censorship in translations (was: anime recommendations wanted)

[Dion A. Madrilejo]

On Mon, 25 Jan 1999, etoile wrote:

> 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. 
> 
> After watching the subtitled version of Mononoke Hime, I couldn't help but
> wonder if Disney wouldn't censor the arm-ripping scene that happens in the
> first few minutes of the movie...

Censoring that I can think of off the top of my head:

Sailor Moon: Image editing during their transformations so they didn't
appear nude (Just some removal of some lines)

Dragonball: Addition of strategically placed rocks and flowers after young
Goku transforms back to a human, sans clothes

Dragonball Z: Addition of a towel in a bathing scene with Goku

I haven't compared the commercial tapes with the televised episodes so I
don't know if they only censor stuff that gets broadcast.

Also, AFAIK, officially it will be Miramax (A 'division' of Disney) that
will be releasing Mononoke Hime and not Disney itself.

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