Japan Censorship Vs Censorship in the U.S.A.

[xxmyhero64xx]

So lately I've been watching uncut episodes of Dragon Ball Z. This is because I'm a nerd. However I've noticed a few things along these episodes that absolutely would not fly if these episodes were aired on regular kids broadcasting channels. Things like bad guys giving the finger to good guys. Main characters swearing. Random characters showing rude gestures. It makes me wonder, this was the uncut stuff but it aired in Japan right? And this is seen as a kids show.

So it makes wonder, where does Japan draw the line on what is ok for kids to be watching and what's not vs what America says is ok? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

 

[Strain42]

I know that most Japanese porn has mosaic censoring over the naughty bits...

I'm not sure if that's really relevant to this discussion, but I found it peculiar.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Here's the thing, DBZ is not kids stuff in Japan. In the american version they brought it over and decided to market it to 7year-olds so they censored it to hell. Did you know early DB has actual naked breasts? Well now you do.


In Japan it's a teenagers and older sort of material, so they don't censor language violence sex and whatnot.


Basically, animation in the US is seen as for kids if it's not ironic and audacious like south park or family guy, thus you get a ton of great anime from Japan brought over and censored to fit that misguided view. You really should just watch the original versions with subtitles, those are the ones aimed at folks your age.

 

[Coffinshaker]

lol! watch the original Dragon Ball series... you see Goku's wang-a-dang every other episode.

America is fairly prudish when it comes to nudity and other censorships.

case in point... at my university, in the fine arts college, in life drawing classes... we couldn't have nude models! they wore leotards and boxers! talk about stepping back a few hundred years, eh?

 

[Brian Hendershot]

I know that most Japanese porn has mosaic censoring over the naughty bits...

I'm not sure if that's really relevant to this discussion, but I found it peculiar.

DAAANNNGGGIIT! I Got NINJA'D!! Also...what is this new Captcha? I fear I may not be able to post comment due to my complete inability to know what the eff to say.

 

[j0frenzy]

To my admittedly limited understanding, DBZ and the Dragon Ball franchise was not meant as a kid's show. It got labeled as such by American networks because this was in that dark period where everything made with animation was meant for little kids.

 

[brunothepig]

I'm not sure, I think DBZ is aimed more at teenage audiences, like Naruto. Of course, they're seen as just cartoons here, which carries the stigma of being for kids. Yugioh is another example. There are some hilarious moments in the English version of Yugioh thanks to that though.

 

[otakon17]

Dragon Ball had nudity and sexual innuendo, but was lighthearted and more comedic as well. Dragon Ball Z was grittier, with WAY more insane violence and a darker tone in comparison.
Let's see, FCC don't like nudity, swearing, or rude gestures but violence is okay most of the time. The Japanese don't show pubic hair and men over the age of eighteen penis', but are okay with frontal nudity, violence and rude gestures. It different, that's for sure.

 

[emeraldrafael]

Its been said alot but its true. most Japanese manga/anime isnt kids stuff. thats why most manga books you pick up say +10, +13, +16, or +18. However, when they hit America, people saw it and thought, "hunh, japanese comic book" and that basically decided that because comics were kids stuff, it was kids stuff.

I mean, you can tell just by watching the original dragon ball its not kids stuff. and even on their wiki. they have an entire page devoted to panties.

Still, theres a lot of things that slip past American censorship. go take a look back at those early 1990s cartoons. Cow and Chicken, Rocko's modern life, even today with adventure time, the shows are getting crude.

 

[Mechy Tiki]

lol! watch the original Dragon Ball series... you see Goku's wang-a-dang every other episode.

America is fairly prudish when it comes to nudity and other censorships.

case in point... at my university, in the fine arts college, in life drawing classes... we couldn't have nude models! they wore leotards and boxers! talk about stepping back a few hundred years, eh?

I had gone to an art school in the US, but had nude models... however, we thought it was prudish that the school wouldn't show life drawing work in the hallways along with other student works.

DBZ wasn't a "kids" show, but it was aimed for teenage boys in Japan I thought. A lot of the content in the original one wasn't seen as appropriate for that age group even when DBZ was marketed towards teenage boys in the US (after that whole Saban stint). At least eventually they got around to admitting characters died, but still had lots of violence, language, and nudity toned down.

 

[xxmyhero64xx]

Interesting as hell. See I've seen a few DBZ movies in Japanese before they were dubbed into American and Vegeta swore like a sailor but I really had no idea how they were marketed other than the marketing here.

 

[Fbuh]

I know that most Japanese porn has mosaic censoring over the naughty bits...

I'm not sure if that's really relevant to this discussion, but I found it peculiar.

I do as well (and frustrating!). It would seems that censorship follows various trends. For instance, I was watching Teen Nick the other night at my cousins' house, and they were throwing out words like 'slut' and 'crap'. It would appear that the issue is with language. Late night programming can get away with more mature language and violence, but I think it will still come down to a matter of cultural ethics.

