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Anime Editing
jingfoxx
Member Posts: 54
You know, I've recently spent some time researching some of my favorite anime/cartoons originating from Japan and read up on the editing that is done when it comes to America to be dubbed.
Even in shows where the plot, in and of itself, should make them rated a little higher than PG13. I was reading about the editing done to Naruto and it's "sequel" Naruto Shippuden. They not only edited out the all of the blood but also most of the violence....
I'm sorry, but if you have a show about ninjas, then you are intrinsically going to have both blood and a great deal of violence. Otherwise, the fact that their ninjas is just a word. It would be like calling a person on a show a Power Ranger and never having them morph and fight evil villains; or like calling someone an Alchemist and never have them doing any Alchemy. It just wouldn't make sense.
Other shows, like Digimon and Dragon Ball (and it's 'sequels'), have had the same thing done. This all bugs the ever-living hell out of me and makes me wish day in and day out that I could understand Japanese.
But the point of this random outburst was to ask you some questions.
1. What do you think it is about American studios that makes them do all of this? Do you think it's because it seems like more and more Americans look at this form of entertainment and immediately dismiss it as something for kids and then attempt to disembowel the series of anything that they deem inappropriate for children?
Personally, that's what I believe. I think they just take one look at animation and animated shows and dismiss it off as a childish form of entertainment, even with some shows like American Dad, Family Guy, The Simpsons, Ugly Americans leading the way against that kind of dismissal.
2. Do you feel that there seems to be this over-protective sentiment from parents and that this leads them to "force" agencies like the FCC to create these immense - and sometimes unwarranted - requirements against not only animated shows, but live-action drama as well?
Yes, personally, I do. With everything that's going on in the realm of television, I think some parents are getting too damn over-protective of their children. Many children entering into their pre-teen stage have already heard their first cuss word, seen blood and violence; and it's not because of fictional television. It's because we live in something called the 'real world'. Most times, children have heard their first cuss word and it came from the mouths of the parents.
3. And this question is aimed towards those who would be knowledgable of the answer. Do you know whether or not Japan has as bad a problem with content blocking as America does? In Japan, is anime considered a legitimate form of entertainment or is it dismissed as childish entertainment as is done here?
4. And finally, do you think there is anything we can do that will stop this madness?
Ignorance may be Bliss, but Knowledge is Power
Comments
Take a look at an un-edited Tom & Jerry cartoon from the forties or fifties. Then look at the same cartoon as it is shown on TV today.
Praise political correctness.
Yes! I love Tom & Jerry and Tom & Jerry wouldn't be anything without a mass amount of cartoon violence. And now... exactly. Political correctness is a problem for me personally because I don't like the idea of my words being sh'd because the majority doesn't agree. I prefer chatting about the 'taboo', even if other people don't like it. Now I'm no racist or sexist, but personally, I enjoy stereotype jokes. I enjoy when jokes poke fun at the realities that people reject and the false realities that people accept.
But yeah, you are exactly right.
Ignorance may be Bliss, but Knowledge is Power
I think the reason why these type of anime gets censored is because these shows are usually shown on channels or time slots of channels dedicated to tv shows for kids. These channels want to keep the channel as family friendly as possible.
I don't think that anime or cartoons are seen as mature forms of entertainment in the west. Even adult cartoons are mostly watched by the 15 through 30 age range and pretty much the only reason these are accepted is because the general idea is that the fact these are cartoons aid in the comic effect. Cartoons are strictly seen as entertainment for kids.
In my opinion, the rating system is usually way to strict and parents in general are overprotective of their kids. Any kid from the age of 14 should have no problem watching movies, tv shows and play games that are now generally considered 16 or 17 and above.
Anime is considered to be e legitimate form of entertainment for adults. There are many adults that watch anime and there is loads of anime that specificaly aimed for adult readers. They also seem to be more okay with violence in shows aimed for a younger audience. Even Pokemon had certain scenes removed or episodes not broadcasted in Western territories because of censorship. Funny enough, it seems to be the exact opposite for video games. Games such as No More Heroes are censored in Japan and even games such as Uncharted: Drake's fortune are censored. Something like Call of Duty: World at War does not even get released there.
I think it will take some time but it will eventually stop. The generation that is now making the calls and are oh so concerned about their children is a generation that has not grown up with cartoons intended for an older teen or mature audience. The next generation is one that grew up on anime such as Dragon Ball Z and Naruto. They are probably more open to the idea of anime for an older audience.
Yeah, I remember reading something about an episode being completely cut from being aired because there was something "racist" about it. Something about Brock and a Jynx.
Another question I could ask, since you brought up the point of Japan being stricter about games as opposed to Anime and the opposite being true here in America considering many games made for younger and older teen audiences tend to have quite a bit of violence like the CoD series, etc. Do you think Japan is that way because they are more worried about interactive entertainment and kids having some kind of a hand in the action as opposed to just watching it unfold on a television screen?
Ignorance may be Bliss, but Knowledge is Power
Okay, I only recently saw the original Japanese version of Digimon Adventure Movie. This is the 'first part' of the Digimon Movie where Tai & Kari meet their first Digimon (Koromon). Now, I've seen the Digimon movie enough times that I can distinguish the differences between the two, so I just wanted to write them down for reference.
I. Well, the first thing I noticed was that the music direction for the original versions isn't as good as their American counterparts. I prefer the dubbed music direction, personally.
2. There wasn't an excessive amount of violence in this first part, as it was only about twenty minutes long. The only violence is the battle between Agumon/Greymon and Parrotmon. There was only a single moment of 'excessive violence' that I saw and immediately, I knew they would never air that on American television.
The moment happens when it seems Greymon and Parrotmon are playing that game where the two kids clasp their hands together and attempt to make the other say 'mercy'. Greymon lowers his head and swings it up, his horn stabbing through Parrotmon's lower beak. It looked like a move that would cause extreme pain and like something American's wouldn't want their children watching.
3. I also noticed during this combat scene that their combat moves weren't named. I don't know if this was also the way it was in the show or if it's just a single occurence, but I noticed.
4. I also noticed that the American's dub has a bit more of a sense of humor compared to the Japanese original. Perhaps it's just me and my American sense of humor and my lack of understanding of Japanese humor, but it was just something I noticed.
Some examples I found were the mom's preference towards Organic food, or the sleeping driver gag, which were both unique to the American dub.
5. Finally, there's a point in the movie where the father comes home while Koromon is digivolving (evolving in the original Japanese; another difference) into Agumon. He is clearly drunk and in the dub, this is never shown, obviously.
These are just some of the observances I noticed.
(Also, I am currently watching the second part of the movie, Our War Game, which in the Digimon movie was the entire story arc with Diaboromon. In it, Tai says 'shit', something you would never in a million years catch someone saying in an American animation meant for children.)
Ignorance may be Bliss, but Knowledge is Power