10 Banned Episodes Of Famous TV Shows

Since its introduction in 1997, anime series Pokémon has become an enduring cultural sensation whose popularity shows no sign of fading more than 20 years on. Itself an offshoot of the Nintendo game series, the cartoon's astonishing longevity (1004 episodes to date) has helped keep the franchise beloved worldwide.

However, back in its earliest days Pokémon faced some controversy which might easily have derailed the whole enterprise.

The show's 38th episode, Electric Soldier Porygon, was broadcast for the first and last time on Japanese television in December 1997. The show was already renowned for its flashy visuals, but this episode took things even further, with dangerous results.

The use of repetitive multicoloured strobe lighting effects triggered adverse reactions in hundreds of viewers, young and old, across Japan. There were widespread reports of epileptic fits, seizures, blindness, nausea, convulsions and loss of consciousness, and a reported 685 children were rushed to hospital in ambulances, two of whom remained hospitalised for over a fortnight.

The resultant public outcry saw Pokémon taken off the air for several months afterwards, and Japanese television soon introduced new regulations to avoid such disasters in the future. Unsurprisingly, Electric Soldier Porygon has never been aired again on TV anywhere.