On FUNimation's Loli Censorship

Sorry but...when she is wearing that little it is obviously marketing to a certain crowd. I understand that people can obviously turn it off/not watch but Funimation would have a riot on their hands. Fanservice skids by overseas but in the states I am pretty sure one angry parent can bring Funimation down if they wanted to.

I definitely agree. There's no need to censor and mutilate something intended for adults to begin with. DIVB is seinen, not shounen. It's like taking Berserk and cutting the blood. Not to mention that what may seem like fanservice later becomes an extremely important plot point.

didn't read all of it but I'm not much of a fan of seeing little girls naked, despite what their age really is. I have no problems with censorship as long as it's not big black blocks. Draw over it or whatever.

Why are their naked little girls around in the first place? Well either way, I barely watch anime enough to care.

This has been the most informative piece of information I've read all week.

Nice critique, though before beginning to burn FUNimation at the stake, you may have wanted to read up on the company's recent news regarding the series:

"In the days since we announced the acquisition of the anime "Dance in the Vampire Bund," we have been following the varied responses from within the anime community to our decision to edit specific scenes from its streaming and later home entertainment release.

First, out of concern for our distribution partners and advertisers, we will continue to make minor edits to the episodes which are available via free streaming and television broadcast due to the readily accessible nature of these platforms. We will be careful to keep such edits to a minimum.

However, FUNimation is — as always — committed to bringing the best anime content to the United States in its unedited form on home video. Therefore, we are evaluating the release of the series in unedited and uncensored form for home video. Since only 7 episodes have broadcast in Japan, final determination must be reserved until all episodes can be reviewed to ensure compliance with current U.S. law.

We would like to thank everyone in the anime community for the feedback provided to us on this matter — your opinions count. "

Source: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-03-10/funimation-comments-further-on-vampire-bund-edits

The above was posted 5 days later on the 10th. Funimation is considering releasing the series unedited on DVD once the entire season completed.

While I myself would be glad to see Dance in the Vampire Bund released completely unedited, I won't blame Funimation for making edits in order to not arouse possible legal repercussions because of the content.

And considering all the news within the past year of countries following each other in banning anything remotely salacious involving underage characters, a few edits seems short of a miracle.

Then again, the mindset seems to be promoted beyond their own shores.

Censor or Un-censored "loli" anime or something,people can enjoyed it,let the viewers look & seek the things happens..

Well it's Funimation's choice to censor an anime I guess, but if I know something is censored I won't buy it. I'll find and watch it in it's original format some other way. I'm sure I'm not the only one to think this way, so it's Funimation's loss of profit.

I will only buy the DVD. if it comes out unedited and uncensored.
otherwise I will stick with the illegal Fansubs.

Is it me or there is something going on in Japan during the last week/month that may lead to an unexpected ending? I mean, the last anime seasons have more and more moe anime (which means, amongst other things, with more and more young - or young-looking - girls), and at the same time, there's some pression from companies, lobbying or governments (being Japanese or not) to ban loli and stuff. It seems to me that these two elements can only come into conflict at some points, and I don't know how it could ends (damn, I haven't written english for a long time, I've lost all my vocabulary...)

Very nice piece of writing. I totally agree. I was happy when I read that they are considering keeping the series unedited. If you are going to censor something, don't license it in the first place.

I can understand Funi being afraid of legal issues (even though this does not break any laws in the US at all) or just simple repercussions from the crazies that like to poke their noses in other people's business when it doesn't affect them at all, of which there are many unfortunately. Still, altering art, in any form, is wrong and reprehensible to me (especially stuff done by Akiyuki Shinbo ^^).

If you give censorship an ok in one area, it could bring more in other areas later. Companies need to know this is not ok right off the bat, and if they don't listen, their censored products won't sell.

