Drawing the Line: Why Texas SB-20 Gives Anime Fans Cause for Concern

It’s not an easy time to be an American in 2025. After the astonishing rejection of a candidate who brought ideas to continue the rich economy the Biden administration worked for four years to develop while attacking inflation and protecting the rights of minority groups, we have seen Donald J. Trump, his oligarchic string-pullers, and his squad of sycophants who demonstrate inexperience at best and ineptitude at worst go after programs, protections, and policies that empower Americans to be citizens of one of the world’s superpowers.

Since his inauguration in January, Trump has viciously gone after Americans of color and LGBTQ+ citizens railing against policies that champion diversity, equity, and inclusion, fired veterans – many of whom are feeling voter’s remorse – en masse, has attempted to give the world’s richest person direct access to American’s most private of data, and has ripped out the practical and financial guts of departments dedicated to eradicating disease, working toward peace, and educating our future generations.

Citizens of Germany, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and the most innocent of Trump’s bullying victims, Canada, have advised against entering the United States due to the administration’s sweeping and potentially illegal crackdown on border policies, and the nation’s own citizens now find themselves on an international watchlist due to Trump’s “assault on democratic norms.” The next MAGA target, for whatever reason, may be anime fans.

Hold on tight, readers – there’s a lot to digest here.

 

What is TX SB-20?

Brought to the Texas state Senate floor in March of 2025, Texas Senate Bill 20 (TX SB-20) is the state’s legislative attempt to update what qualifies as obscene, specifically as it pertains to pornographic material involving minors. In the text of the bill, it reads:

A person commits an offense if the person knowingly possesses, accesses with intent to view, or promotes obscene visual material containing a depiction that appears to be of a child younger than 18 years of age engaging in activities described by Section 43.21(a)(1)(B), regardless of whether the depiction is an image of an actual child, a cartoon or animation, or an image created using an artificial intelligence application or other computer software.

This would allow obscene materials created by AI programs to carry the same ability to be prosecuted as would materials featuring living minors. On the surface, TX SB-20 sounds like it should be a slam dunk. Even in our crazy, messed up timeline we live in, it’s universally agreed that child pornography is vile, and that those involved with it should be prosecuted to the fullest. The issue giving anime fans shivers down their spine is what fits the new definition of an obscene depiction.

 

What the [OBSCENITY] is an obscenity?

The word “obscenity” can hold many definitions, from a video found on an adult website to a racial slur to a well-timed f-bomb. According to Merriam-Webster, something that is “obscene” is defined as “disgusting to the senses” or “repulsive,” indicating a complete disregard for morality, ethics, or common sense in the public sphere. Thus, an “obscenity” is a thing or act that has an obscene quality.

Legally, however, the definition of obscene carries a more specific definition. According to Texas law, an obscene work is categorized as a work which, when “taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, and scientific value.”

And therein the problem lies.

 

Who defines what is obscene?

This is where creative works enter the metaphorical group chat. For a work to fit the legal definition of “obscene,” it must fit the precedent set by the ruling delivered by the US Supreme Court in the case of Miller v. California in June of 1973. In the case, Marvin Miller, who owned a small mail-order business featuring pornographic material, argued that his First Amendment rights were being violated after mass-mailing a sales brochure for his company with sexual activity. Upon review of the case, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to overturn Miller’s conviction and established precedent via a three-pronged test with which to judge a work for obscenity. According to the newly-established “Miller Test,” a work is “obscene” if:

1. It appeals to a prurient (extremely sexual) nature
2. It depicts sexual acts in an offensive manner
3. It carries no redeeming literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

As an example, if you sat through a video in junior high Health class about sex education, that video is not obscene. It may appeal to a prurient nature, but most sex ed videos do not show acts in an offensive manner, and do carry redeeming scientific value – in this example, it is educational in nature.

 

So why are anime fans freaking out over TX SB-20?

As previously stated, the surface effect of the TX SB-20 bill is to criminalize depictions of child pornography created by AI. However, the concern is immersed in the wording of the bill, which states that work labeled can be labeled as obscene “regardless of whether the depiction is an image of an actual child, a cartoon or animation, or an image created using an artificial intelligence application or other computer software.” Cartoons, including anime, could feasibly be scooped up into this widely-cast net by TX SB-20.

“But Ryan!” I hear John and/or Jane Q. Sensible-American cry out. “We can clearly see the difference between anime and child pornography! We’re not complete idiots!”

