Writer Erika Yoshida Admitted to Censoring Bocchi the Rock
Erika Yoshida became a topic on social media after giving an interview to the website KAI-YOU about “Dangerous Expressions in Anime,” where it was revealed that because of her the Bocchi the Rock anime came out without any ecchi.
But who is Erika Yoshida? She was responsible for the script and series composition of the Bocchi the Rock anime and other anime such as Tower of God, Maebashi Witches, among others. But what exactly did she say in this interview that sparked the fury of fans?
Writer Erika Yoshida Admitted to Censoring Bocchi the Rock
Below you can see some of Erika Yoshida’s points of view that she likes to bring to the projects she works on, such as thinking that “romance being something indispensable is a form of violence.”
Yoshida questions the idea that romance is essential for personal growth: “Many plots force love as something indispensable, and that can be a form of violence,” she said.
In 2023, Yoshida wrote the drama Seiri no Ojisan to Sono Musume, which portrays a father eager to understand his daughter’s menstruation but who ends up invading her privacy. For the screenwriter, the case exemplifies how even good intentions can become oppressive: “Someone who thinks they understand everything can be the most dangerous,” she warned.
About Bocchi the Rock
Screenwriter Erika Yoshida highlighted the importance of setting limits in anime to avoid the sexualization of minors, a topic increasingly discussed in the industry. In a recent talk, she spoke openly about the need for responsibility in productions, especially those involving teenagers.
According to Yoshida, the problem starts when the studio itself encourages objectification:
“The fans can imagine whatever they want, but when the official side practically says ‘go ahead and exploit,’ it bothers me,” she said.
She emphasizes that even if they are “just drawings,” depicting underage characters in sexual contexts is not acceptable. For her, thinking “it’s just anime” is no excuse.
Her concern became evident during the production of Bocchi the Rock!, the series that made her famous. The anime shows teenage girls forming a band, and Yoshida requested changes to some scenes:
In the manga, the protagonist appears naked in a cold bath; in the anime, she was shown wearing a swimsuit.
Scenes in which girls commented on breast size were also removed (and apparently Bocchi’s breast size was also reduced).
For Yoshida, such moments would be “noise” that could drive away the audience and harm the quest for the “hit work” that the team was aiming for.
The screenwriter explains that the anime industry has many clichés, but it is essential to evaluate each one in light of the current times. She gives a practical example: “Playing guitar doesn’t make the chest bounce excessively. If that were shown, I would hesitate to let my son watch.”
Yoshida also fears that isolated incidents, caused by a minority, could harm the entire anime culture. For her, well-defined age zones and strict classifications are essential, since streaming services allow children to access adult content easily.
“There can be works for those over 18, but it’s necessary to ensure that minors don’t have access,” she reinforced.
Because of the interview, many people are currently outraged that she is injecting her views into the work of others. It’s worth noting that Bocchi the Rock is a manga authored by a woman, who decided to include all those scenes in her manga.
Many remembered the case of the manga Sexy Tanaka-san. In case you don’t know what happened, this manga, authored by Hinako Ashihara, was going to be adapted into a live-action series, and the author asked that the series be faithful to the manga.
The producers did not respect the author’s wishes and began to modify the story as they wanted; the result was the author’s suicide.
Some comments:
How can someone get involved in something you are not a fan of?
She is 100% cancer.
Now we know who removed Bocchi’s big breasts.
Very good that she exposes herself.
What you think is beautiful human creativity is just you putting your malicious ideas into others’ work, I hope AI is used to write scripts.
How dare you call someone else’s work “noise” when you borrowed it.
If anime is dangerous, why the hell are you working in the anime industry?
Make your own original work without putting your ideas in someone else’s work.