A few questions about edits to the manga

Kula · Post by **Kula** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 12:05 pm

I've recently decided to buy the American DBZ manga, and possibly the DB manga (Instead of the UK editions). I'm more than a little confused about the various re-issues, censoring and Viz's new logo that appears on the spines.

I understand that the DB mangas were censored at first (the first 3 volumes) and then re-released. Are the most recent editions uncut? I ask this because a Wikipedia article said that Viz have gone back and re-censored them.

As for the DBZ mangas, I know about 17's censored gun, Gohan's privates, and the shooting of the old couple being censored. Have any more edits been made in the re-issues? Do Viz have plans to re-release them uncut?

Basically I’d like to know what editions to buy, to get the least number of edits.

Domon · Post by **Domon** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 12:30 pm

The whole issue is slighty complex, but here goes:

The first printing of the "red cover" version, AFAIK, contained no censorship, aside from Popo's lips(all versions censored his big stereotype "negro lips").

The second printing or so apparently has one edit: Bulma's boobs covered up in volume nine. This would be the version with the new logo on the spine. The old logo was book-shaped, the new one is a square with "Viz Media" in it.

For Z, there's also the renaming of No. 16's attack "Hell Flash" to "Inferno Blast", removal of middle fingers on one title page, Mr. Satan renamed to H-erculs, and weirdness with "Majin" replaced with "Djinn". There might be one or two other things, but those are the major points. They didn't edit anything in the switch from large books to smaller books, but did correct a few attack names, so you might want to go with those. I haven't heard of any "new-logo" censorship for the DBZ volumes. There is no plan for an "uncut version", as far as anyone knows.

Hopes that helps!

Duo · Post by **Duo** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 2:51 pm

I posted a huge list of edits in a fairly recent thread. I'll copy and paste for you...

(Note that I wrote this before Vol 25 came out, which was released a couple weeks ago.)

Duo wrote:Dragonball, Volume 1 - What can be noted here is that Bulma is given a "Valley Girl" manner of speech which quickly fades as the volume proceeds. Her speech is normal from there on out.

Dragonball, Volume 4 - At the end of a Chapter, when it appears Goku may lose to Giran, a panel has the cheesy addition text "Is this the end of Goku?! Then how do you explain Dragonball Z??!".

Dragonball, Volume 5 - The character "Sgt. Metallic" has his name changed to "Full Metal Jacket" and the monster called "Buyo" or "Buyon" is changed to "The Jiggler".

Dragonball, Volume 6 - Goku's nick name for #8 is changed from "Ha-Chan" (Little Eight) to "8-Man".

Dragonball, Volume 14 - Mr. Popo's lips are colored in black to match his face, to reduce his resemblence to "Sanbo" which is a long story. Basically, it's to avoid offending African-Americans. This change is retained for every appearance of Mr. Popo for the rest of the series.

tankobon #18 / Dragonball Z, Volume 2 - Piccolo's threat to Gohan "I'll bash in your skull!" is changed to "I'll slit your throat!".

tankobon #31 / Dragonball Z, Volume 15 - "Hell Flash" is changed to "Inferno Blast". Also, a title page in which various members of the Dragon Team flipping Cell off is altered to them "Clenching their fists angrily". At this point in the series, cussing seems to stop entirely, whereas "Bastard" "Ass" "Damn" and "Hell" were all used frequently before.

tankobon #33 / Dragonball Z, Volume 17 - "Mister Satan" is changed to "Her-cule". This stays the same for the rest of the series.

tankobon #35 / Dragonball Z, Volume 19 - #17's gun is removed from the 2nd to last chapter, which he uses to shoot a man in the face. The alteration gives the impression that #17 opted to crush the guys skull instead.

tankobon #37 / Dragonball Z, Volume 21 - "Majin Boo" is changed to "Boo the Djinn". This change is retained for the rest of the series.

tankobon #40 / Dragonball Z, Volume 24 - The guns used by the Random Criminals to shoot the old couple, Boo's dog, and Mister Satan are all changed to look like "Laser Blasters". Also, Goku's offer to Rou Kaioshin to feel up Bulma is changed to meeting her.

"Chi" vs. "Ki" - Viz opts to use the term "Chi" as opposed to "Ki". But in all honesty, "Ki" is a more accurate term and "Chi" isn't exactly the same thing...technicially.

The last two volumes - Dragonball Z Volumes 25 and 26 have not yet been released, so any and all changes that may occur are not yet known. However, based on the content, one can guess that the only changes will be the ones that carry from volume to volume.

Dragonball Re-issues - In the latest re-issues of Dragonball, all instances of Bulma being full frontal naked from the waste up is altered to have a bra. And no, the cussing isn't removed from the re-issues.

