Two South Australian crossbench politicians are calling for an urgent review of classification laws, after discovering videos and comic books sold in Australia that depict sexual images of children, including rape scenes.

Key points: Comic books and videos involving child exploitation are available in Australian shops

Comic books and videos involving child exploitation are available in Australian shops Two MPs want classification laws changed to ban them

Two MPs want classification laws changed to ban them A store owner says he chooses not to sell products he decides are not suitable

SA Best Upper House MP Connie Bonaros has been investigating Japanese anime and manga publications and found many for sale that she believed should not have got past the Classification Board.

"They are effectively regulating this material like they would a video game or like they would a film, but they are doing so in isolation of our criminal law," Ms Bonaros said.

"Our federal criminal code clearly says that this material would meet the definition of child exploitation material and therefore should not be available at all."

Connie Bonaros meets with Kazuko Ito, the secretary-general of the Japanese human rights group Human Rights Now. ( Supplied: SA Best )

Ms Bonaros has found titles with themes of incest, rape and sexual abuse — all involving children.

That includes animation Eromanga Sensai where a 15-year-old boy and his 12-year-old sister create pornographic comics together, or comic book No Game No Life where an 18-year-old boy and his 11-year-old sister enter an online gaming world.

She said these publications were available in bookshops and DVD stores around Australia.

"You have Astro Boy and Pokemon and in amongst all that material there are titles which clearly contain material that meets the definition of child exploitation material," Ms Bonaros said.

"Themes of minors involved in incest and rape, sexual abuse — the choice was absolutely endless."

Manga comic books MP Connie Bonaros has bought in Australia. ( ABC News )

Senator joins call for classification review

Ms Bonaros's federal colleague, Centre Alliance senator Stirling Griff, has joined her campaign, launching a motion in Parliament calling for an urgent review of classification regulations.

Senator Stirling Griff speaks about the issue in the Senate. ( ABC News )

"Experts that advocate against child exploitation have referred to this type of anime and manga as a gateway to the abuse of actual children," Senator Griff said.

"Experts also say that explicit anime and manga can be used by paedophiles as tools to groom children.

"It makes me sick to the stomach to even speak about this."

There have been cases in Australia where people have been prosecuted for possessing child exploitation material, even though the images are drawings rather than actual photographs.

In 2015, an Adelaide man was given a suspended sentence for having more than 300 anime images that were classed as child pornography.

But the Classification Board granted Eromanga Sensai an MA15+ rating, saying: "The film contains strong themes that are justified by context."

Ms Bonaros meets with representatives of Lighthouse: Center for Human Trafficking Victims in Tokyo. ( Supplied: SA Best )

Distributors choose whether material is classified

While all videos pass through the Classification Board, it only looks at comic books if they are submitted, and it is up to the book's distributors to decide if it needs to be classified.

Ms Bonaros and Senator Griff want this changed and are calling for an ongoing review of classification regulations to extend the board's oversight to printed materials.

"The board is aware that a campaign has been launched about the sale of Japanese manga and anime in Australia and that in the context of the Government's review of classification regulation this issue has been raised," the Classification Board said in a statement.

"The board welcomes this review."

Adelaide comic book store Shin Tokyo owner William Chappell carefully chooses what he sells. ( ABC News )

Fans of anime and manga have defended the industry, pointing out the majority of publications are not pornographic.

The owner of Adelaide store Shin Tokyo, William Chappell, said the artform had a 60-year history, and like other parts of the entertainment industry, content could range from child-friendly through to pornographic.

He said while the Classification Board was experienced in dealing with the material, he was still careful about what he sold in his shop.

"We're a family-friendly store so we're really careful ordering products," he said.

"We look at how female characters are portrayed and there are quite a lot of products that we decide aren't suitable."

"That's where we are just extremely careful and we just say 'hey, if it looks bad, we're just not going to stock it'."

Japan trip opened eyes to problem

Ms Bonaros took up the campaign of child exploitation material in anime and manga after travelling to Japan to push for child-like sex dolls to be banned.

"The trip to Japan was a bit of an eye-opener in many regards," she said.

"Obviously, when I went there I wasn't aware of the extent of the problem of manga."

Ms Bonaros said laws in Japan did not consider drawings to be child exploitation material, but there were groups there campaigning for it to be banned.

She said she wanted to help Japanese activists who believed pressure from other countries would help their cause.

"They need external pressure — they need their politicians to understand that the rest of the world doesn't look at this material through the same lens that they do," Ms Bonaros said.

"There is a lot of pressure being applied at the moment in Japan, but it is being done very discreetly, so what they've told me is the more help they can get from external countries, the more hope they have of making some inroads in terms of ensuring that their child exploitation laws are stronger."