Viz DBZ Manga Censorship: Round Two

PsyLiam · Post by **PsyLiam** » Thu Feb 19, 2004 11:24 pm

SaiyaJedi wrote: It's [DBZ] still censored. The only thing is, there was nothing to censor from the middle of volume 5 onward, so it quickly dissipated from the fans' consciousness.

So, what is censored in the first 5 issues? Such a thing might be a nice addition to the site/manga guide.

Post by **SaiyaJedi** » Thu Feb 19, 2004 11:26 pm

PsyLiam wrote:
SaiyaJedi wrote: It's [DBZ] still censored. The only thing is, there was nothing to censor from the middle of volume 5 onward, so it quickly dissipated from the fans' consciousness.
So, what is censored in the first 5 issues? Such a thing might be a nice addition to the site/manga guide.

Kame-Sen'nin's one "breast-fondling" line from Volume 1, and all of Gohan's full-frontal shots. Nothing huge, really... I'd say this is the first time they've really censored something not expressly objectionable in DBZ.

PsyLiam · Post by **PsyLiam** » Thu Feb 19, 2004 11:29 pm

Wait, does Kame Sen'nin not do ANYTHING dirty at all for the entirety of the Z period? Crazy.

Post by **SaiyaJedi** » Thu Feb 19, 2004 11:31 pm

PsyLiam wrote:Wait, does Kame Sen'nin not do ANYTHING dirty at all for the entirety of the Z period? Crazy.

Well, he also fondles the nurse's butt in at the hospital in volume 5, but they didn't edit that out.

Jerseymilk · Post by **Jerseymilk** » Fri Feb 20, 2004 12:04 am

Well, I agree with your concerns Julian and it scares me too that this problem might escalate. I'm worried that Viz is getting paranoid about the whole right-wing Christian extremist groups out there, which is pointless since I doubt they'd let their kids read Shonen Jump anyway. I will definitely e-mail them as well. I really don't want to put up with havig to read "Mr. Savage" or "Hercule" every issue.

Super Sonic · Post by **Super Sonic** » Fri Feb 20, 2004 2:41 am

Those graphic novel blurbs are shameless self promotion. Viz isn't the only company associated with Manga/anime that has done this. Has anyone else noticed that a lot of the camcorders Noboyuki uses in the Tenchi series have the Pioneer logo on them?

The S · Post by **The S** » Fri Feb 20, 2004 12:30 pm

I was wondering about that "Inferno Blast" myself...

Jakez04 · Post by **Jakez04** » Sat Feb 21, 2004 12:24 pm

I got a big question why do the edit it here. They act like kids haven't someone naked naked or anything like that. If the kids in Japan can see them naked and cuss a lot. Then why can't the kids here see it in comic books? They swear like editing out a comic book is going to stop them for see that stuff. They got the net and everything else.

Jakez04 · Post by **Jakez04** » Sat Feb 21, 2004 12:25 pm

My fault about the grammer. I was typing with gloves and forgot to spell check it. Sorry ^_^

Jakez04 · Post by **Jakez04** » Sat Feb 21, 2004 12:27 pm

Here it is reposted:

I got a big question why do they edit it here. They act like kids haven't seen someone naked or anything like that. If the kids in Japan can see them naked and cuss a lot. Then why can't the kids here see it in comic books? They swear like editing out a comic book is going to stop them for see that stuff. They got the net and everything else.

Sorry for the bad grammer and newbie typing.

Jerseymilk · Post by **Jerseymilk** » Sat Feb 21, 2004 3:34 pm

Jakez04 wrote:Here it is reposted:

I got a big question why do they edit it here. They act like kids haven't seen someone naked or anything like that. If the kids in Japan can see them naked and cuss a lot. Then why can't the kids here see it in comic books? They swear like editing out a comic book is going to stop them for see that stuff. They got the net and everything else.

Sorry for the bad grammer and newbie typing.

