Furano, a city in Hokkaido, Japan, froze the 33 million yen that it was supposed to hand over to the production team of Dropkick on My Devil X anime on Nov 16, 2022, on grounds of having included inappropriate content in a special episode of the anime, which could tarnish the image of the city.

Furano city had decided to aid the production of Dropkick on My Devil X anime in exchange of getting a special episode that will be set in the city. The anime’s production costs were raised through crowdfunding and donations, with Furano city being one of them. The city had confirmed that it raised about 38 million yen for it.

The special episode focusing on Furano City aired on Aug 30, 2022, however, a part of the content that was portrayed in it was found inappropriate by members of city council’s Special Committee for the Examination of Settlement of Accounts.

In the special episode, Jashin-chan proposes to sell her organs in order to raise money. This was seen as socially unacceptable and as something that could harm the image of Furano City.

“There were many socially unacceptable acts [in the episode], such as proposing the organ trade because Jashin-chan had debts, and this could damage Furano’s image,” chairman of the committee Hideyasu Sato said.

This prompted the Furano City Council’s Special Committee for the Examination of Settlement of Accounts to not settle the accounts, with money that was raised for production through the Hometown Tas (Furusato Nozei) system not being handed over.

However, there were also members in the committee who felt that the content in question was just a story in the anime and it was unfair to just pick out this small part and discuss it.

The votes were tied at 7 to 7, before the chairman voted against releasing the funds and settling the issue.

The city’s mayor, Taketoshi Kita, however, expressed his disappointment with the outcome calling it unfortunate.

“To intervene and criticize freedom of expression is a regrettable thing to do. I would like to consult the different opinions expressed at the committee meeting and other meetings in the future,” Kita said.

Dropkick on my Devil X is the third season of Dropkick on my Devil anime. It aired in Japan from July to September 2022. A crowdfunding program for the third season had launched on September 2019, with its goal being achieved in less than 33 hours.

The campaign came to an end on Dec 31, 2022, after raising over 36 million yen for production costs.

The anime is based on the manga of the same name, written and illustrated by Yukiwo. The series began serialization in Flex Comix’s Comic Meteor web magazine in April 2012. Nineteen volumes have been released as of June 2022.

Crunchyroll describes the plot of the series as-

Jashin-chan looks back on the day Hanazono Yurine summoned her. So long as Yurine lives, Jashin-chan can’t return to Hell. So Jashin-chan writes Yurine’s name in her “Death NOT” and swears that she’s finally going to land that dropkick on Yurine. Meanwhile, a former subordinate of Pekola and Poporon, Pino, shows up. Pekola is overjoyed believing God has finally sent someone to bring her home; however, in Pino’s hand is a weapon…

Source: Hokkaido via Crunchyroll