Trystan Casey
The 38th episode of the Pokémon anime's first season, Dennō Senshi Porygon, commonly known as Electric Soldier Porygon, is infamous for a scene with flashing lights that induced photosensitive epileptic seizures in children across Japan. The episode, which aired on December 16, 1997, resulted in over 600 children being hospitalized and caused the anime to go on a nearly four-month hiatus. Due to the incident, the episode was never re-broadcast or commercially released, and Porygon and its evolved forms were rarely seen in future episodes.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Episode Number | 38 |
| Episode Name | "Dennō Senshi Porygon" (Japanese), Computer Warrior Porygon (translated), "Electric Soldier Porygon" (common translation) |
| Air Date | December 16, 1997 |
| Air Time | 6:30 PM Japan Standard Time (09:30 UTC) |
| No. of Households | Approximately 4.6 million |
| Issue | A scene with flashing lights induced photosensitive epileptic seizures in children |
| No. of Children Hospitalized | Over 600 |
| Local Time of Affected Scene | 6:51:34 PM |
| Anime Techniques Used | Paka-paka and "flash" |
| Flash Rate | 12 Hz for approximately 6 seconds |
| Symptoms | Blurred vision, headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, irritated eyes |
| Hiatus | Nearly four months |
| Banned | Yes |
| Tweet by Official Pokémon Twitter Account | "Porygon did nothing wrong." |
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What You'll Learn
The seizure incident
On December 16, 1997, the 38th episode of the Pokémon anime series, titled "Electric Soldier Porygon", aired in Japan. This episode would become infamous for an incident that resulted in hundreds of Japanese children being hospitalised.
In the episode, Ash Ketchum and his friends discover an issue with the Poké Ball transmitting device at the local Pokémon Center. They learn that Team Rocket has stolen Professor Akihabara's prototype Porygon, a digital Pokémon that can exist in cyberspace, and is using it to steal trainers' Pokémon from inside the computer system. Ash, Misty, Brock, Pikachu, and his second Porygon enter cyberspace using Akihabara's Dimension Transporter to confront Team Rocket. During the ensuing battle, Porygon is able to defeat Team Rocket's Porygon. However, Nurse Joy, unaware that Ash and the others are inside, authorises the use of an antivirus program. The antivirus locks onto Akihabara's Porygon and fires missiles, which Pikachu destroys using a Thunderbolt attack. This attack results in a series of flashing red and blue lights, which, although brief, were at a frequency that could induce seizures in photosensitive viewers.
The flashing lights caused by Pikachu's attack affected hundreds of children viewing the episode, resulting in symptoms such as seizures, dizziness, headaches, and blurred vision. Approximately 700 children were hospitalised due to these symptoms. As a result of the incident, the anime was taken off the air for several months, and the episode "Electric Soldier Porygon" was banned from being aired again. The producers of the anime made edits to reduce the strobing effects in previous and upcoming episodes, and future depictions of flashing effects were dimmed and slowed down.
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Porygon's scapegoating
"Electric Soldier Porygon", also known as "Computer Warrior Porygon", is the 38th episode of Pokémon that aired in Japan on December 16, 1997. The episode caused controversy due to a series of flashing lights and colours that led to seizures in hundreds of Japanese children. As a result, Porygon and its evolutions were censored and never appeared in the anime again.
In the episode, Ash and his friends discover an issue with the Poké Ball transmitting device. They seek help from Professor Akihabara, the creator of the device, who informs them that Team Rocket has stolen his prototype Porygon and is using it to steal trainers' Pokémon from inside the computer system. Ash, Misty, Brock, Pikachu, and a second Porygon enter cyberspace to confront Team Rocket. During the battle, Porygon is targeted by an antivirus program, and Pikachu uses an electric attack to destroy the incoming missiles. This attack, combined with the flashing lights, is believed to have triggered seizures in viewers.
While the episode was banned and never aired again, Porygon has been scapegoated for the incident. Some fans believe that Pikachu, being the franchise's mascot, was untouchable, and Porygon was unfairly blamed. This sentiment was echoed by the official Pokémon Twitter account, which posted a tweet in 2020 stating, "Porygon did nothing wrong." The tweet acknowledges that Pikachu's attack, not Porygon, was the in-universe cause of the flashing lights.
The impact of the incident extended beyond the censorship of Porygon and its evolutions. The anime went off the air for months, and previous and upcoming episodes were edited to reduce any strobing effects. The controversy surrounding "Electric Soldier Porygon" highlights the potential impact of animated content on viewers and the importance of ensuring the safety of the audience, especially children.
While some fans argue for Porygon's innocence, others share their experiences of watching the banned episode, reporting symptoms such as fuzzy vision, dizzy spells, and headaches. The episode remains a controversial topic within the Pokémon community, with some expressing disappointment over Porygon's absence from the anime.
