Do you prefer to watch the censored or uncensored version of Dragon Ball?

[ABED]

It's not a type of censorship. One is just a network determining what content they want to broadcast. It's voluntary. Censorship is not. I really wish people wouldn't equate the two and understood the difference.

[MasenkoHA]

It's not a type of censorship. One is just a network determining what content they want to broadcast. It's voluntary. Censorship is not. I really wish people wouldn't equate the two and understood the difference.

Censorship is probably not the right word but network BS&P doesn’t really apply to Funimation’s dialog edits made in the uncut version.

[ABED]

It's not a type of censorship. One is just a network determining what content they want to broadcast. It's voluntary. Censorship is not. I really wish people wouldn't equate the two and understood the difference.

Censorship is probably not the right word but network BS&P doesn’t really apply to Funimation’s dialog edits made in the uncut version.

Hence me qualifying it as "more like".

[Soppa Saia People]

It's not a type of censorship. One is just a network determining what content they want to broadcast. It's voluntary. Censorship is not. I really wish people wouldn't equate the two and understood the difference.

i think most people know the difference, it just doesn't really matter in everyday context lol. like i really don't understand getting hung up on this type of stuff, i think everybody who clicked on the thread knew what OP meant, they weren't like Well IDK If The Government Censored Dragon Ball. if a majority of people use a word like That, i don't think it matters at all.

[ABED]

It's not a type of censorship. One is just a network determining what content they want to broadcast. It's voluntary. Censorship is not. I really wish people wouldn't equate the two and understood the difference.

i think most people know the difference, it just doesn't really matter in everyday context lol. like i really don't understand getting hung up on this type of stuff, i think everybody who clicked on the thread knew what OP meant, they weren't like Well IDK If The Government Censored Dragon Ball. if a majority of people use a word like That, i don't think it matters at all.

You'd be surprised. And it's less the idea that people understand that the government isn't censoring things as much people equate a network or a company editing shows to fit standards is the equivalent to censorship. This issue matters a lot.

[Super Sonic]

Uncensored, though I haven't watched any of them in a very long time, I wouldn't mind the early seasons out of nostalgia. And while some of the dub hasn't aged well by today's standards, censored or not, I'd still watch it over weird subbed shows like Oreimo.

[ABED]

I much prefer the unedited version of the series, regardless of the quality of the dub.

[KBABZ]

It's not a type of censorship. One is just a network determining what content they want to broadcast. It's voluntary. Censorship is not. I really wish people wouldn't equate the two and understood the difference.

But if you don't adhere to it, the network won't broadcast your show. Very voluntary...

---

Personally I prefer uncensored, but to be frank I do find that removing scenes of certain types, primarily Roshi's sexual assault, is an overall benefit to the show.

[MasenkoHA]

But if you don't adhere to it, the network won't broadcast your show. Very voluntary...

.

I realize I’m being incredibly US-centric here but it’s like people complaining about censorship and their freedom of speech being violated when their post on social media is deleted for not following guidelines their free speech isn’t being violated the the individual privately owned company just has guidelines of what is acceptable on their platform.

It’s not like Funimation was prevented from releasing their uncut dub they just had to edit it to specific guidelines of Saban/Cartoon Network/Nicktoons/Toonzai if they wanted it shown on kids tv. They wanted the series to be shown on programming aimed at young children and had guidelines to follow.


That said I do think everyone understands what censorship means in this case when we say Dragon Ball was censored for tv.

[Soppa Saia People]

^yeah i see more people misunderstand Free Speech, then censorship, which has always served as a somewhat catch all word for that type of stuff(i'm a really good writer). personally, i prefer saying I'm Being 1984'd cus that's funnier.

funimation 1984'd the no balls scene outta dragon ball, unbelievable.

[MyVisionity]

I can't think of any aspect of the show where I would ever prefer watching an edited version. Maybe a version without the Blue/Obotchaman stuff. Or probably a version without gross things such as the nose picking scenes and stuff like that, where I normally have to turn away from the screen.

[ABED]

It's not a type of censorship. One is just a network determining what content they want to broadcast. It's voluntary. Censorship is not. I really wish people wouldn't equate the two and understood the difference.

But if you don't adhere to it, the network won't broadcast your show. Very voluntary...

---

Personally I prefer uncensored, but to be frank I do find that removing scenes of certain types, primarily Roshi's sexual assault, is an overall benefit to the show.

This is the thing I'm talking about. It is voluntary. It is voluntary. If you and the network make a deal, then it comes with strings. You don't have to go with that network. You are free to look elsewhere for a better deal.

