Which of these is the non-censored Manga? (from a newbie)

[Aoi]

I am planning on purchasing the entire manga series for the first time. However, I am getting inconsistent reviews for each English edition of the manga. Some reviews state that the "Viz Big" editions are heavily censored (Mr. Satan replaced by "Hercule", no middle fingers, poorly shaded, etc), and yet other reviews contradict this by stating that in fact the regular small editions were the ones that were screwed up. I'd like to know from people who have actually bought these products: which is version of the manga is the uncensored one? Which one do you personally prefer?

Thanks for your help.

#1. Viz Big example


or

#2. Regular "Red for Dragon Ball" , "White for Dragon Ball Z" small manga editions.



* If they're both the same, I'd much rather the smaller comics than the "Viz Big". To me, they're more comfortable and I love their individual front covers. However, it being censored is basically the deciding factor for me.

[Fizzer]

They're both censored. The smaller ones tend to be censored to a lesser extent, but some copies of "Dragon Ball volume 1" for example are more edited than others.

The Vizbigs are more heavily edited, but the books themselves are nicer (bigger picture, better quality paper) and some of the colour chapters are back in tact.

[Aoi]

Fizzer, thanks for your help. I only have 1 last question. Is it true that the Viz Big's offer extra content at the end of each book? IE: Author interviews, trivia, etc? Someone told me this recently that he "thought" they did, but I haven't been able to confirm it yet online.

[dbboxkaifan]

The new colours mangas are going to be uncut aren't they?

If so that's worth waiting for!

Will they release one per month or how?

[Ketchup_Revenge]

Fizzer, thanks for your help. I only have 1 last question. Is it true that the Viz Big's offer extra content at the end of each book? IE: Author interviews, trivia, etc? Someone told me this recently that he "thought" they did, but I haven't been able to confirm it yet online.

I believe that some volumes do have interviews, but if you want an author interview, I suggest buying the Dragon Ball Complete Illustrations (aka the English version of Daizenshuu 1). There's an interview at the end with Toriyama, mostly focusing on his personal life, but mostly related to his work with Dragon Ball.

[Fulicer]

The new colours mangas are going to be uncut aren't they?

If so that's worth waiting for!

Will they release one per month or how?

According to which source? At this point I imagine they probably care about profits first, and the safest (most politically correct) way to do so without pissing off parents is to keep it edited. Not sure if the previous "13 and up" versions were completely uncensored anyway. I would probably buy the Japanese volumes too if I really wanted to see how the uncensored version looks like. I wonder what version people in the UK are buying.

[rereboy]

I am planning on purchasing the entire manga series for the first time. However, I am getting inconsistent reviews for each English edition of the manga. Some reviews state that the "Viz Big" editions are heavily censored (Mr. Satan replaced by "(the H-word)", no middle fingers, poorly shaded, etc), and yet other reviews contradict this by stating that in fact the regular small editions were the ones that were screwed up. I'd like to know from people who have actually bought these products: which is version of the manga is the uncensored one? Which one do you personally prefer?

These topics tell what you need to know about the vizbigs and the other editions:

http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtop ... =7&t=11271

http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtop ... =7&t=15105

The Vizbigs are more heavily edited, but the books themselves are nicer

The regular edition has printings with less censorship and printings with more censorship. So it depends. Anyway, the vizbigs' censorship is not heavy at all. So far no edition of Dragon Ball has been uncensored and the few moments with censorship in the Vizbigs are 99% of the time non-intrusive and non important.

Personally I would wait to see if the new release is different.

[theoriginalbilis]

If the upcoming Viz 3-in-1 editions coming out this year are truly uncensored as this post (https://twitter.com/VIZMedia/status/298498863604580353) claims, I'd just wait for those.

Personally, I feel the VizBigs are the best value for your money. However, if you want as close to the original Japanese presentation as possible, then yes, get the Viz SJ Graphic Novels, since they have the original covers, slightly less censorship than the VizBigs, and keep the various asides by Toriyama.

[Insertclevername]

I think I might settle with the VIZ bigs myself. Even though I despise the censorship, the colored chapters and the affordability have me sold.

[Fulicer]

If the upcoming Viz 3-in-1 editions coming out this year are truly uncensored as this post (https://twitter.com/VIZMedia/status/298498863604580353) claims, I'd just wait for those.

Personally, I feel the VizBigs are the best value for your money. However, if you want as close to the original Japanese presentation as possible, then yes, get the Viz SJ Graphic Novels, since they have the original covers, slightly less censorship than the VizBigs, and keep the various asides by Toriyama.

I see. "Violence and Goku's junk will be there in its full glory" haha

[astarisborn94]

If the upcoming Viz 3-in-1 editions coming out this year are truly uncensored as this post (https://twitter.com/VIZMedia/status/298498863604580353) claims, I'd just wait for those.

Right now, that seems to be the only reason to consider the 3-in-1 editions (we might also get lucky and get a treatment like Neon Genesis Evangelion is getting with its 3-to-1 edition; color pages and decent quality paper). If the edits from the previous editions are presentsand the paper quality is shoddy, then I might as well import the color mangas and read them when I can comprehend Japanese. In other words; it's a wait and see for me.

