Is censorship still needed to keep Dragon Ball Relevant to younger people?

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Cure Dragon 255
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Is censorship still needed to keep Dragon Ball Relevant to younger people?

Post by Cure Dragon 255 » Sat Jan 01, 2022 12:56 am

I see that there are many youngsters around here that havent actually seen a Censored release or broadcast (Multiman and Bea). I wanna ask this controversial question. For better or worse do you feel Censorship is needed to keep Dragon Ball relevant to the younger crowd?
Marz wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:27 pm "Well, the chapter was good, the story was good and so were the fights. But a new transformation, in Dragon Ball? And one that's ugly? This is where we draw the line!!! Jump the Shark moment!!"

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90sDBZ wrote: Mon Jul 01, 2019 2:44 pm19 years ago I was rushing home from school to watch DBZ on Cartoon Network, and today I've rushed home from work to watch DBS on Pop. I guess it's true the more things change the more they stay the same. :lol:

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Re: Is censorship still needed to keep Dragon Ball Relevant to younger people?

Post by jjgp1112 » Sat Jan 01, 2022 1:34 am

If Db Super Broly was indication Dragon Ball has no problem whatsoever staying relevant to younger audiences.

Moreover, most people watch shit online on their own time these days. And most anime that is on TV airs at night with no censorship. Censored broadcasts are old hat.
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Re: Is censorship still needed to keep Dragon Ball Relevant to younger people?

Post by WittyUsername » Sat Jan 01, 2022 1:54 am

jjgp1112 wrote: Sat Jan 01, 2022 1:34 am If Db Super Broly was indication Dragon Ball has no problem whatsoever staying relevant to younger audiences.
Did a lot of kids watch the movie in theaters? The screening I remember going to mostly consisted of adult fans.

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Re: Is censorship still needed to keep Dragon Ball Relevant to younger people?

Post by Dragon Ball Ireland » Sat Jan 01, 2022 1:59 am

Good topic, but I'm going to have to say no.

Censorship comes down to personal preference as different broadcasters or service providers have their own ideas about what should or should not be acceptable and changing standards.

Take for example the Toonzai Kai broadcasts, which took place shortly after the Nicktoons airings had their own unique edits like Blue Mr Popo. It was not necessary, but something 4Kids and the CW, for better or for worse believed was necessary, although most fans would disagree, and indeed Ocean (who edited the Nicktoons cut) didn't share the idea. We've heard more fans who grew up on Nicktoons than Kai come out loving Kai but never had a problem with the previously unexisting cuts.

Then you factor in changing TV standards, which again, while preferable to the broadcaster is unneeded from a fan's perspective. Kai, which had its own edits (even in the uncut version like removing blood from Goku and Raditz' death) achieved some level of success, but not Z-level. Granted the original Funimation/Saban dub removed the shot of Goku and Raditz falling apart after being dealt the fatal blow entirely, but the success of the uncut DVD releases, and especially the orange bricks showed that neither the edits made in the original Funimation Z dub, or Kai in general was needed. Fans loved Dragon Ball either way.

Super has far less violence than any of the original series, and sure it's been a monster hit, but that's been down to Dragon Ball having a huge resurgence in our world and it being the first TV anime with brand new content in 18 years.

At the end of the day Dragon Ball is Dragon Ball. You can edit scenes, replace the score, crop the image, rewrite the characters, but the show still has that unique aesthetic that sells itself, and it succeeds despite these changes not because of them.
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Re: Is censorship still needed to keep Dragon Ball Relevant to younger people?

Post by jjgp1112 » Sat Jan 01, 2022 3:56 am

WittyUsername wrote: Sat Jan 01, 2022 1:54 am
jjgp1112 wrote: Sat Jan 01, 2022 1:34 am If Db Super Broly was indication Dragon Ball has no problem whatsoever staying relevant to younger audiences.
Did a lot of kids watch the movie in theaters? The screening I remember going to mostly consisted of adult fans.
A good mix of kids and adults for me.
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Re: Is censorship still needed to keep Dragon Ball Relevant to younger people?

Post by mute_proxy » Sat Jan 01, 2022 7:08 am

Is blood and gore needed to keep Dragon Ball relevant? Cuz I see question and complaints quite often and I'm like what?

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Re: Is censorship still needed to keep Dragon Ball Relevant to younger people?

Post by Shaddy » Sat Jan 01, 2022 7:26 am

Censorship has never been needed to make anything relevant to young people. It's not like kids were ever asking for it.

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Re: Is censorship still needed to keep Dragon Ball Relevant to younger people?

Post by PurestEvil » Sat Jan 01, 2022 7:56 am

If you are a running a kids' dubbed anime channel, and you feel the need to cut and edit a lot of bits and pieces from show you are dubbing, then you should not broadcast it in the first place.
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Re: Is censorship still needed to keep Dragon Ball Relevant to younger people?

Post by ABED » Sat Jan 01, 2022 8:15 am

No, but we also need to draw the distinction between censorship which can only be done by the government, and policies from Broadcast Standards and Practices. One is voluntary, the other is not.
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Re: Is censorship still needed to keep Dragon Ball Relevant to younger people?

Post by JulieYBM » Sat Jan 01, 2022 10:22 am

My niece is twelve and into The Promised Neverland and Danganronpa, so I'm obviously concerned with how media in general portrays stuff to kids considering I grew up a victim of some of this shit. I don't really have a concern with most violence but I am pretty concerned about the treatment of women, queer people and other minorities in media. Luckily she seems to have a good head on her shoulders and doesn't have any internalized misogyny or homophobia (despite being closeted).