Also, in the same thread, Tsukento listed a few more. I'll post that as well.

Tsukento wrote:Dragon Ball, Volume 2: The black henchman of the Rabbit Mob has his lips whited out to make it seem like his mouth is always open.

Dragon Ball, Volume 3: A black challenger in the Tenkaichi Budokai has his white lips colored in a light shade of gray to match his skin. This edit goes on for several pages until he's beaten by Goku in the peliminaries and is no longer seen.

Dragon Ball, Volume 4: Giran's Guru Guru Gum is renamed "Lassooin Gum." Giran makes some sort of odd reference after trapping Goku. He mentions that it'd be like "punching Punch (you know, that puppet guy)." Originally he just claims there's no escape for Goku. (Anyone wanna clear up what the hell English Giran meant? o_O I never understood that "This'll be like punching Punch" line.)

Dragon Ball, Volume 9: In the reprinted version of this tankoubon, Bulma has been given a bra after Kuririn pulls down her top. He originally exposed her breasts. The Invisible Man's lips have also been edited out due to the lack of color in the comic, making it hard to tell for some not aware that he's not supposed to appear like the stereotypical "black face."

Dragon Ball Z, Volume 1: Piccolo's Makankosappo is changed to "Light of Death."

Dragon Ball Z, Volume 2: Gohan has been castrated after transforming back from an Oozaru. The funny thing about this is that this was not edited back when it was in the comic book format and was changed when it was printed in the graphic novel format.

Those are all, as far as I know.

Thanos6 · Post by **Thanos6** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 3:24 pm

(Anyone wanna clear up what the hell English Giran meant? o_O I never understood that "This'll be like punching Punch" line.)

Referring to Punch and Judy, a kind of puppet show that's a bit more popular in the UK. They revolve around husband and wife puppets who beat the hell out of each other.

Kula · Post by **Kula** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 4:32 pm

Thanks for the replies. I've just noticed that the UK editions of DB 2,3 and 4 that I have, contain the edits that Duo mentioned. Does this mean that the UK reprints are following the re-censored American versions?

How can I tell which versions of the American DB manga are the uncensored ones?

I'm not really concerned about changes to character and attack names, it's the visual edits that I find annoying.

Chaos Saiyajin · Post by **Chaos Saiyajin** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 5:08 pm

Duo, the only full fontal Bulma nudity that has been changed was the Baba Saga scene, as the re-issue of Volume 1 leaves her shower scene completly intact.

Tsukento · Post by **Tsukento** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 11:25 pm

Kula wrote:Thanks for the replies. I've just noticed that the UK editions of DB 2,3 and 4 that I have, contain the edits that Duo mentioned. Does this mean that the UK reprints are following the re-censored American versions?

How can I tell which versions of the American DB manga are the uncensored ones?

I'm not really concerned about changes to character and attack names, it's the visual edits that I find annoying.

Unforunately, not very many of them are exactly uncensored. The one edit you'll mostly see involves a "black face," where the lips are edited into one whole mouth.

As far as I can tell, Dragon Ball Volumes 1, 4, 6, 7 and 8 are uncensored in terms of visuals (don't exactly have much in the US manga to say if any others are edited aside from what I and the others listed).

Duo · Post by **Duo** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:35 am

Chaos Saiyajin wrote:Duo, the only full fontal Bulma nudity that has been changed was the Baba Saga scene, as the re-issue of Volume 1 leaves her shower scene completly intact.

I find that surprising. I never actually checked, because I assumed they would be...consistent. Shame on me.

Domon · Post by **Domon** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 10:32 am

How can I tell which versions of the American DB manga are the uncensored ones?

Well, there's at least 4 printings of the American release(I'm assuming you meant the pre-Z storyline).

The first one is the larger size format, and consist of (at least) the first three volumes. Those have censorships of various sex humors.

The second printing is the same size as the previous one, but with no censorship. This consists of the first ten volumes of the series. Idenfiable by a 13+ label on one corner of the cover.

The third printing is the smaller sized, red-cover version. This printing finally releases all of the 16-volume series. This version is uncensored, save for Popo's lips. The one idenifiable different between this printing and the next is the logo on the spine. This version's is a opened book with an eye looking at it(well, that's what its suppose to look like...), and the book has "VIZ" written on it. This is the version you'll want to get. It's the complete set, fairly cheap, and the least number of censorships.

Fourth Printing: almost the same as the third, but with (at least) one new case of censorship; Bulma's boobies covered up in volume nine. The rest are the same as their third printing version, so far as I know(if that's wrong, feel free to correct me). Idenifiable by the logo on the spine, which is a square with "VIZ Media" inside it.

