In recent days, numerous Japanese creators have been informed by pixivFANBOX that their content has been temporarily removed from the platform. These suspensions seem to particularly affect fictional works containing explicit sexual and violent themes, with pixivFANBOX citing “concerns raised by payment processors” as the reason. Some artists have even reported that pieces dating back several years have been flagged.
pixivFANBOX serves as a prominent Japanese subscription-based service where creators can establish their personal fan communities and share exclusive content like illustrations, manga, novels, and more with their supporters (similar in concept to platforms such as Patreon).
Starting around September 25, several content creators took to X to share notices they’d received about their pixivFANBOX posts being suspended. The standard message provided reads: “In response to a notification from our payment processor, we have implemented measures to suspend the publication of posts that may contain expressions falling under the ‘Items Requiring Revision’ policy.”
It’s important to distinguish this from pixivFANBOX’s “Prohibited Items” policy, which enforces general prohibitions against content like child sexual abuse material, realistic gore, and bestiality. The “Items Requiring Revision” policy, on the other hand, applies to non-realistic content (such as illustrations, fan comics, etc.) where the platform determines, on a case-by-case basis, that certain adjustments are needed to either the content or its associated metadata like tags and descriptions.
Among the suspension notices circulating among artists, common triggers include tags such as “hypnosis,” “brainwashing,” and “kidnapping” (which pertain to non-consensual themes), alongside violence and cruelty. One creator noted that their comic was flagged for “excessive violence” despite containing no blood or graphic gore. They suspect this may be due to metadata including terms like “organs” and “corpse.”
This experience was echoed by others, with one illustrator advising fellow pixivFANBOX users: “The recent spate of suspensions appears to be set off by specific words in titles or tags. In some instances, simply modifying those elements and resubmitting for review results in approval, so it might be worth trying that approach.”
Given that pixivFANBOX explicitly references “issues raised by payment processors” as the cause for these suspensions, it’s probable that the platform is conducting broad screenings for content that third parties have deemed problematic (similar to what Steam began implementing last year). This theory is supported by the fact that even posts from three to four years ago are being affected, indicating that content once considered compliant with pixivFANBOX’s terms is now suddenly not.
pixivFANBOX is not the first Japanese platform to grapple with restrictions imposed by payment processors. This has been an ongoing challenge over the past few years, with major sites like DLsite, Fantia, Melonbooks, Skeb, and even the online stores of game developers facing transaction suspensions over hosting legal adult content.