Top 10 Most Censored Anime
Sometimes, an anime goes beyond reasonable television edits, turning into something that is honestly a bit embarrassing to watch. How could someone think that this was okay to force on the general public?These are my top ten most censored anime.
Censored in North America, South Korea, and probably other countries.
The 4Kids Entertainment dub of One Piece is best described as a complete mess and something that anime fans will never forget. The editors mercilessly chopped out entire arcs while also making hilarious censorship edits, such as turning Sanji's signature cigarette into a lollipop and a pistol to the head into...some kind of hammer-like thing.
The South Korean version of One Piece, despite being edited for a higher age rating than the US (a "12" rating), features the same humorous edits of Sanji's cigarettes and poorly done digital paint over Nami's cleavage.
Censored in America.
The original release of Nausicaä in North America, titled "Warriors of the Wind," chopped out a whopping 22 minutes to turn it into a fast-paced children's action film. When Ghibli found out about this mess, they were understandably horrified and asked anyone who saw this heavily edited hackjob to "remove it from their memories."
Studio Ghibli has enforced a strict "no cuts" policy on their films ever since.
Censored in both America and Japan.
The original American broadcast on Adult Swim removed a significant amount of blood and language and was also forced to pull three episodes from the original rotation post-9/11.
The Japanese broadcast on TV Tokyo aired in a timeslot previously composed of children's anime, of which Bebop certainly is not. This was also after the fiasco and parental complaints involving Evangelion's surprisingly graphic content. As such, TV Tokyo only broadcast 14 of the 26 produced episodes. It wasn't until satellite station WOWOW picked up the series that it could be seen in its complete format in Japan.
Censored in North America.
A classic, well-known example of heavy anime censorship by DiC. From removing slapstick that was determined to be "too intense" to completely changing the genders of characters - if something could be changed, chances are high that it was changed.
A lot of the original Japanese script was also rewritten to force in more humor and an emphasis on morals. The most edited episode, according to Sailor Moon Uncensored, has a whopping 32% of the original retained.
Censored in North America, the UK, Germany, and probably other countries.
For once, the North American version was the least censored. Edited for a PG rating in a primetime slot, the only edits were for major blood and language.
In the UK, the show wasn't so lucky. Airing for all ages on Disney's Jetix, much heavier edits had to be made. Showing direct hits and violence seemed to be a major issue, so scenes were awkwardly cropped, frozen, or simply cut to avoid showing anything beyond the very mildest of violence. (In a show about ninjas fighting.)
In Germany, the show was similarly censored for an all-ages timeslot, although their dub has become more infamous for its theme song.
Censored in America and the UK.
A favorite of the Toonami crew, who decided to heavily edit this seinen title into something that could be deemed acceptable for seven-year-olds. This meant heavily editing violence, language, womanizing, nudity, and other adult material. An entire episode, "Hot Springs Planet Tenrei," had to be cut for overall sexual themes and nudity, despite actually having plot importance.
The show aired mostly unedited in the UK on the digital channel CNX, although an edited version of "Hot Springs Planet Tenrei" with digitally added bikinis was aired.
Censored in France.
A show about a womanizing hitman is perfect for a children's timeslot, right? Someone in France thought so. The protagonist no longer goes to love hotels to find beautiful ladies. He goes to "vegetarian restaurants." Yes, you read that correctly. Furthermore, his bullets now simply render his victims unconscious. They'll wake up eventually.
This one is on the list simply because of how bizarre it seems. France is the same country that rates graphic R-rated films such as Eyes Wide Shut and Kick-Ass as for all ages, yet this relatively tame series was censored. (This could possibly be due to stricter standards for television.)
Censored in the UK.
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) determined that adult viewers weren't mature enough to see images of a child hanging herself. As such, they forced cuts on an episode of the series for DVD release to achieve an 18 rating. (Yes, an 18 rating on DVD required censorship, despite legally no one under 18 being allowed to purchase the series.)
All other international releases of the series are uncut, and most carry lower age ratings: 16+ in America, MA15+ in Australia, 14A in Canada, etc.
Censored in North America.
Nelvana wanted to turn "Cardcaptor Sakura," a shoujo intended for young girls with romantic subplots, into something primarily aimed at young boys. You can imagine how well that turned out.
Episodes focusing on Sakura were never seen on American television since boys wouldn't like them. All crushes were written out because "girls are icky."
Thankfully, the series is now readily available on Crunchyroll and DVD in uncut dubbed and subtitled formats.
Censored in America.
This one hurt for anime fans in the early 2000s simply because they got a taste of the original first. The series initially began airing on Adult Swim in 2002 almost uncut, much to the delight of fans who had expected the series to end up in a heavily edited format on Toonami.
Alas, their hopes were dashed. Due to high ratings from younger audiences and an edited version already being released on home video by FUNimation, the decision was made to move the show to a daytime Toonami timeslot, leading to the usual heavy edits for blood, smoking, language, and more.