Studio Ghibli Park has opened and men are filming themselves fumbling with the characters, the governor reacts

Netizens expressed their horror at a spate of photos on social media showing men grabbing and lifting the skirts of anime statues at a theme park featuring Studio Ghibli characters.

Park Ghibli, whose construction plans were first announced in 2017, was built by the local government of Aichi Prefecture and is jointly operated by Studio Ghibli and Chunichi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper.

Though there are no major attractions or rides, the park features scenic scenes from several blockbuster films and invites visitors to do so “Walk, feel the wind and discover the wonders” drawn whimsical worlds in his animations.

Park Ghibli, which opened in November after years of delay due to the pandemic, was eagerly awaited by fans around the world. This is the first theme park dedicated to the works of Studio Ghibli.

Tickets must be reserved weeks in advance – only June reservations are currently available on the park’s website.

However, men have started filming themselves groping the Ghibli characters.

The now-deleted photos, which were widely circulated by Japanese Twitter users in late February, show men suggestively touching figures at Ghibli Park in central Japan’s Aichi Prefecture. These images provoked strong reactions from the public and the governor of Aichi Prefecture.

The photos show masked men groping Marnie, who starred in the film When Marnie Was There (2014), and Teru, the heroine of Tales From Earthsea, released in 2006. Others took pictures of her underneath her white dress.

Aichi Governor Hideaki Omura this week asked the park’s operating company, Studio Ghibli, to stop visitors from taking obscene photos with the statues of the characters.

“Park Ghibli is a place where adults and children can enter and enjoy the works and it is extremely uncomfortable to see such photos uploaded to social media sites.” Governor Hideaki Ōmura said at a press conference on Thursday.

“If they do [dans le parc]so I don’t want them to come” Mr. Ōmura added, comparing this behavior to property destruction.

Emiko Ogawa, a Studio Ghibli fan of over 20 years who lives in Tokyo, said she was horrified when she saw the photos.

“It’s an insult to these family films. These characters are also very young, they look like minors.”, she told VICE World News. Marnie is 12 years old, and although Teru’s age is never given, it is believed that she is between 15 and 17 years old.

Aichi Governor Hideaki Omura is asking park company Studio Ghibli to stop visitors from taking obscene photos with the character statues.

At a news conference on Thursday, Omura said the company that operates Ghibli Park must immediately stop any inappropriate behavior or indecent photographing of visitors.

“Frankly, posting photos like this on social media is very inappropriate. Both adults and children go to Ghibli Park to immerse themselves in the Ghibli universe and have fun. It is clear that this action disturbed many people. You should firmly stop such actions as soon as they are detected and confirmed. For those who come to the park to do these things, I’d much rather they didn’t come at all. » he explained.

Omura indicated that if those involved in taking inappropriate photos are identified, the Aichi Prefectural government will take legal action.

The acclaimed studio, co-founded by Hayao Miyazaki, is known for films such as Marnie’s Memories and the Oscar-winning Spirited Away