 

[The Hero Killer]

Anime differs from American cartoons in that it categorizes its shows depending on the target age and gender instead of just saying that all of it is for kids. For example, Dragonball is a shonen anime and is directed towards males up to age 18. Naruto would fall under this as well. Seninen would be from ages 18 to 40 and it would include shows such as Black Lagoon which has a ton of swearing and adult themes. Ecchi anime is normally of a comedic nature and involves alot of nudity, the first one that comes to mind is Queens Blade. And of course hentai which is full on animated sexual intercourse, like Bible Black....or so I heard.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

I'm not sure, I think DBZ is aimed more at teenage audiences, like Naruto. Of course, they're seen as just cartoons here, which carries the stigma of being for kids. Yugioh is another example. There are some hilarious moments in the English version of Yugioh thanks to that though.

Actually, I'm pretty sure that Dragon Ball, Naruto, and Yu Gi Oh! were all originally aimed at kids, it's just that Japanese notions of what is appropriate for children differ pretty heavily from their American counterparts. All three of them are shonen series, shonen being Japanese for "boys comics." From what I remember reading when I was heavily into anime, the target age group for shonen is something like 7-15 -- a pretty far cry from teenage audiences, full stop.

 

[brunothepig]

I'm not sure, I think DBZ is aimed more at teenage audiences, like Naruto. Of course, they're seen as just cartoons here, which carries the stigma of being for kids. Yugioh is another example. There are some hilarious moments in the English version of Yugioh thanks to that though.

Actually, I'm pretty sure that Dragon Ball, Naruto, and Yu Gi Oh! were all originally aimed at kids, it's just that Japanese notions of what is appropriate for children differ pretty heavily from their American counterparts. All three of them are shonen series, shonen being Japanese for "boys comics." From what I remember reading when I was heavily into anime, the target age group for shonen is something like 7-15 -- a pretty far cry from teenage audiences, full stop.

From what I've heard, Shonen manga is for teens. Friend of mine agrees, and she's been to Japan...
Ok, Wikipedia also agrees.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Dnen_manga
Not quite teens, 10+. Then there is a seperate category for those over "University age", or about 20+.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

I'm not sure, I think DBZ is aimed more at teenage audiences, like Naruto. Of course, they're seen as just cartoons here, which carries the stigma of being for kids. Yugioh is another example. There are some hilarious moments in the English version of Yugioh thanks to that though.

Actually, I'm pretty sure that Dragon Ball, Naruto, and Yu Gi Oh! were all originally aimed at kids, it's just that Japanese notions of what is appropriate for children differ pretty heavily from their American counterparts. All three of them are shonen series, shonen being Japanese for "boys comics." From what I remember reading when I was heavily into anime, the target age group for shonen is something like 7-15 -- a pretty far cry from teenage audiences, full stop.

From what I've heard, Shonen manga is for teens. Friend of mine agrees, and she's been to Japan...
Ok, Wikipedia also agrees.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Dnen_manga
Not quite teens, 10+. Then there is a seperate category for those over "University age", or about 20+.

10+ is still a demographic that people in the US would consider children, at least on the low end; in the US, if the low end of the demographic is 10 year olds, you wouldn't give it a PG-13 rating -- or rather, a PG-13 rating is recognized to be a separate rating from PG. As I said, different cultures, different values.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Lets just agree that shonen is PG13 in America but Japan has no sex taboos and violence in these series is often more stylistic than gory thus they allow it.


Remember, shonen is both Naruto/DBZ but also things like Rurouni Kenshin and Hokuto no Ken. The latter two titles are obviously more mature and deal with love and loss more so than just teenage power fantasies, so although shonen STARTS at the 10+ mark not all series in that genre are actually aimed at 10-year-olds.


All it really means is that it's not pokemon or hamtaro really.

 

[manythings]

Here's the thing, DBZ is not kids stuff in Japan. In the american version they brought it over and decided to market it to 7year-olds so they censored it to hell. Did you know early DB has actual naked breasts? Well now you do.


In Japan it's a teenagers and older sort of material, so they don't censor language violence sex and whatnot.


Basically, animation in the US is seen as for kids if it's not ironic and audacious like south park or family guy, thus you get a ton of great anime from Japan brought over and censored to fit that misguided view. You really should just watch the original versions with subtitles, those are the ones aimed at folks your age.

Yeah, see this is right. The issue is that people think "animation = childrens programme", just like "games = childrens toys". The medium shouldn't determine the content, only the creator can do that and people should then interpret it without thinking its medium decides what is and isn't ok.

 

[ph0b0s123]

lol! watch the original Dragon Ball series... you see Goku's wang-a-dang every other episode.

America is fairly prudish when it comes to nudity and other censorships.

case in point... at my university, in the fine arts college, in life drawing classes... we couldn't have nude models! they wore leotards and boxers! talk about stepping back a few hundred years, eh?

In the current climate found with the original Japanese version in your possession would probably get you into a bit of trouble, due to the staring role of goku's child wong. So prudishness as a description for the difference in attitude does not cut it.