The Classification Board of Australia, who are responsible for classification of films, computer games and publications in the country, has banned volumes 2, 4, 13 & 15 of To Love Ru Darkness manga.

These volumes, which were English translated versions of the manga published by Seven Seas Entertainment, received ‘Refused Classification’ rating from the board, which means that they cannot be sold, hired, advertised or legally imported in Australia.

According to reports, all the volumes were banned in accordance with the National Classification Code, Publications Table, 1. (b) as publications that “describe or depict in a way that is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult, a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18 (whether the person is engaged in sexual activity or not).”

A total of six volumes of To Love Ru Darkness were seized by the Border Force Western Australia. While 4 of those volumes were banned, Volumes 1 and 17 received Category 1 rating, meaning they contain images of sexualized nudity and must be distributed in a sealed wrapper.

Earlier in 2020, Australia had banned 3 volumes of No Game No Life. Even before that in 2012, a batch of 15 manga were seized by the Australian authorities as they had “stylized images of sexual fetishes containing non-consent or physical harm”.

Films, computer games and publications have to be legally classified in Australia before they are made available to the audiences.

To Love Ru Darkness, is a continuation of the To Love Ru manga, written by Saki Hasemi and illustrated by Kentaro Yabuki. The manga was serialized in Shueisha’s Jump Square magazine from October 2010 to March 2017, with its chapters collected into 18 tankobon volumes.

The creators had once admitted that they were testing the boundaries of fan service in shonen manga with this series.

Seven Seas describes the plot of To Love Ru Darkness as follows:

Momo is the younger sister of Lala, the alien princess who has long since been engaged to the human Rito. Although Rito’s heart continues to waver between Lala and his first crush, Haruna, Momo finds herself unable to deny the feelings she has for the hapless human male. Instead of giving up, Momo attempts to surround Rito with a harem of beautiful women, all working towards urging him to marry Lala, become crowned as King, and as a result, be allowed to marry his entire harem—Momo included!

Source: Refused Classification website, Classification Ratings of AU official website