Record of Ragnarok has joined the growing list of Netflix anime adaptations — but why has the series been banned in India? The anime's portrayal of one of the principal deities of Hinduism has incited major backlash against the series and ultimately caused it to be removed from the Indian version of the streaming platform.
Record of Ragnarok is a Netflix anime adaptation of a manga of the same name. The series surrounds a pantheon of the world's gods who are to decide the fate of humanity. When the gods consider wiping out humanity, they instead decide to give humanity the chance to fight for their survival in the battle of Ragnarok. With the help of the valkyries, 13 of humanity's most notable humans will fight against 13 of the most powerful gods in a duel to the death; if 7 humans win, humanity will be spared. Some of the humans chosen to represent humanity include figures like Adam, Buddha, and Jack the Ripper, while the gods' roster included deities like Zeus, Loki, and Shiva.
In October 2020, Rajan Zed, the President of the Universal Society of Hinduism, released a statement asking the creators of the Record of Ragnarok manga to cease its trivialization of Lord Shiva and other Hindu deities. Zed fears that these portrayals can create the wrong idea about the deities for those who are not familiar with the Hindu religion. Zed has previously made similar statements against other pieces of media — like X:Men: Apocalypse — for their depictions of Hindu deities. While Zed was never able to stop the production of the manga, Record of Ragnarok is now banned from streaming on Netflix in India due to its portrayal of Shiva, the Destroyer.
Shiva is a deity of the Hindu religion. As one of the principal deities of Hindu, Shiva is one-third of the triumvirate — the three gods responsible for the creation, upkeep, and destruction of the world. Brahma is the creator of the world and Vishnu is the preserver of the world — Shiva is known as the "Destroyer," whose purpose is to destroy the world to allow it to be recreated. The destruction is not malicious but instead allows for constructive growth. Shiva is seen as the balance between good and evil. He is frequently portrayed with a blue face and a third eye which allows him to look within, but also causes destruction if the eye is turned outwards.
There is plenty of controversy surrounding Shiva's depiction in Record of Ragnarok. In the anime, Shiva is portrayed as a brutal fighter on the level of Thor and Zeus — Shiva's battles in Ragnarok directly conflict with the common representation of him in Hinduism. A clip of Shiva's angry face, which featured five eyes total, drew particular ire before it was removed from the Netflix trailer. Hinduism is severely underrepresented in popular media compared to its number of followers, meaning one false portrayal could be seen as harmful and create misconceptions about the religion. India is primarily Hindu — 94% of the world's Hindus live in India, according to the Pew Research Center. As long as Shiva remains in the anime, it is likely Record of Ragnarok will continue to be banned in India.