[DarkPrince_92]

It depends on when they were reprinted. When Viz was first releasing DB and DBZ mangas, I got them when they more or less uncensored. I remember DB Vol.9 having Bulma's boobs pop out. That got reprinted and edited with a nice bra.... another example is when Trunks returned to his timeline and 17 had shot an old man with his gun. I got the edited version where 17 pulls out air...and shoot him with air.

[Bussani]

If the upcoming Viz 3-in-1 editions coming out this year are truly uncensored as this post (https://twitter.com/VIZMedia/status/298498863604580353) claims, I'd just wait for those.

Personally, I feel the VizBigs are the best value for your money. However, if you want as close to the original Japanese presentation as possible, then yes, get the Viz SJ Graphic Novels, since they have the original covers, slightly less censorship than the VizBigs, and keep the various asides by Toriyama.

I see. "Violence and Goku's junk will be there in its full glory" haha

Viz always left the violence alone, however, and Goku's junk was often left in as well. It's things like Mr. Popo's lips that have been consistently edited, so I'd be interested to know if they will be in future releases as well.

[astarisborn94]

If the upcoming Viz 3-in-1 editions coming out this year are truly uncensored as this post (https://twitter.com/VIZMedia/status/298498863604580353) claims, I'd just wait for those.

Personally, I feel the VizBigs are the best value for your money. However, if you want as close to the original Japanese presentation as possible, then yes, get the Viz SJ Graphic Novels, since they have the original covers, slightly less censorship than the VizBigs, and keep the various asides by Toriyama.

I see. "Violence and Goku's junk will be there in its full glory" haha

Viz always left the violence alone, however, and Goku's junk was often left in as well. It's things like Mr. Popo's lips that have been consistently edited, so I'd be interested to know if they will be in future releases as well.

I'm especially curious about if they will change the name of Hercule back to Mr. Satan and correct names like Vegito back to their original name. Expecting a full retranslation is unrealistic but surely uncut art and correcting of name changes shouldn't be too hard to do and the name changes were the main issues with translations IIRC.

...but to be fair, I think Fulicer referring to that Viz might be lying about this version being unedited, but we'll see. Surprised that Dragon Ball Z got an A rating from them with the violence intact.

Edit: huh? The H-word? Not a curse word last time I checked.

[Fulicer]

I'm especially curious about if they will change the name of (the H-word) back to Mr. Satan and correct names like Vegito back to their original name. Expecting a full retranslation is unrealistic but surely uncut art and correcting of name changes shouldn't be too hard to do and the name changes were the main issues with translations IIRC.

...but to be fair, I think Fulicer referring to that Viz might be lying about this version being unedited, but we'll see. Surprised that Dragon Ball Z got an A rating from them with the violence intact.

Edit: huh? The H-word? Not a curse word last time I checked.

How did they handle the whole Satan -> H-word? Just ignore Mr. Satan entirely?

Female nudity (i.e. breasts in Dragon Ball) typically get edited given the intended audience here. I noticed that in a store copy here in town (Bulma covered with a bra), which is edited compared to the older volume that I have (no bra at all). Still, the manga can get violent at times, like when Gero crushed that poor civilian's neck, so I guess parents care less about the violence.

Anyway, if there is an uncensored digital version I might consider that.

[B]

Wow, that's nice to hear about the 3-in-1s. I'm not holding my breath for a different translation, though. "Censorship" to Viz sounds like "the picture is intact." And that's what I'm really hoping for.

[Duo]

Any of those versions are 95% fine. Just keep yourself well-informed on what they altered and you should be good to go. It's not as though you have much of a choice from an availability standpoint. I'd go for broke and invest into the colored digital release myself if I were you.

[Aoi]

Thank you guys. To be frank, I was comparing them at a store yesterday, and I found the VizBig editions to look absolutely gorgeous. Like an HD version of the original manga. The only downer is that, as a collector, I love the covers and spine art of the original releases. However, they do look quite dull in that paper/size (compared to the VizBig's of course). I don't really care for reading them in full colour. That's what the anime is for, IMO.

So, again thanks for all the info!

[Duo]

You probably made the best choice as far as printed English edition goes. Have you considered reading along with the Kanzenshuu Podcast Manga Review of Awesomeness? They include a list of errors/oddities in the Viz version (mostly for the Cell and Buu arc material) for each volume, which can be really helpful.

[Aoi]

Duo,

I have listened to a few of their manga reviews, and I really enjoyed their input. On the subject of the Vizbig vs. the Regulars, I really felt the difference once I had both copies in my hand recently. It felt like comparing watching a Blu Ray film on a wide screen, to watching a VHS version on an old 1980s television. My only concern was that I'd feel the 'Vizbigs' would be too bulky to read. But, honestly, I got used to it after about 10 minutes of reading it. Just like with anything, really. It seems like this "3 in 1" format will become the standard with future releases too.