The fight over the fate of fictional lolis everywhere (within the Tokyo Metropolitan Area) might not be over, but one side is surely girding itself for battle.

It seems that the latest group to join those opposed to the bill (which aims to amend youth protection laws to restrict depictions of pretty much any underage-looking 2D character) is the Writer's Guild of Japan, the country's largest organization of screenwriters. This expands the scope of opposition greatly, since the screenwriters write for 3D characters as well. It seems that more and more people are beginning to notice how dangerously vague the bill's language is. It was certainly vague enough that the governor pushing the didn't fully understand it himself.

Even 2D characters themselves have gotten into the act. The latest episodes and issues of Gintama even weighed in rather passive-aggressively, with several characters vocally opposing the "Ooedo Youth Healthy Development Ordinance Revision Bill" and another character going on the following rant:

One should regulate their own heart before attempting to regulate free speech!! There were lolicon far back in the past before there was manga, the Internet, anime!! What’s important is to have the heart to face those desires and control them instead of trying to put a lid on them!! Now let me just state that I’m not a lolicon, but instead a feminist!

Protest speech of that sort is almost unheard of through such mainstream creative channels, which really goes to show just ow unpopular the bill is, and how potentially bleak its future. Hopefully the pols keep that in mind when the deadlines hit.