Boku no Pico Involved in Mass Murder Case in Indonesia in 2024

I was just browsing the internet when I noticed that a certain page, which constantly copies “Você Sabia Anime,” published a false story about Boku no Pico, you know? The CLASSIC anime that, if you know it, you know it; and if you don’t, do whatever you want with your life.

Anyway, because of the false news, I went searching for more information. Basically, they claimed that the creator of Boku no Pico is a guy named Katsuhiko Takayama, but he is not the actual creator—only the screenwriter; the creation is attributed to the studio, not an individual.

While researching this, I stumbled upon a truly BIZARRE story: a crime occurred in Indonesia in 2024, and initially authorities reportedly suggested that the criminal might have been influenced by Boku no Pico!

In February 2024, a mass murder case happened in Indonesia. A teenager of about 17 years old was identified as a suspect in killing an entire family of five—a couple and their three children—inside the neighbor’s house.

According to the initial police investigations reported by local media, the motive seems to stem from interpersonal conflicts between the families, possibly linked to romantic issues between the suspect and a young woman in the family, with the violence occurring in the middle of the night inside the house.

The police also stated that they found no evidence that the suspect had mental disorders, according to forensic examination results, and that he was mentally competent at the time of the act.

That’s the general overview of the case, but right after it happened, some Indonesian news sites tried to blame anime, specifically Boku no Pico, for the murders.

According to a report by TribunBengkulu, which as far as I researched is a major media outlet in Indonesia, they stated the following about the connection between the suspect and anime:

• The teenager identified as JND was a fan of Japanese culture, including anime and music.
• He preferred adult anime, with genres mentioned as hentai, ecchi, romance, action, and psychological.
• The anime he most recommended and considered his favorite was Boku no Pico.
• He also showed curiosity about themes of life after death, imagining isekai scenarios (a fantasy genre in which characters are transported to another world), as seen in his 2020 posts.

I actually researched whether this was a satire or comedy site, but no: from what I could see, it is indeed a serious news outlet. Still, I found some exaggerations, which I think are similar to when Brazilian TV claimed that Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! were demonic.

It’s worth noting that later news reports about this case no longer mentioned Boku no Pico.