Why Netflix's Newest Anime Series Is Causing Controversy

The Back Street Girls are about to take center stage on Netflix. The anime series already premiered in Japan back in July and is getting its international streaming debut on Dec. 12. The show follows three yakuza men — yakuza is the Japanese word for members of organized crime groups — that find themselves in hot water with their boss, who forces them pose as an all-girl pop group as punishment for losing huge sums of money. Netflix hasn't officially announced whether or not Back Street Girls will return for Season 2, but if the source material is any indication, then the Gokudolls might have taken their last bow already.

Originally, Back Street Girls premiered on July 4 in Japan. It was produced by J.C. Staff and directed by Chiaki Kon before its official acquisition by Netflix. Neither the original production crew nor Netflix have made any official public announcement about whether Back Street Girls will be back for Season 2 just yet, and they probably won't for a little while longer. While the show did garner some fans on social media, others have decried the series for being insensitive to the trans community, given the premise that the three main characters have to undergo forced gender reassignment surgery. The plot, according to Whats-On-Netflix.com is described as:

After failing their boss too many times, three Yakuza men are faced with two choices: die an honorable death and kill themselves or go to Thailand for gender reassignment surgery and train to become “Idol Girls.” They choose the latter. After surgery and a tough year of training to become Idols, they debut with great success to the dismay of the Yakuza trio. Now having to deal with overwhelming popularity that comes with being an idol, this is just the beginning for them.

The original manga series for Back Street Girls was created by Jasmine Gyuh, and has already concluded in print. The first installment of the story was published in Weekly Young Magazine on March 16, 2015, and ended its run three years later on September 15, 2018, per WowJapan. The complete story is still available as 11 separate volumes for fans to collect. As Season 1 already contains 10 episodes, Whats-On-Netflix suggests that it will likely encompass the entire original Back Street Girls story, leaving no remaining source material for a Season 2.

That doesn't necessarily mean, however, that Back Street Girls Season 2 is out of the question. Netflix is known for reviving series when there is enough fan interest, as it did with Designated Survivor and the Sense8 special finale, so it's possible they could do the same for Back Street Girls. At the moment, however, it's too soon to tell if the show has the kind of loyal following that might influence the decision to bring Back Street Girls back for another season.

On Twitter, Fans Seem Divided

If Netflix and J.C. Staff do decide to renew Back Street Girls for Season 2, they'll have their work cut out for them creating a story to follow up their controversial first season.