That said I do think everyone understands what censorship means in this case when we say Dragon Ball was censored for tv.

The above quote shows that's not the case. There is a clear equivocation between a contractual agreement and government action.

[KBABZ]

The above quote shows that's not the case. There is a clear equivocation between a contractual agreement and government action.

I mean if you're gonna take that perspective then following what the government suggests you do is also optional because you could just not release the show, which is the same as the network version in many cases.

[Hellspawn28]

Why would anyone want to watch a censored version of a show? Art should always be viewed in its uncut form.

[Soppa Saia People]

i mean some people don't always wanna view a little kid slapping a girls crouch or the millionth old man in anime who's horny for girls, and just wanna see the fighting. or i mean honestly it's mostly just interesting, to see what was changed, why it was changed, how it was changed, all that stuff. there's value in that, even if it's not the way i would watch the show, i still finding it very interesting.

[ABED]

The above quote shows that's not the case. There is a clear equivocation between a contractual agreement and government action.

I mean if you're gonna take that perspective then following what the government suggests you do is also optional because you could just not release the show, which is the same as the network version in many cases.

I didn't say what they "suggest" is optional.

[Desassina]

I can't think of any aspect of the show where I would ever prefer watching an edited version.

I enjoyed Metal Gear Solid on the Playstation in English. It was more idiomatic and it flowed better in many situations. The series was largely unedited in the sense that it was written by an author in a medium that became too big for this approach. I did not like David Hayter in MGS3 through Peace Walker. That would be when I could enjoy the Japanese version better, but the series' script was so messy that I sticked to its translation for the story, and was glad that MGSV returned to being a game where I could dig for information to make my own.

[Cure Dragon 255]

The 1984 joke runs into the exact same problem ABED mentioned. 1984 is about forceful and total goverment censorship.

Lets just say Edited and Unedited and call it a day.

[Shaddy]

Aaaaanyway, I think if we're talking about edits for content reasons, I usually never go for a "censored" version of a story (and yes, I'll be the first to acknowledge censorship is something government institutions do, not copyright holders with something they own). But that's only with the assumption in place that the most accurate version of something is the best version. Like, I don't watch the 4kids or Nicktoons versions of Kai, but I also don't watch the original versions of any of the Dragon Ball shows, because I watch fanedits like Dragon Ball Recut. And, to be frank, if Milkman decided he were doing something other than cutting the show for pacing and filler removal, and did focus on content, I wouldn't be unhappy if we lost some of the gross sexual-assault stuff. I feel like that's a topic currently seeing a lot of discussion on this forum, though, so I won't dwell on it.

Point is, I think there is an interesting double standard for people who permit things to be edited in one way and not another, especially when the other is potentially problematic content. The best argument you have is preservation and accuracy, that it's not anyone but the creator's place to decide what does and doesn't make it through in a translation, but I think that'd also then go back to what Toei chooses to change or not change in their own adaptation. It's just funny how it never gets talked about unless it's something kind of shitty being changed, even though the level of consent from the people who own it is actually the same between each, despite internet bros shouting otherwise (for example, if Kyoto Animation were not okay with changing that one line in Maid Dragon, they wouldn't have let Funimation do it).

And then there's me. I am the opposite of a purist. I could not give a flying fuck about viewing the "original" version of something above all else if an option I think is better exists. Star Wars, One Piece, Lord of the Rings, even modding a shit out of most games, I gave up on "unaltered" versions years ago. Obviously there's subjective ideas on what is "better", and that's why I am absolutely in favor of preserving the originals for whoever wants them or whatever use they may serve in other works, or just for historical purposes.

But I do think the stigma behind preferring an edited version of a thing versus the "original", especially in instances like Dragon Ball where the "original" is still an adaptation filtered through the eyes of a whole bunch of other people, needs to end.

I mean, you're not going to hear me complain about Berserk 2016's differences from the manga in any respect other than it being shit.

[KBABZ]

And, to be frank, if Milkman decided he were doing something other than cutting the show for pacing and filler removal, and did focus on content, I wouldn't be unhappy if we lost some of the gross sexual-assault stuff. I feel like that's a topic currently seeing a lot of discussion on this forum, though, so I won't dwell on it.

This is actually something I decided I'd do with The First Chapters project. While I do go out of my way to always remove sexual assault scenes that were invented by Toei and weren't in the manga, I got more than a few messages from parents hoping to use T1C to introduce their kids to Dragon Ball. That motivated me to provide alternate edits of the episodes that remove ALL of that stuff to provide a "PG" version that would be more comfortable viewing in 2021 (and tbh it's really what I wish Dragon Ball was from the get-go).