The first two printings are hard to find nowadays, having been released quite a while ago. The third printing came out not too long ago, so it shouldn't be too hard to find. As pointed out by others, get that version of volume nine at the very least. Other than that it sounds like you can mix and match 3rd and 4th printings as you please.

Kula · Post by **Kula** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:16 pm

Okay, thanks again for the replies. I'm currently buying the American versions of DBZ (I just bought most of them from Amazon).

If the UK versions are reduced to £2.99, then i'll buy those. If they stay at £4.99, then i'll probably buy the American versions and track down an older copy of #9.

Kaze no Mune · Post by **Kaze no Mune** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 6:14 pm

Kula wrote:Okay, thanks again for the replies. I'm currently buying the American versions of DBZ (I just bought most of them from Amazon).

If the UK versions are reduced to £2.99, then i'll buy those. If they stay at £4.99, then i'll probably buy the American versions and track down an older copy of #9.

I'm not sure how you'll do that, since I don't think many, if any at all, list what printing they're selling. Your best bet is ordering from a big website and hoping they had the older printing in stock. I could be wrong though, so if anyone else knows some sure way of getting the volume, then feel free to share.

I actually didn't have much of a problem getting it (although I wasn't looking for it) a few months ago. I kind of lucked out, though.

Kula · Post by **Kula** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 11:34 am

I've just looked at volume 19 where #17's gun was removed. I was annoyed at first, but then I realised that crushing someone’s skull is more badass / violent than just shooting them. Way to go Viz!

"I'll bash in your skull!" being changed to "I'll slit your throat!"? Another commendable edit by Viz. Slitting throats is even waaaay more badass than crushing skulls, just like Android #17 did!

The laser guns in volume 24? Well we all know that lasers are more powerful than guns. Ever see the Resident Evil movie? Another great move by Viz.

As for the Bulma topless scenes...It's strange that they weren't consistent with them. Maybe the shower scene in #1 was okay because she was willingly nude. In volume 9, it's a forced nudity (i.e. Kuririn pulling her top down).

I'd like to think that if the manga were translated in the UK, that we wouldn't have any of this censorship crap.

Has anyone heard of Tenjho Tenge? The amount of censorship on this manga is freaking appalling

http://www.digitalsin.bebopboard.net/tenten/

Also, does anyone know what edits were done to the Dr Slump manga? I've just recently bought volumes 1 and 2.

El_Diablo · Post by **El_Diablo** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 12:31 pm

I think there's a lot of changes to Dr. Slump.

It even warns you in the front about stuff removed.

Tsukento · Post by **Tsukento** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 1:34 pm

El_Diablo wrote:I think there's a lot of changes to Dr. Slump.

It even warns you in the front about stuff removed.

In which book? o_O I have the first five volumes and I see no warning. Only things I know of that were edited was alcohol becoming "Super Punch" (despite the fact that Senbei is incredibly perverted, they actually edited that even while leaving the bottles intact), typical Toriyama blackfaces and Peasuke having.."Lil' Peasuke" removed. >_>

El_Diablo · Post by **El_Diablo** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 5:36 pm

I'm sure I saw "Content involving alcohol consumption is removed from this book" or something at the start of the first volume.

Meh, maybe that's all there is.

Super Sonic · Post by **Super Sonic** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 8:14 pm

With Slump they have a prob with underage drinking. THough they let Yahiko drink, but then again, that's a period piece.

Thanos6 · Post by **Thanos6** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 9:54 pm

Smoking too, I think.

Tsukento · Post by **Tsukento** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 11:57 pm

Thanos6 wrote:Smoking too, I think.

Nope. Suprisingly, they leave underage smoking in Dr. Slump (and say he's not supposed to be..yet pull the double standard with drinking) while in Shonen Jump manga (like Hikaru no Go), they don't allow it.

Thanos6 · Post by **Thanos6** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 12:35 am

Hm. I know in the front of each tankobon, they mention they altered some underage smoking.

Caracal · Post by **Caracal** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 5:43 pm

Kula wrote:Does this mean that the UK reprints are following the re-censored American versions?

I think they are. I don't think Gollancz made any major changes to the manga other than putting their logo on the cover and spine, and placing their adds in the back. However I do believe they may have cut some things out of the DB books like the covers.

As for Dr. Slump, I think at times I've seen the character (I forget his name) smoking in one panel, not smoking in the next then suddenly smoking again. It's almost like one person said it was OK and left it, and another said it was wrong and edited it out. They also left underage Sanji smoking though it is only for one panel and seems to show when he started. Plus Zeff makes a comment about it damaging his tastebuds.

Most of the time if an edit makes sense I don't mind it. As much as I'd love to have perfect un-cut, un-edited manga, I do enjoy being able to read it in my native tounge and hold it in my hands, and have therefore grown to accept that some changes will be made.