On December 16, 1997, a chapter titled Electric Soldier Porygon (or in Spanish, Electric Soldier Porygon) of the Pokemon show caused 685 children and youth in Japan to have seizures.
Millions of Japanese children sit in front of home televisions, where the thirty-eighth episode of their favorite series begins, a production that now, twenty-four years later, has become a classic among classics. The chapter in question, DennÅ ?? Senshi Porygon (in Spanish, Computerized soldier Porygon), went down in history. And not for a positive fact.
In minute 20 of the episode, one of the pokémon involved, a Porygon, fires several rockets at the enemies, Team Rocket. However, Ash’s Pikachu, the MVP of the series, “that yellow rat,” according to millions of mothers, launches one of his electrical attacks to stop the projectiles. The result: an explosion that saves the protagonists of the series, but, on the rebound, sends hundreds of Japanese boys and girls – flesh and blood children – to the hospital. To understand why, as always, you have to turn to science.
The explosion designed by the creators of the anime It was made up of blue and red flashes that were emitted in a 12 hertz radius for four seconds, partially, and for two more seconds, occupying the entire screen. This fact, as an article from the University of Washington explains, can cause photosensitive epilepsy attacks, the result of alterations in consciousness derived from visual stimuli.
As of the incident, the episode was withdrawn and never broadcast again, and it was taken as a warning to place the following message before each anime: “ム† レビ ã ‚¢ ニ メをã ?? ¿ã ‚‹ à ?? ¨ã ???? ã ?? ¯ã € ?? éƒ¨å ± ‹ã‚’ã ??‚ ã ?? ‹ã‚ ‹ã ???? ã ?? – ã ?? ¦è¿’ã ?? ¥ ã ???? ã ?? ™ ã ???? ã ?? ªã ?? „よã ?? † ã ??« ã ?? – ã ?? ¦ã ?? à ?? ¦ã ???? ã ?? ã ?? • ã ?? „ã ??” means “When you watch anime on television the room does not have to be dark and do not get too close to the television.” The specific scene was removed from official platforms for obvious reasons but has been circulating online for a long time thanks to several anonymous Internet users.
The Porygon’s innocent attack – and the Pikachu’s even more innocent response – caused 685 children (310 boys and 375 girls) to suffer from blurred vision, dizziness and nausea. Others, with worse luck, went through episodes of seizures, loss of consciousness or even momentary blindness.
According to the chronicles of the Japanese press of 1997, the vast majority of the creatures recovered in a short time, but others, on the other hand, had to be admitted to hospitals. Even so, it should be noted that only a small part of the 685 affected suffered a photosensitive epilepsy crisis as such, and, in fact, many of the cases were attributed to the mass hysteria of the moment. A mass hysteria caused by a normal type pokémon, yes.
Years later, the episode provoked various reactions in popular culture. One of them stars Matt Groening, creator of the Simpsons. In the last episode of the tenth season of the series, Thirty minutes over Tokyo First aired in 1999, Bart Simpson and his family have an epileptic episode when they watch a movie. anime at your hotel in Japan.
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