TOKYO, Japan — The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) announced Monday that a new code of standards will regulate the content of future broadcast anime. Under the new “Anime Code”, a Ministry spokesperson said, anime studios will adhere to strict formulas that “promote civic responsibility, interest in education, and acceptable social behavior.”

Under the new system, all future broadcast anime will feature a male protagonist attending an elite high school — usually one that trains its students in magical combat skills. The Ministry spokesperson claimed that this setting is best suited to promoting young people’s enthusiasm for school and will encourage them to take pride in their studies. In order to encourage struggling students, the protagonist will begin the series at the bottom of his class only to be helped along in his studies by a brainy and attractive female friend over the course of a single episode. In order to stigmatize lewd behavior, this stock protagonist will routinely walk in on his female friends changing only to be punished with physical violence. Villains are to be portrayed as criminal delinquents and anti-social terrorists. Foreign villains will vary from Red Chinese agents to threatening Western figures such as Christian priests and American politicians.

“Naturally we hope to honor the proud traditions of anime that have made it so popular both at home and abroad,” the spokesperson continued. “As such, each show under the new system will meet a quota of at least one red-haired tsundere romantic interest. We will also make sure to continue the recent trend of having several young, naive female characters to appease the moe demographic.”

When asked if the new code and government regulations might anger Japanese anime viewers, the spokesperson was unconcerned. “The new standards were constructed with current industry trends in mind. Furthermore, we’ve cooperated with several key studios to run test-case shows in the current season. If the success of shows like The Asterisk War, Chivalry of a Failed Knight, and The 35th Test Platoon are anything to go by, we’re just giving the fans more of what they want.”

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