© Gurihiru, Samuel Sattin, Osamu Tezuka, Scholastic
The Richmond Observer newspaper reported on Thursday that Richmond County Schools in North Carolina removed all copies of Unico: Awakening sold at Scholastic Book Fairs in the district, pending a review. The move follows a complaint from a mother of a first-grade student at Mineral Springs Elementary.
Scholastic publishes the series, which is Samuel Sattin and Gurihiru‘s manga adaptation of Osamu Tezuka‘s Unico manga, and describes the story:
UNICO tells the story of a fierce young unicorn who angers the goddess Venus with his ability to inspire positivity and hope. Driven by jealousy, she vows to destroy him, ordering her servant, the West Wind, to abandon Unico on the Hill of Forgetfulness. Instead, the West Wind takes pity on Unico, and to protect him, brings him from era to era, constantly on the move, always forgetting where he’s been before. As he works to unravel the mystery of who he is and where he comes from, he is hunted by gods and monsters, and will need to unlock his full powers to save the world. Unico is joined by a cast of characters, some of whom–like Chloe the watchcat or the mysterious Sphinx–are brave and kind, while others–like the all-powerful Venus and her servant the Night Wind–are bent on destruction.
Nikki Fletcher, the mother who filed the complaint, reported being shocked by the graphic novel’s depiction of gun violence and animal abuse, specifically when a man attacks a cat. Cameron Whitley, the district’s executive director of communications, told The Richmond Observer that the district has removed the book from its Scholastic Book Fair events “to allow us time to review the concern and reach out to (S)cholastic.”
The series is rated for ages 8-12 or grades 3-7.
Recent Manga Removals and Bans in the U.S.
Horry County Schools in South Carolina moved to remove Yūsei Matsui‘s Assassination Classroom manga from its school libraries on November 15, after the mother of a ninth grader at Socastee High School complained to the district regarding the manga’s content. According to the district’s policy, the District Reconsideration Committee’s decision “and if applicable, the local board’s review” cannot be challenged for five years.
Gifford Middle School in eastern Florida removed the Assassination Classroom manga from its library in March 2023 after receiving complaints from groups. The Elmbrook School District in southeastern Wisconsin similarly removed the manga from its electronic library that month after a complaint by a parent. The series faced challenges in other states as well.
The Brevard Public Schools Board in Florida banned the first volume of Shō Harusono‘s Sasaki and Miyano boys-love manga from the district’s school libraries during a board meeting on August 27 earlier this year. A person in the district challenged the book’s inclusion in the schools’ libraries on the grounds that “sexual orientation should not be encouraged, suggested, or implanted” in the youth. The complaint also included concerns children would be “exposed to age-inappropriate, obscene, explicit content” and that there was “no value in making homosexual books available at school.” The book is rated for T for Teens.
Utah banned 13 non-manga books from all public schools in the state in August, under a new law that bans books in all of Utah’s 41 school districts if at least three districts boards ban them for pornographic or indecent material. According to the Associated Press, Tennessee, Idaho, and South Carolina have similar laws and regulations that allow books to be banned in school libraries statewide.
Source: The Richmond Observer (William R. Toler) via Otaku USA Magazine