Laws are in place to protect actual people. That's why they exist and that's great. However, when it is taken to extremes and applied to things like fictional drawings, that's insane since there is no harm being done to anyone. Basically, what it seems like people are trying to do here is make something criminal that isn't actually criminal because it's close to something that is criminal so that a crime that hasn't been committed yet can, maybe possibly, be stopped because the person that, maybe possibly, might commit a crime in the future, based no real evidence at all, can now be arrested beforehand and prevented from doing it, maybe sort of, in the future.

Such a brilliant idea! I think we should arrest everyone that has fun playing games where you can kill people because that might make them want to go out and commit real murders in the future! Awesome! The more people we put in jail, the less people there are out there to commit crimes. Maybe possibly.

Is that ridiculous? Yes, absolutely. But why is that any more ridiculous than censoring loli anime drawings? Because it's more accepted by the majority and it's much more common? Because fictional murder offends people less? See how ridiculous that sounds? You can't make laws based on what offends people more. It's just plain idiotic. Unless there is actual evidence of a REAL harm being done to someone, there is no basis for a rational law.

People need to stop trying to regulate things that don't affect them in the slightest because of their own personal "moral" beliefs or whatever and mind their own business. Why does nobody know how to do this anymore? You can choose not to watch or look at anything you find personally objectionable. None of this is being forced down anyone's throat. Just do your thing and let the people who want uncensored material do theirs. It's surprisingly easy actually.

You can't hope to be unoffensive to everyone and you can't base decisions on that. Everything offends someone. Just let people have their anime loli. It hurts no one and there are no logical arguments against it at all.

But since when do rational, sane arguments win out over ridiculous panic or idiotic mob mentality over a supposed "threat" that governments are oh so happy to address by scrambling together a silly and utterly insane law to look like they are doing something to fix the "threat" causing the unnecessary panic and thus get reelected?

Not often...not often at all.

Anyway, yeah. I agree with you ^^;

Loli materials are everywhere...so if they censored one, I'll get another. There are so much choices :3

Kinda understood your feeling but I think we need to take it easy. Anyway I'm off to read my LO comics :D

and people wonder why fansubs are all the rage these days...

Actar, I do respect you... But why this and why now?

FUNimation allowed two companies to heavily edit Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, but both were done for two different reasons. Viz Media also edited the Dragon Ball manga series, obtaining permission from Akira Toriyama himself.

The main reason this was done was due to the fact that they wanted to market these series without obtaining the kind of backlash Viz received when one person filed a complain in regards to Goku appearing naked in said manga series.

Ok, ok, ok, so this goes to the cultural thing I take it, with the food for thought that I see here on this page referring to "JUST" to the nudity part yes? Such as what was quoted from the makers, Then it would be like the bath house or Onsen scenes where the girls are having "girl talk". And this is where the controversy kicks in on this, and similar types of depictions?
I always thought this was a normal part of the culture. Therefore I say why would it be wrong? Heck, most of the slice o life depictions IS what more or less go on in most of the world anyway when you REALLY THINK about it.*Refering back to the onsen scenario as only one example* And I am curious as to "what" part of the anime community Funimation or "Insert Name Here", is referring to. Because I have a suspicion on the who and where this might be sampled from.
And besides, when ever there was a sexual innuendo involving a Loli character, the Loli was in fact beyond the minimum age of consent up to several millennia every time. Therefore by that thought clearly in the safe zone, where as an outsider who walks in on the scene and knows nothing about what has transpired starts shooting off at the mouth *happens a lot in life* with little to base the assumptions upon, and rant that what they see is not the same as what you know has happened and what the facts are based upon the story artfully scripted by the writer. And it is a fact that there are women who look 8 and are actually 30. Men too but I will try to stay on focus.....err...I guess that's it.
Nope...one more thing *almost forgot*, presenting this example: Pretty Baby , This movie had Academy Award nominations and is considered a historical film piece. So by that measure, would the editing possibly be cutting up what might have been a possible future historical anime? o_O

Could you post the link for the image of the age 17/18 characters?
I wanted to see if there was a larger version.