censorship in translations (was: anime recommendations wanted)

[Darkflame]

> Slightly off topic but since people on this list seem to know more than
> anybody else about Japanese pop culture, I'd like to ask if anyone knows
> to which point mangas and anime are censored when exported abroad
> (probably because cartoons are still considered a primarily child-oriented
> medium in the West). I know that the erotic scenes in the Ghost in the
> Shell manga were cut out and that the dialogues of Dragonball's English
> version have been changed (I'm thinking of the 'granpa's balls' scene of
> the first volume - that was restored for the French version) but I'm
> not sure of the level at which this occurs in anime. 

Well, I have the original Japanese-language version of the Ghost In the
Shell manga, and I have to say, I've seen much worse in other mangas.  I
guess the censorship is up to the publisher, and they determine that by
target audiences, I suppose.  But I am guessing on this matter, so please
correct my assumptions if they are wrong.

--Wendy Shaeffer