Leisure Rating Association

Leisure Rating Association, often shortened to LRA, is the official motion picture rating system for Kuboia since 1988.

History
Leisure Rating Association was founded on 27th June, 1988. The original ratings included YC, K, A and X.

In January 1996, the rating system was given an overhaul due to the then-current system being "too confusing". The A and X rating were discontinued and replaced by the 9 and 18 rating respectively. Later, in April 1996, the R9 rating was introduced for cinemas, making the 9 rating exclusive to home video. Sometime in the late 1990s, a 21 rating was introduced as an emergency rating.

In March 2004, a 13 rating was introduced, following complaints that there was too big a gap between the 9 and 18 rating. Later, in December 2004, the ratings were given new designs. Another rating, the 16 rating, was introduced in August 2011.

In December 2017, LRA went through a complete overhaul, with the logo and ratings getting new designs once again. In the process, the 13 rating was discontinued as it was deemed "pointless".

Current ratings
As of 2020, the current age ratings are:
 * YC - particularly suitable for young children. For home video only.
 * K - suitable for all. According to the LRA, there should be nothing unsuitable for children aged five and over.
 * 9 - suitable only for audiences aged 9 and over. For home video only.
 * R9 - suitable for all, but not recommended for children under 9. For cinema only.
 * 16 - suitable only for audiences aged 16 and over. Can only be broadcast on television between 10:00p.m. and 5:00a.m.
 * 18 - suitable only for audiences aged 18 and over. Can only be broadcast on television between 11:00p.m. and 4:00a.m.
 * 21 - suitable only for audiences aged 21 and over. Cannot be broadcast on television, and can only be sold in shops with a special license.

Other ratings

 * E - product exempt from classification. Typically used for educational films, documentaries and music-related films.
 * ? - product not yet rated.

Discontinued ratings

 * A - children under 13 must be accompanied by somebody aged 16 or over to view. For cinema only. Discontinued in 1996 and replaced by the 9 rating.
 * X - suitable only for audiences aged 18 and over. Discontinued in 1996 and replaced by the 18 rating.
 * 13 - suitable only for audiences aged 13 and over. Discontinued in December 2017, although content that was given the rating prior to its discontinuation can still carry it.

Cinema Idents
The Leisure Rating Association have their own special idents that play in the cinema to inform the audience about the content present in the film that is about to be watched. They are almost always the last clip to be shown before the film is screened.

The original idents that were introduced in 1988 featured simple idents and music. Each rating had its own unique coloured background; green for K, pink for A and red for X. When they were later introduced, the 9 and R9 ratings also used pink (the 9 rating used a darker park for the three months it was used in cinemas), with the 18 rating using red, and the 13 rating using yellow. These idents were used for over sixteen years until their official usage came to an end on 1st December, 2004. Though some lower budget cinemas continued to use them for a few more months aftewards.

Content descriptions
Every product rated by LRA has a description indicating what content that the product contains that might be unsuitable for certain audiences. For example, if the product features inappropriate language and presence of alcohol, it might feature a description that states it "Features strong language and mild alcohol references."

According to the LRA website, the YC rating should be suitable for children under the age of five to watch on their own. Therefore, it cannot feature any bad language, violence that children could copy and scary images. Sexual references may only be displayed in a very mild or educational manner. The same mostly applies for the K rating, although very mild language and violence may be allowed. The 9 rating, meanwhile, may allow alcohol references and moderate violence if fantasied. Mild language is allowed in the 9 rating, as is limited uses of slightly worse words.

The 16 rating can feature more content unsuitable for children, such as stronger violence and language, moderate sexual references and less severe drug misuse. The 18 rating can feature strong lamguage, stronger sexual references as long as they are not too graphic, strong bloody violence provided it is not overly graphic and more severe drug misuse.

The 21 rating is allowed to feature more controversial content, such as stronger, graphic sexual references.