The absurd reason ‘Pokémon’ was banned in Saudi Arabia and other countries in 2001

When ‘Pokémon‘ set out to conquer the world in 1997 with the anime and the two Game Boy games in tow, it achieved it almost immediately: the end of the 90s was a pure global pokemania with video games, the collectible card game, trading cards, chewing gum, merchandise, anime, the Pokédex, and even a Pikachu that counted your steps. The whole world fell in love with this saga. The whole world? That’s a lot to say

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Our world is different

Not everyone ended up in love with the game: there were quite a few parents who expressed concern and even accused it of being satanic, something that ‘South Park’ parodied in the wonderful 1999 episode ‘Chinpokomon.’ In Saudi Arabia, however, they went further: in 2001, they announced that the game was another form of gambling, prohibited in Islam, and banned the games, anime, collectible cards, and even, more recently, ‘Pokémon Go.’ Fixed ideas, indeed.”

It is not the only country that has banned everything about the franchise: Egypt and Qatar banned it because it ‘promoted Zionism’ (oh, no, Charmander, what have you done now), and Turkey stopped airing the anime after two seasons – in a twist of events – because a seven-year-old girl jumped from a fifth floor believing she was a Pokémon. Don’t worry, though; she only broke a leg. However, she will have to live her whole life knowing they will never find out if Ash Ketchum wins the league because of her idea.

Some were even convinced that ‘Pokémon‘ was a Jewish conspiracy. A word that, when translated, apparently meant ‘I am Jewish’ and promoted the theory of evolution instead of creationism. All very deep convictions (and very false), yes, but currently, the games are sold without any problem, as well as the merchandise, ignoring a prohibition that was always absurd.

In the end, the seasons were eventually dubbed… and censored. For example, all of Brock’s passionate interactions with women were changed to calm conversations, and entire episodes were altered to prevent characters like Gengar from appearing. Interestingly, before the ban in 2001, crossover musicals were produced with ‘Detective Conan,’ and even the American ‘Pokémon Live!‘ was performed in English with the American cast. It ended just a few days before the decree that banned the series forever. Go figure.

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