Why was the Pokémon episode banned outside of Japan

There are many great, memorable episodes (and movies!) of the classic Pokemon anime series, which tells about the adventures a young Pokemon trainer, Ash Ketchum and his friends Brock and Misty, but unfortunately there is one episode that is memorable for all the wrong reasons. Early in the show’s run in its native Japan, once the show had already become very popular, the episode caused a massive medical event for the children watching, resulting in the episode being banned forever.

The 38th episode of the first season, “Dennō Senshi Porygon”, only aired once, on December 16, 1997, because it contained flashing red and blue lights that caused hundreds of children to have severe immediate physical reactions, including convulsions. According to the retrospective of the event a Guardian685 children were taken by ambulance to the hospital, and about 12,000 reported symptoms over the next few days. While epileptic seizures caused by flashing lights contributed to the number, it was only a small percentage, and the mass response baffled doctors and scientists for years. However, immediately after that, the main goal was to prevent this from happening again. So what really happened and how did the world react?

In the episode, the Electric Pokemon Pikachu uses an attack against computer viruses in the digital world that cause them to blink red and blue. Although “Pokémon” has used flashing in the past, it has never caused such a massive reaction. The day after the show aired, the station apologized and suspended production and broadcast pending an investigation. The series was pulled from the box office, and Japan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare even held an emergency meeting to discuss what to do. Since certain colors, length, and type of flashing appeared to be at least partly to blame, it was deemed safe to return the show to the air after about four months. TV Tokyo will post warning labels on all episodes, similar to the photosensitivity warnings that appeared (and do) in front of many video games. Episode 38 will never air again won’t even be dubbed into english for a shortened version when the show began airing in syndication in the United States a year later.

When the show returned to Japan after its hiatus, an explanation was shown to the children at the beginning of the episode to help them understand what had happened and to reassure them that it would not happen again. The Pokemon Panic, as it came to be known, still has no official explanation, although many believe it was a combination of a small number of children having seizures while many others suffered the effects of mass hysteria. While there have been other, more limited cases of people having seizures due to light sensitivity, there has never been anything like the “Pokemon Panic” before or since.