo Big Sight in May 2021, it will be fascinating to see what Studio Khara allows to pass and what they decide to take a stand against.
Source: ITMedia
