Hey everyone, there's no review today, but just a few of my thoughts on Anime censorship. Now I'm not just talking about getting rid of the violence/ blood etc, we know all that stuff about censorship. What I wanted to talk about was some interesting stuff that they do to anime shows when they start broadcasting it in other countries(specifically the U.S because that's the country that seems to dub anime).
Now we know once anime is dubbed, sometimes they change the dialogue, but sometimes they tone down shows too much to turn a teen+ anime title in Japan to a kids 5+ or something show. You can tell that there's something wrong with this already. But this is also because I think in Western countries generally (nothing against anything), usually kids are more linked to "cartoons" don't you think. That's just how society works. My uncle was sort of against me watching Pokemon and always asked "Isn't Pokemon for kids?!", and I have had a few comments similar to this too. The thing is that Pokemon is Shōnen(Look it up if you don't know what it is) and I'd like to think I'm living in my 少年 ya bahaha. Yea anyway, you may have noticed that there's elements in Pokemon which were taken out due to these "specific" things not for young kids. Though there's a part which was played by 4Kids, there's a lot which was due to the Western society not accepting these things for kids. I feel like we're(Western Culture Peeps) less accepting of touchy issues.
You know what? I asked someone about what anime titles they had today, and they asked me "what is anime"?! OMG I was shocked! And they had a whole range of anime titles too. They didn't know the difference from anime and something such as an American cartoon. The thing is that people who think that anime is for kids only have the same mindset too. Have you seen Another?!, have you seen Elfen Lied?!, have you seen Higurashi no Naku Koro ni?! or even Highschool of the Dead?! Watch them before you show a young kid ok :) (This is a joke, don't show them it, but you get my point, not all anime titles are for kids)
This blog isn't really getting anywhere haha.....
Anyway, I was reading about anime censorship yesterday and came across the edits on Once Piece and realised how toned down the show was. A change from a cigarette to a lollipop, drinking wine to orange juice. You know what I thought was one of the most interesting show edits?! In Yi-Gi-Oh they edited out body guards with guys to them pointing the finger, and you know what, that's actually pretty smart bahaha. I had no idea they did this sort of stuff until maybe a year or two ago. I believe I'm a purest, so I like things as original as possible. Sometimes I can't be bothered reading subs so I move to dub. And seriously when call name a rice ball a jam doughnut or a sandwich, you know there's something fishy going on!
Anyway, these are just my thoughts on the issue. Don't worry if you fit in one of these categories. I'm just expressing my concerns with anime censorship. As long as you know the difference between a general cartoon and anime, and that anime isn't just for kids, then we're all g :D
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