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In the Monthly Girls' Nozaki Kun (both in the episode 1 of the anime and chapter 1 of the manga), Nozaki tells Sakura that the bicycle scene cannot have tandem riding because it is against the vehicle law and he can't display that in his manga.

But the same tandem riding is shown in several current works (like episode 12 of "Your Lie in April" - Kaworu rides Kousei's bike standing up).

So, does the statement by Nozaki-kun have any real world parallel? Are manga artists really pressured by the editors not to put dangerous or illegal scenes in their works?

Is there any law in place forbidding this display of "illegal" activities?

Keepe in mind that Nozaki's manga is aimed at girls 15+ in his fictional world.

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    I think the point of the bicycle thing in Nozaki-kun was as a comedic exaggeration of the kinds of pressures actual manga artists face. Surely no manga editor (besides maybe one for a children's manga) would care about two people riding on a bike.
    – senshin
    Commented Jan 8, 2015 at 23:49
  • I wouldn't necessarily limit this to just manga artists - this sort of censorship has been present in media since almost the beginning.
    – Clockwork-Muse
    Commented Jan 9, 2015 at 5:30

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I think what separates Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun and Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April) is the intent. Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, as senshin commented, was most likely comedic exaggeration. On the other hand, Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso used that vehicle law as an opportunity to show the strength of the protagonist and the recurring characters' friendship (that they would even have to break the law to get their friend where he needs to be, and even cut classes).

In relation to this, Japan also has a peculiar (to foreigners) culture of independence. Their family makes them take the public transportation rather than drop them off with the family cars. It's a huge no-no to personally drop them off. This, as believed, helps them grow in independence; yet, while only a culture, anime usually portrays a wealthy kid (usually a young lady) dropped off with(out) butlers. This leads to two diverging meanings in the anime:

  1. the pride of the wealthy kid, or
  2. the embarrassment for not being "independent."

Showing this delivers, as mentioned, differing intents.

(Although the comparison between a law and a culture is different, their value seems similar, so you can take it with value.)

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    I thinks it's worthwhile to mention that even though "the bicycle thing in Nozaki-kun was as a comedic exaggeration of the kinds of pressures actual manga artists face" (as senshin puts it), every time we see more than one person riding a bike on Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, we also get a warning message at the end of the episode stating that "Two people on a bike is forbidden by law". So even if the pressures are not there, the authors or producers still play it safe.
    – JNat ♦
    Commented Jan 9, 2015 at 13:31

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