Anime Content: How Far Is Too Far?

VincentValentine13

When a show for kids here in America is brought over from Japan, we all know that it is severly edited, usually because the Japanese seem to have an affintity for same-sex relationships, a great deal of swearing, among other things. But here is the question:

Why did they put that kind of stuff in a kid's show? When I was younger, and really into Yu-Gi-Oh, I went out and bought the manga. Unfortunately, I didn't realize how much was edited from the show, and was quite surprised by what I read. The same went for Shaman King, which I borrowed from a friend, as well as .hack//sign: Twilight Bracelet.

Why do they feel the need to put that stuff into kid shows, if they're just going to edit it out anyway?
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cstdenis · Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2006 8:54 pm Post subject:

A good amount of the anime that is played in North America as a kids show is actually meant for an older audiance in Japan.

The main problem is that the US is just loves its censorship too much, most other countries have nudity on TV and its no problem. Even here in Canada there is nudity on tv -- not just cable, even on CBC.

Touzoku-joou · Oldbie Joined: 30 Oct 2004 Posts: 2399 Location: interweb

I just think they should leave it as-is. :/ If it was meant to be a certain way, why change it?

Then again, all they care about is money, and they know that all the money comes from parents that buy their whiny kids merchandise. YGO wouldn't have been [i]nearly[/i] as successful in America ifthey hadn't aimed it at little children.
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VincentValentine13 · Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 4:28 am Post subject:

But why have the stuff in there to begin with at all? It may be meant for an older audiences, but come on, how many teens are going to honestly watch a show about battling creatures that can only say their own names in an animal-like fashion? Only teens who are really, really into that stuff, would be my guess.

So, why put in something like the rumored intimacy scenes between Ash and Misty? There is really no need for it, because it doesn't drive the story? A simply kiss should suffice between two, how old are they, fourteen-year-olds?
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Reepicheep-chan · Very bored Joined: 30 Aug 2005 Posts: 123

One of the problems I have w/ editing is that they like to take things are not really kid's shows per se and make them kid's shows forcabley. Or try to gear them at a younger audience. I suppose you get that alot because animation is more kid oriented in the US then in Japan, although it is less of a problem now than it was. *shrug*

Touzoku-joou · Oldbie Joined: 30 Oct 2004 Posts: 2399 Location: interweb

Yeah. Or sometimes they edit out stuff that really [i]isn't[/i] offensive.

Take YGO for example, again. Yeah, okay, editing out some of Jounouchi's swearing isn't too bad, but changing the Ankh symbol in "Monster Reborn" to be this hideous... fuzzy... thing? WTF [i]is[/i] that?

And some of the smaller, stupider edits. Like changing the color of Bakura's Ouija board ('scuse me, "Destiny Board") from brown to blue.

I guess blue is a less offensive color than brown. 8D
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cstdenis · Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 10:58 pm Post subject:

Sometimes they seem to make changes just for the sake of making changes.

LunaticCrow · Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 7:13 am Post subject:

Japan's animation scene is a very different from us when it comes to judging what's "appropriate" or "not appropriate". THIS IS JAPAN. IT IS MADE OF LOLICON AND SUPERIOR.

That being said, Soccer Moms have Television's balls in a vice. There's always going to be unessisary editing, censoring, ect ect on Anime you see on western television. :v Just download stuff fansubbed.
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Reepicheep-chan · Very bored Joined: 30 Aug 2005 Posts: 123

You know, I completely forgot about the totally random edits. You gotta love it when they edit the show to make you think it is not set in Japan or something *eyeroll*
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LunaticCrow · Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 9:31 am Post subject:

Some jokes don't work with an english speaking/subtitle-less audience. Take yami no matsuei for example, I believe they edited a scene with a character saying "SPEAK JAPANESE!!" to a foreinger into "I HAVE NO MONEY!!!" or something like that.

It's usually for that during localization.

On the other hand, Pokemon (US) was butched out the ass with random unessisary edits. Signs with japanese were edited over, even those with perfectly good english! Not to mention Takeshi's/Brock's parents' stories were edited to hell. [/rant]
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VincentValentine13 · Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 7:02 pm Post subject:

Well, concerning the Yu-Gi-Oh "Spirit Board" it was probably not to offend anyone, and to try and maintain their already dwindling Christian fan-base. Though it is true, about Japanese joks not working, manga seems to have no problem with it, so I don't see why cartoons should.

