Summary

• Superheroes in Japanese manga and anime rely on government oversight for licensing and regulation.
• Unlike in the West, heroes in Japan work within the confines of laws and regulations set by the government.
• Japanese superhero storytelling emphasizes teamwork and social harmony controlled by the government.

In the world of Japanese superhero manga and anime - from My Hero Academia to One-Punch Man, and from the classics like Astro Boy and Ultraman to newer hits like Go! Go! Loser Ranger! - the one common element that ties together these diverse titles is the tacit but unmistakable influence of government oversight or private regulation of superhero affairs.

No matter where you look in manga and anime, the government's fingerprints are all over the superhero business. Indeed, regardless of the series or story, some level of governance - civilian control - is present in all types of super-powered activities. In My Hero Academia superheroes need a government-issued license to protect the public from villains. Moreover, to even have the possibility to be a hero, a person must go through government-regulated hero training.

In One-Punch Man, while the Hero Association is a private entity, it nevertheless acts as the government of the nation's heroes. Moreover, as a private business entity, it is still subject to the various laws and regulations that regulate those organizations. Even in Jujutsu Kaisen - where jujutsu sorcerers could be compared to superheroes - a sorcerer's practice is tightly bound to government licensure. This pattern is consistently found over and over in Japanese superhero manga and anime tales.

Japanese Superhero Stories Are Obsessed With Government Control

In anime and manga superheroes rarely act as vigilantes or operate above the law

The government oversight element in superhero manga and anime is so common that it's become cliché, but it lies in stark contrast to superhero tales in the West. For the most part, superheroes in the United States, for instance, act outside governmental regulation, and in many cases, contrary to it. Moreover, government attempts to impose its will on superheroes such as the Sokovia Accords in the Marvel Universe have either failed or have been ignored.

This all goes to show that the independent vigilante idea that is so central to the Platonic conception of the superhero is practically non-existent in the Japanese superhero storytelling tradition. Indeed, in the Japanese superhero storytelling tradition, the focus is not on the individual hero but rather on the collective effort of heroes through teamwork and camaraderie. That is, superhero storytelling in Japan should be considered a complete and distinct subgenre of the superhero tale.

In Japanese Manga And Anime The Government Ensures The Provision Of Quality Superhero Services

Naturally, there are cultural reasons why this occurs. Japanese society places a greater emphasis on collective harmony and conformity. Individual or independent heroism, while accepted, is often not considered as a first-choice option. Social harmony is ensured by laws and regulations which, in turn, are promulgated and enforced by government bodies or other regulatory frameworks. Superheroes who operate outside of the regulations, even if they are helping people, are still seen as disruptive to the social harmony that is central to Japanese society.

To be sure, while One-Punch Man started as a vigilante, after nobody recognized him as a hero, - and in fact, many viewed him as a troublemaker - he quickly ed the legally sanctioned Hero Association. Another cultural source for the intense government oversight of superheroes in manga and anime is the cultural importance that Japan puts on the concept of teamwork, and the idea that challenges are best overcome when handled with cooperation. Naturally, cooperation can arise organically, but on a societal level, effective teamwork and cooperation are more easily achieved by the government or some oversight body.

For Manga and Anime Superheroes, With Great Power Comes A Duty To The Public Interest

Indeed, there's little historical context for the independent vigilante in Japan. That is, the idea of a person voluntarily putting themselves at risk for the good of the community is not as pronounced in Japan as in the West. Indeed, while superheroes in Japan and America are both in the business of protecting society, in anime and manga a community's safety rarely depends on the whim of whatever nearby hero is willing and able to respond.

Rather, Japanese heroes promote the idea that the government or some level of formal oversight ensures that all challenges will be met with an appropriate response and that society is protected and served by heroes. It's a notable difference from the way American superheroes operate, but it makes anime and manga stories about heroes stand out even more.