Pokémon episodes removed from rotation
[1] The globally banned episode "Dennō Senshi Porygon", which aired only once on Japan's TV Tokyo on December 16, 1997, features a series of rapidly alternating red and blue frames that provoked epileptic seizures in hundreds of children.
[2] The episode focused on protagonist Ash Ketchum, who had to fight a Porygon stolen by the villainous organization Team Rocket.
To stop these missiles, Ash's Pikachu uses a destructive attack, causing an explosion that resulted in rapid flashes of red and blue lights.
On December 17, the day after the broadcast, TV Tokyo issued an apology to the Japanese people, suspended the program, and said it would investigate the cause of the seizures.
[3] Officers acting on orders from Japan's National Police Agency questioned the program's producers about its contents and production process.
[2] The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare held an emergency meeting to discuss the case with experts and gather information from hospitals.
Though the rules were never legally mandated, they were widely adopted across the Japanese animation industry as a result of the episode.
[11] Jynx is a species of Pokémon that resembles Yama-uba, a crone-like figure from Japanese mythology.
As a result of its design, it was considered by Western audiences to be a racial stereotype and received significant controversy.
Jynx's usually dark skin was changed to purple, and several other features were altered in order to minimize comparisons to a racial stereotype.
After the villainous Team Rocket diverts customers to another establishment,[15] Professor Oak informs the protagonists of a beauty pageant taking place, which Misty competes in to win the prize money.
The episode also aired in the wake of the murder of JonBenét Ramsey, a child beauty queen, which caused a widespread scrutiny toward the sexualization of child beauty pageants in the U.S.[15] James's crossdressing was additionally considered to be a possible point of contention, especially among parents of viewers.
[18] Although it was never explained why the episode was skipped over, some speculated that the face paint Ash used to disguise himself as a Passimian could be mistaken for blackface.
This caused the episode to be removed from airing, as it greatly resembled the then-recent September 11 attacks in the United States.
[23] The release of the scripts confirmed content about the episode, revealing that Team Plasma would have lost control of the Meteonite's power, leading to vast destruction across a city.
", which would have been released as part of Pokémon: Advanced Battle, was never aired due to the 2004 Chūetsu earthquake.
", featuring Ash and his friends Clemont, Serena, and Bonnie helping a Pokémon named Skrelp return to its family in a sunken cruise ship, was originally set to broadcast on April 24, 2014.
[25][26] Several episodes from Pokémon Journeys: The Series were postponed from their original air dates due to the COVID-19 pandemic and were replaced with reruns.