Because we live on a continent that takes it's roots from Puritan-Christian beliefs is why. Puritan beliefs say that all nudity, regardless of what kind, even just a naked kid is shameful and sinful. Therefore it is the work of the devil. Same goes with bathroom humour here too. And well, let's not even get started on sex! Asian culture doesn't have it's roots in Judeo-Christian beliefs, so it's a totally different way of looking at things. In Asia, nudity is just that. A naked body. It's a natural state and why would that be shameful? Remember, Japan is the country that has communal bathing, although nowadays, their bathhouses do have seperate sections for men and women. Bodily functions and sex are natural and a part of life too. There's also nothing sinful about them either. So you see why it's a problem when you get something from one culture being exposed to another? And I know you can say, "Well we don't seem to have a problem here with that stuff". But we're not the ones that the politicians listen to. The ones that tend to be the most vocal and are therefore listened to are the right-wing, "Bible-belt" population. For a really obvious example, just look at the recent controversy with Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson at the SuperBowl. Whether or not it was an accident or planned, it was just a breast, and it only was shown for barely a second at most. If that had happened in Europe, where you can constantly see bare-breasted women dancing in the background of variety shows in France, Italy, etc. no one would bat an eyelash. But the FCC reportedly got thousands of complaints phoned in. It's a shame that we can't get that much effort being put into helping world hunger or solving poverty, but this is the kind of mentality we're dealing with here. Quite frankly, I found the FCC's reaction as to how they would deal with it almost "communist" in nature. So anyway, that's pretty much why. Sorry about this long-winded post.

Zackarotto · Post by **Zackarotto** » Sat Feb 21, 2004 3:42 pm

Apology excepted. Just kidding, that post was completely true, and not too much of a problem to read. But yes, different cultures have different morals. And all that stuff Jerseymilk said.

Jakez04, please don't triple post... there's an edit button for that occasion. Seriously, posting multiple times in a row gives me a headache. The only time it's a good idea is if you have something important to say that needs attention from people, and an edit won't make the post unread. So... yeah. Start editing.

Jakez04 · Post by **Jakez04** » Sat Feb 21, 2004 4:36 pm

Yea I know. EX kind of got on me for that. ^_^
Who wants Coco?

PsyLiam · Post by **PsyLiam** » Sat Feb 21, 2004 9:37 pm

While I do agree to a large extent with JM up there, I do want to point out that "kids in Japan can see naked ladies so kids in the US should be able to" isn't a valid argument. Frankly, some of DBZ IS extremely violent, and I wouldn't be overly comfortable with extremely young kids watching it. But I also don't think that censorship is the answer. Age restrictions, on the whole, make much more sense.

But then, I'm also flabergasted that Kill Bill only had an "R" rating in the US. Especially since the only reason it escaped an "NC-17" rating is because "we made some of the end bit black and white". Christ, what sort of bizarro censorship system is that?

Dayspring · Post by **Dayspring** » Sat Feb 21, 2004 11:02 pm

Just out of curiosity, who already knew Kill Bill volumes 1 and 2 are based on an anime of the same names?

Super Sonic · Post by **Super Sonic** » Sun Feb 22, 2004 12:33 am

Though I haven't seen Kill Bill yet, I think it may or not be a case of the whole "violence is more accepted in the US than sex or cursing thing".

Dayspring · Post by **Dayspring** » Sun Feb 22, 2004 12:41 am

Nono, sex is a family value staple in North America! Look at our music vids and american comics! It's just in japanese imports that you can't have this kind of stuff! Yeesh!

Jerseymilk · Post by **Jerseymilk** » Sun Feb 22, 2004 12:49 am

In Japan though, pornography isn't hidden from kids. It's sold openly outside stores and with family fare at video stores or with all the other manga genres. And it's actually considered just as legit a form of literature or entertainment as any other genre. It's just that Japanese society has enough faith in it's citizens that they know proper discretion. Children won't touch the hentai anime DVDs sold right near the shonen and shoujo animes because they've been taught that's wrong and actually do obey. I guess here society thinks we're all dumb idiots with no self-control.

The S · Post by **The S** » Sun Feb 22, 2004 1:50 am

Well... it's because... we are...!

Jerseymilk · Post by **Jerseymilk** » Sun Feb 22, 2004 1:58 am

*sigh*