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Pikachu's Thunderbolt attack
While the frame rate of the flashing lights may have been too low for film, it was just right to induce photosensitive epilepsy in viewers, causing seizures in nearly 700 Japanese children. As a result, the episode was never aired outside of Japan and was subsequently banned from any future broadcasts. The incident also led to the censorship of Porygon and its evolutions from future anime episodes, as the Pokémon became associated with the controversial episode.
In the episode, Ash, Misty, Brock, Pikachu, and his second Porygon enter cyberspace using Professor Akihabara's Dimension Transporter to confront Team Rocket. Inside, they discover a blockade set up by Team Rocket that prevents Poké Balls from completing their journey through the network. In the ensuing battle, Porygon defeats Team Rocket's Porygon, but Nurse Joy, unaware that Ash and the others are inside, approves the use of an antivirus program. The antivirus locks onto Akihabara's Porygon and fires missiles, which Pikachu partially destroys with its electric attack, allowing Porygon to escape.
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Censorship of Porygon and its evolutions
"Dennō Senshi Porygon", or "Electric Soldier Porygon", is the 38th episode of the Pokémon anime's first season. During its sole broadcast in Japan on 16 December 1997, a scene with flashing lights induced photosensitive epileptic seizures in children across the country. Over 600 children were taken to hospitals. The incident, referred to in Japan as the "Pokémon Shock", resulted in the episode being pulled and never commercially released or re-broadcast anywhere in the world. The show also went on a nearly four-month hiatus.
In the episode, Ash and his friends find that there is something wrong with the Poké Ball transmitting device at the local Pokémon Center. To investigate the issue, they enter the machine using Dr. Akihabara's Dimension Transporter, which sends them into the cyberspace system. They discover that Team Rocket has set up a blockade that prevents Poké Balls from completing their journey through the network. In the ensuing battle, Pikachu uses a Thunderbolt attack on missiles, causing a large explosion. The explosion rapidly alternates between red and blue lights, with bright strobe lights blinking at a rate of about 12 Hz for approximately six seconds.
Due to the incident, Porygon, Porygon2, and Porygon-Z were censored from future anime episodes. Porygon was directly associated with the episode, and its evolutions have only appeared in animation during the intros of movies. However, The Pokémon Company continues to feature Porygon in all other aspects of its branding, including video games, manga adaptations, merchandising, and advertising.
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The episode's ban
"Dennō Senshi Porygon", more commonly known as "Electric Soldier Porygon", is the 38th episode of the Pokémon anime's first season. It was aired in Japan on December 16, 1997, at 6:30 pm Japan Standard Time. Twenty minutes into the episode, Pikachu uses a Thunderbolt attack to stop missiles, resulting in an explosion of flashing red and blue lights. This scene, which flashed bright strobe lights at a rate of about 12 Hz for approximately six seconds, induced photosensitive epileptic seizures in children across the country. Over 600 children were taken to hospitals, and the incident became known as the "Pokémon Shock" in Japan.
Following the incident, "Electric Soldier Porygon" was never aired again or commercially released anywhere in the world. The episode was also never dubbed into other languages. The Pokémon anime went on a nearly four-month hiatus, and all previous and upcoming episodes were edited to reduce any strobing effects. The episode's central plot and Porygon's association with it led to the character being effectively banned from future appearances in the anime, aside from brief and rare cameos. Porygon's evolutions, Porygon2 and Porygon-Z, were also banned from the anime but have appeared in other media such as video games and manga.
The impact of the "Electric Soldier Porygon" episode extended beyond the anime industry. Video retailers in Japan removed the Pokémon anime from their rental shelves, and Nintendo's shares fell by almost 3.2% on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. An emergency meeting was held by the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare to discuss the incident with experts and collect information from hospitals. The incident also led to increased caution in the portrayal of flashing lights and animation techniques in Japanese children's media, with concerns about triggering epilepsy or other adverse health effects.
The "Electric Soldier Porygon" episode has gained a notorious reputation as the most controversial and infamous banned episode of the Pokémon anime. While it is not the only episode to have been banned, with a few others pulled out of respect for natural disasters, its impact on viewers and the subsequent backlash were unprecedented. The episode's sole broadcast caused a significant disruption to the anime's schedule and led to a prolonged absence of the Porygon character and its evolutions from the anime series.
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Frequently asked questions
"Electric Soldier Porygon", also known as Computer Warrior Porygon, is the 38th episode of the Pokémon anime's first season.
During its sole broadcast in Japan on 16 December 1997, a scene with flashing lights triggered photosensitive epileptic seizures in children across the country. Over 600 children were taken to hospitals.
The episode was never aired again and the Pokémon anime went on a four-month hiatus. The show's time slot changed from Tuesday to Thursday after it resumed broadcasting.
Porygon and its evolved forms were rarely seen in future episodes, with appearances limited to brief cameos.
