Arrested for a Video Game: It Happened in Norway

Dorei to no Seikatsu is one of those products that to call "questionable" is, at the very least, an understatement. The game developed by FreakilyCharming has been on the market since 2015, yet it still manages to be a topic of discussion today.

The title Dorei to no Seikatsu translates to "life with a slave": it is an interactive visual novel in which the protagonist adopts a young girl, little more than a child, with a terrifying past: she has suffered all kinds of abuse from her previous guardian and is in a completely devastated psychological state.

While on the one hand the product aims to try and build a healthy relationship with the girl to help her overcome her multiple traumas, on the other hand it makes ample and continuous references to her terrible past, often with a wealth of detail.

A product of this type is not readily accepted by all communities; even less so in Norway, a nation where decidedly strict laws apply regarding the possession and use of ambiguous material related to minors – and the girl in Dorei to no Seikatsu certainly falls into this category.

It so happened that a 24-year-old man residing in Sør-Rogaland was arrested for being in possession of the game in question, as well as other similar material, deemed illegal under Norwegian law. The investigations began after the local authority received a report from the American agency NCMEC (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children) regarding the man's suspicious online activities and possible child pornography content.

Dorei to no Seikatsu: Reasons for the Arrest

The accusation was brought by police officer Erik Høna Hagen who described the game as a kind of Tamagotchi where the care of the girl quickly turns into sexualized situations. The defense responded that in any case, these are just animations and that the product in question is available on the open market in many nations.

"Legislation in Asia is liberal when it comes to animations. This game is perfectly legal in numerous nations. In Norway, on the other hand, it is considered a crime. For some people, it can be difficult to understand how it is considered illegal material here," Hagen declared.

That the Land of the Rising Sun is somewhat considered the Eldorado of animation and 18+ entertainment is certainly not new, so much so that not a few still translate "manga" as "Japanese erotic comic" [which is obviously wrong in the first adjective]. In fact, it is true that similar products abound in that market and, as in the case of Dorei to no Seikatsu, are often available elsewhere.

Now we will see if the defense lawyers manage to dismantle the prosecution's case or if FreakilyCharming's game will become an important precedent...