Take Azumanga Daioh, for instance. I have read all the manga, and they change only enough to make it understandle to the American reader, but not so much as to completely lose the original joke.
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Brianhjh · Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 7:36 pm Post subject:

no editing, if you don't like it, then don't watch.

If your parents don't like it, more power to them. No parents ever liked the fads of next generations, novels, waltz, movies, telephones, etc.etc.

anime sucks in general anyway.

EDIT:

[quote] because the Japanese seem to have an affintity for same-sex relationships, a great deal of swearing, among other things. But here is the question: [/quote]

oh guess wut, fundamental christians and their values are minorities in some parts of the world, they are considered mentally unstable, shocking, isn't it?
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Lynxie · Member Joined: 23 Aug 2004 Posts: 87

...And this is why I get un-cut DVDs to sort the problem. Laughing

PhoenixAshes · Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 5:03 pm Post subject:

In my opinion, it is kinda necessary to censor some of the stuff...

My parents were kind of...controlling towards what I was allowed to watch when I was younger. If not for the censoring of such shows like Yugioh, I highly doubt I would have been allowed to watch them. I probably would have never have picked up and interest in anime/manga, and would be ignoring this whole forum.

I do admit, some of the stuff they do is completeley pointless (like trying to re-locate the setting, or trying to make it less foreign), but think of the next generation before you condemn all censorship!

Brianhjh · Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 5:36 pm Post subject:

[quote] but think of the next generation before you condemn all censorship![/quote]

no 8D

It's not as if I like having more anime fans in the world anyway, so why should we?
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Dragon_Buster · Member Joined: 05 May 2005 Posts: 47 Location: Top secret

IMHO, I think the editing level should be a little lenient. When they over-edit it, they make a decent show into a pile of crap, to use the expression.

VincentValentine13 · Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 8:35 pm Post subject:

Perhaps the amount of content that should be allowed is not overused, but under-used. Remember, we are talking about children around ten or below that watch this stuff. I think the trouble is in knowing your audience. Who is most likely to watch this?

Like Pokemon; they knew that most kids would watch the show, so they made it suitable for children. Yu-Gi-Oh is kinda like a pre-teen anime, like Outlaw Star and Rouroni Kenshin, so they left some of the more grown-up things in it. I guess it all depends on who will watch the show the most.

Kinda makes you wonder if they ever considered putting Inuyasha on Toonami, you know? I mean, they had Yu-Yu-Hakusho and Tenchi Muyo, so you have to wonder why they drew the line at Inuyasha, which could just as easily be adjusted as Sailor Moon or any of the aforemntioned shows.
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Zekk · Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 12:08 pm Post subject:

I say no censoring. It was ment for older aduences, and if they want to show it to america they should show it as is. Not with importing stuff cut out. For little stuff that matters.

Astri · Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 8:03 pm Post subject:

Our values as to what's "unacceptable" are screwed up anyways. Anything that could in any way relate back to some facet of sex is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE (throw up the red signs) while some pretty gory violence is nothing at all. Sex is kinda necessary for the continuation of our species--why do we treat it like some horrible, shameful thing that nobody should know exists? Whereas violence--not violence like killing and eating your food violence, violence like going to war over some stupid trifle in belief or some even stupider piece of dirt violence--is sanctioned, even praised. If a six-year-old ever watches the news, they'll be irreversibly scarred! I don't see any censors there! Or what about those stupid beyond stupid parents who bring their two-year-olds to see Saw? What the hell is up with that? Why are we worried about whether Misty and Ash kiss when stuff like that is going on?

And as to the Japanese jokes thing, I think the REASON they do it is because they're worried the Japanese references will confuse kids. God forbid they should actually be curious and go out and learn something about another culture. I'm with LunaticCrow--yeah, some of the jokes may not make sense in the alternate society, but that still doesn't excuse what they do with them...
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Reepicheep-chan · Very bored Joined: 30 Aug 2005 Posts: 123

Yeah, I still cannot figure editing out all the homosexuality. No wonder there are hate crimes all over the place, lumping in a couple girls telling each other they love each other with swearing and gore...

The thing about sexual stuff though, is younger children are inhierently irresponsible, and irresponsible sex is almost as dangerouse as outright violent crap. I mean, parents should NOT take their kidlets to see Saw, but I think violence is more easily understood as bad than (irresponisble) sex, because it hurts them immediatly and definately. I dunno, maybe I am not making any sense. In anycase, I would not want my kid exposed to sexual content until I knew he was old enough to fully understand me when I sat down and talked to him about it.
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