One channel won’t be showing any of Nukitashi’s visuals, but is this censorship or something else?

The anime adaptation of Nukitashi has been a long time coming. For the franchise’s starting point, you’ve got to go all the way back to 2018, when PC game Nukige Mitai na Shima ni Sunderu Watashi wa Dō Surya Ii Desuka? (meaning “What Am I Supposed to do Living on an Island that’s Like a Porn Game?” and officially titled What’s a Flat-Chested Girl Like Me to Do on an Island Straight Out of a Porn Game? for its English release) was first released. So fans have been waiting more than half a decade to see the Nukitashi cast on their TV screens, and for some, that wait still won’t have ended even after the anime debuts later this month, as one Tokyo channel has announced it will be broadcasting the anime’s audio only, without its visuals.

As you can probably guess from the full title, Nukitashi is an eroge/adult game, with the official website describing its setting and premise as:

“Seiran Island, a fictional locale where a controversial ordinance, colloquially known as the ‘Doskebe Ordinance,’ has been enacted. This law promotes and encourages sexual activities among residents, leading to a society where public displays of affection and sexual acts are commonplace.”

▼ Preview for Nukitashi the Animation

So, obviously, adapting Nukitashi is going to involve the characters getting naked and otherwise engaging in sexy times. Not every broadcaster is going to be comfortable dealing in that kind of content, but the list of those who’ll be showing Nukitashi consists of AT-X, BS11, Gifu Broadcasting System, KBS Tokyo, Mie TV, and Tokyo MX. AT-X will be broadcasting the “Seiranto Version” of the anime, which the producers say is “a perverted version with an extreme lack of censoring,” and identical to the eventual Blu-ray home video release. Meanwhile, a “Fully Regulated Version,” with censoring, will be shown on BS11, Gifu Broadcasting Sysem, KBS Tokyo, Mie TV, and Tokyo MX’s Tokyo MX-2 channel.

In addition, Tokyo MX’s Tokyo MX-1 channel will also be airing Nukitashi, but, as announced through the anime’s official Twitter account, the Tokyo MX-1 version will be audio only. So viewers, or maybe listeners is the correct term, will be able to hear the opening and closing themes, background music, sound effects, dialogue, and, presumably, all of the panting, gasping, and other hot-and-heavy breath being exhaled by the cast, but won’t be able to see any of the associated bouncing, grinding, or other visual stimuli.

It’s currently unclear what will be shown onscreen in place of Nukitashi’s animation, or if anything will be shown at all.

▼ Maybe fans are supposed to keep some still shots of the cast handy for reference?

The Nukitashi Twitter account has posted a teaser video for the first episode featuring lines of dialogue with their corresponding text animatedly appearing on a white background. However, preview videos of this type have been around since at least 2010 TV anime Angel Beats, so the Nukitashi video may or may not be indicative of what the viewing experience for the “sound-only” version will be like.

It appears that this will be the first time for an anime to air as audio only, and commenters to the announcement tweet have been both baffled and intrigued.

“Can you even call it TV anymore if it’s just the audio? Doesn’t that make it radio?”
“It’s like MX-1 is broadcasting a drama CD.”
“I want to see how this turns out. I’m thinking they’ll play the anime’s audio over a weather report map or something.”
“In late-night blocks stations sometimes show scrolling text of headline news over pictures of relaxing scenery, so maybe they’ll mix the sound in with that.”
“Couldn’t they at least have shown the visuals with censor mosaics?”
“Isn’t it going to seem even kinkier if you just hear the voices?”

Regarding those last two comments, here’s where the situation gets especially strange. As mentioned above, the Tokyo MX network actually has two channels, the primary Tokyo MX-1 and the sub-channel Tokyo MX-2. Since MX-2 will be showing Nukitashi’s visuals and MX-1 won’t, you might be assuming that MX-2 is a premium channel that you have to pay a subscription fee to watch, something that can get away with showing more sexualized imagery because kids can’t find it just by flipping through the channels. That’s not the case, though. MX-1 and MX-2 are both regular broadcast channels available to anyone with a TV in the Tokyo area to watch for free and with no subscription contract. The vast majority of the time, their programming is identical even.

The only way in which one could possibly say that MX-2’s programming is more cordoned off from the general public than MX-1’s is how the channels are accessed. To bring up MX-1, all viewers have to do is hit the button for channel 9 on their remote control. To get to MX-2, though, they then have to press the sequential “channel up” button on their remote. This extra step isn’t really a deterrent, though, since most TV stations in the Tokyo area have such sub-channels, so it’s not like they’re hidden secrets, and something that you actually have to wade through if you’re just channel surfing through what’s on at the moment.

So why the half-and-half approach for Nukitashi on Tokyo MX? The broadcaster hasn’t offered any explanation, but theoretically one could say that the audio-only version is for viewers who don’t want someone they live with, perhaps their young children, to wander past the living room and see the anime’s cast entwined in whatever might be that week’s specific lewdness. But…it’s not like Nukitashi’s audio is going to be family-friendly either, so unless you’re listening to it via headphones, even the audio-only version isn’t going to be appropriate to partake in while kids or those with delicate sensibilities are in earshot.

Taking all that into consideration, it’s starting to feel like maybe someone involved with the decision to air a sound-only version, either at Tokyo MX or on the anime’s production side, realize that there’s a segment of the potential audience that really would find being able to hear, but not see what’s going on, sexier than the full audio/video experience. And hey, as a series that’s all about encouraging people to enjoy fulfilling their desires, Nukitashi being willing to feed that need really wouldn’t be so shocking.

Both Tokyo MX-1 and MX-2 will begin airing Nukitashi on July 23 at 2:35 a.m.

Source: Twitter/@nukitashi_anime via Dengeki Online via Yaraon via Anime News Network/Ken Iikura-Gross
Top image: YouTube/TVアニメ『ぬきたし THE ANIMATION』公式
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!