Enter MAGA.

Texas, unsurprisingly, is dominated by Republicans. From the current governor, Greg Abbott, down to the Texas legislature, right-wing politicians dominate. Abbot and his lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, are both Republicans and staunch supporters of Trump’s executive shenanigans. Republicans control both the Senate (20 to 11) and the House of Representatives (88 to 62). If a Republican wants it, it’s quite likely the Republican will get it.

The bill passed the Senate vote unanimously, 31-0, and only needs a simple majority to pass the House. With 88 Republican representatives, getting 76 votes is a slam dunk, though it will likely get much more. It’s common sense: nobody wants to be the politician with a voting record that shows a “No” vote on child porn legislation.

Now you have a law which redefines obscene work according to social mores under the hand of a political movement which is actively trying to break down the separation of church and state.

In other words, the determination of what is obscene is at the whims of modern-day Puritans. (And I do use that label in the loosest sense, since within just this week, no less than four people who tout “Christian values” have been implicated in some form of gross sexual misconduct.)

Thus, the basis for anime fans’ concerns. Are they valid? Maybe not in the normal timeline, but in the nutzo-bananas political wasteland of King Felonius II, they may have a leg to stand on. It was none other than Texas governor, Trump sycophant, and involuntary-trip travel agent, Greg Abbott who announced his support for legislation banning what he described as no less than a furry invasion, referring to the “furries” subculture, or people who find pleasure roleplaying as anthropomorphic animals. Abbott falsely claimed that they were lowering tables at the request of furries, and that classrooms even had litter boxes for children to utilize.

[WRITER’S NOTE: I currently live in Pittsburgh, home of Anthrocon, one of the largest furry conventions. By and large, the furries I have interacted with are great people. I also used to work at a major theme park, so the idea of people inside animal costumes is and should not be a weird concept.]

So if anime fans who live in Texas are concerned, there’s precedent. The puritanical – and scientifically refuted – vision of sex and sexuality reign supreme. Why?

Consider one of the bedrocks of anime in Western society (and a personal favorite), Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon. Most anime fans know the plot of this series that popularized the “magical girl” genre: Tsukino Usagi (renamed Serena in the original DiC dub) discovers she’s a reincarnation of the Princess of the Moon Kingdom and becomes the sailor-suited champion of love and justice, Sailor Moon, along with the Sailor Senshi, fighting threats to Earth and the universe.

When she transforms into her magical girl alter-ego, sparkling light engulfs her and her fellow senshi as their sailor fuku magically appears out of thin air. During this time, the outline of Sailor Moon’s chest is visible. No nipple or anatomy is clearly defined or visible – the visual is more akin to one’s little sister changing the clothes on a Barbie doll.

Tsukino Usagi, however, canonically starts the first season as a middle school student at age 14.

Again, the question is not how average anime fans see this transformation sequence, but how the people with the power see it. And if history has revealed anything, it’s that the people currently in power in Texas – and on a larger scale, the nation – are not exactly keen on fact finding.

Another genre that may wind up in the crosshairs of TX SB-20 is the nichijou-kei, or “slice of life,” subgenre. Popular anime such as Clannad, K-On!, and Horimiya all revolve around high schoolers and frequently involve romantic relationships among their lead characters. Is a high school student in a romantic relationship now obscene? Ask anyone who has spent time among real-life American high schoolers, and they’ll tell you that romantic relationships on campus are the least of their worries.

In comparison, think of shows such as Fox’s ‘90s smash hit Beverly Hills, 90210 or the more recent CW Archie Comics re-imagining Riverdale. Though the cast was made up of adult actors, they portrayed high school students caught up in romantic and physical encounters, blackmail, deception, and generally the stuff that keeps audiences watching. The question becomes then why the relationship between Kyoko Hori and Izumi Miyamura dodgy, but the infamous love triangle between the edgy depictions of Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, and Veronica Lodge is must-see TV?

Ultimately, none of us are mind readers, and we cannot predict with certainty what will happen. It’s possible this is all paranoid speculation. Maybe level minds will prevail and things will carry on with regards to TX SB-20. However, in this topsy-turvy environment we find ourselves in during this current day, there also exists no guarantee that there is a zero-percent chance of this going sideways and quickly. Akin to the beginnings of other social concerns such as the #MeToo movement or the Black Lives Matter protests, it starts with examining why people are concerned.

The unfortunate thing here is that anime fans are concerned because they can see ignorant intolerance all around.

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