(Best Christmas present ever was walking into her room and seeing a pan flag on display and her telling me she knows I'm trans, despite her parents forcing me back into the closet around her).

Anyway, Dragon Ball has quite a bit of bad content in that regard and I wouldn't feel comfortable introducing it to her. I'd much rather see what she's into on her own.
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Re: Is censorship still needed to keep Dragon Ball Relevant to younger people?

Post by Hellspawn28 » Sat Jan 01, 2022 3:49 pm

I would say no considering how tame the series is compare to most PG-13 movies. The dirty humor in DB is no different on what you find in Austin Powers and kids in my school love those movies when I was growing up.
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Re: Is censorship still needed to keep Dragon Ball Relevant to younger people?

Post by Peach » Sun Jan 02, 2022 3:50 pm

There's no point in censorship now that most things are streamed online. They don't need to adhere to television standards.

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Re: Is censorship still needed to keep Dragon Ball Relevant to younger people?

Post by ZeroIsOurHero » Mon Jan 03, 2022 7:42 pm

Hellspawn28 wrote: Sat Jan 01, 2022 3:49 pm I would say no considering how tame the series is compare to most PG-13 movies. The dirty humor in DB is no different on what you find in Austin Powers and kids in my school love those movies when I was growing up.
100% agreed. I'd say Dragon Ball is tame enough that it doesn't need to be censored so kids can watch it, especially now that people have become so desensitized to violence and sexuality in media. I mean, kids nowadays are watching freaking Squid Game, Dragon Ball looks like the tamest shit ever in comparison to stuff like that.

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Re: Is censorship still needed to keep Dragon Ball Relevant to younger people?

Post by dva_raza » Mon Jan 03, 2022 8:18 pm

I dont really understand the point of censorship in any show now when it’s practically imposible to completely avoid being exposed to strong language sex and violence anywhere.

I just want to say, when I saw Kai recently, I found the cutting of the violent parts made many of those scenes feel incoherent and underwhelming.
For example, the scene where Frieza beats the shit out of Vegeta.
That whole part just being cut out, made it look like Vegeta was out of it, unable to move, just after a couple of punches from Frieza. And that looked extremely odd, and like i said, underwhelming.
If I was a kid I wouldn’t want to watch a series that felt incomplete like this

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Re: Is censorship still needed to keep Dragon Ball Relevant to younger people?

Post by Aim » Mon Jan 03, 2022 8:40 pm

Cure Dragon 255 wrote: Sat Jan 01, 2022 12:56 am I see that there are many youngsters around here that havent actually seen a Censored release or broadcast (Multiman and Bea). I wanna ask this controversial question. For better or worse do you feel Censorship is needed to keep Dragon Ball relevant to the younger crowd?
Are we talking about Dragon Ball as a whole or Dragon Ball the Kung fu comedy at the beginning?

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Re: Is censorship still needed to keep Dragon Ball Relevant to younger people?

Post by Cure Dragon 255 » Mon Jan 03, 2022 8:48 pm

The entirety of it. But niow that you mention it and nobody else has, the more sexual humor in Dragon Ball that is present in the beggining COULD USE some cuts. LIke Bulma showing herself to Roshi. That is something that adds nothing.
Marz wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:27 pm "Well, the chapter was good, the story was good and so were the fights. But a new transformation, in Dragon Ball? And one that's ugly? This is where we draw the line!!! Jump the Shark moment!!"

This forum is so over-dramatic that it's not even funny.
90sDBZ wrote: Mon Jul 01, 2019 2:44 pm19 years ago I was rushing home from school to watch DBZ on Cartoon Network, and today I've rushed home from work to watch DBS on Pop. I guess it's true the more things change the more they stay the same. :lol:

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Re: Is censorship still needed to keep Dragon Ball Relevant to younger people?

Post by WittyUsername » Mon Jan 03, 2022 9:14 pm

The sexual humor in early Dragon Ball was widely seen as inappropriate for kids back in 2001, and if anything, it’s even more inappropriate now. As for whether the rest of the series would need to be censored, I don’t know, maybe not? There are some gruesome moments, but the series isn’t a straight up gore fest. Freeza impaling and torturing Kuririn is more brutal than anything you’re likely to see in an American show geared towards kids, though.

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Re: Is censorship still needed to keep Dragon Ball Relevant to younger people?

Post by MyVisionity » Mon Jan 03, 2022 11:06 pm

Cure Dragon 255 wrote: Mon Jan 03, 2022 8:48 pm The entirety of it. But niow that you mention it and nobody else has, the more sexual humor in Dragon Ball that is present in the beggining COULD USE some cuts. LIke Bulma showing herself to Roshi. That is something that adds nothing.
It adds humor to the scene, and also helps to establish Roshi as a pervert.

Also, if you're going to cut out the sexual humor, either cut all of it or cut none of it. Don't half-ass it.

But as has been stated, the series will remain relevant to children either way. Regardless of any questionable content included.

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Re: Is censorship still needed to keep Dragon Ball Relevant to younger people?

Post by JulieYBM » Mon Jan 03, 2022 11:20 pm

They should cut the sexual humor if this is going to be a child-friendly marketed product. Save Rapey Roushi for a porno.
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Re: Is censorship still needed to keep Dragon Ball Relevant to younger people?

Post by MyVisionity » Tue Jan 04, 2022 12:09 am

If they *insist* on marketing it as a child-friendly product, I agree that it should probably be edited. But I think that if you have to edit it, then it probably shouldn't be marketed to children in the first place. It's disrespectful to both the children and to the show itself to market an edited version.

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