Is it necessary to create and air a censored version of the Dragon Ball Z?

 This case study is a textual analysis surrounding a conceptual subject of Dragon Ball Z Kai (Yasuhiro Nowatari 2013) a Japanese animated cartoon about an alien hero who is one of the last few of his race and how he defends earth, family and friends from various evil invading forces using martial arts, special powers and mystic items that summons a dragon that grants wishes. The reason I’m doing this is because it is iconic series with a large fan base and history within the animated industry, but Dragon Ball Z Kai  is re-mastered version of the original Dragon Ball Z (Daisuke Nishio 1989) made for American/English viewers in the US and UK. On how it differs to the original is that it uses new voice actors, edited footage that results in censorship as well as edited script lines to be more relatable to American/English viewers. The argument I will be discussing in this blog will be ‘Is it necessary to create and air a censored version of the Dragon Ball Z?’ with that being said I will be discussing ideology and cultural difference between different nation’s audiences and broadcasters. With what end I’m currently standing on is this argument is that I feel it is unnecessary to censor fictional violence in this day and age, but I will also consider the other side of the argument on how this is necessary throughout this blog in order to create a focused argument. I am aware that this is a cross-plat formed subject, I acknowledge that the franchise also consists of games; both printed and online-based, manga; Japanese comics, spin-off movies and internet fandom/fan-work. However, for this blog I will be discussing and comparing Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Z Kai with other minor cross-platforms for this textual analysis. 

   For my first perspective of different ideology between different nations is that is that US and UK broadcasters are too strict on anything that may be considered over-bearing and obscene for their viewers and especially for younger viewers who are more than likely to watch this program when compared to japan and their audiences. By creating and broadcasting Dragon Ball Z Kai it is clear that they acknowledge the franchise and what it’s worth including its fan base, but by changing and censoring this series it is clear that they don’t want anything that could change viewers thoughts of what UK/US broadcasters in terms of over-exposure to violent imagery and what can be considered threatening dialogue.

“The most interesting aspect of censorship is perhaps the fact that it occurs not only when external sources like governments, distribution companies or networks force a show or movie to change something or translators to replace certain parts of their translations in order to adhere to what they consider “politically correct,” but also when translators become self-censors by being unaware of sexual connotations, puns on words, taboo elements, etc. or when, in spite of being aware of them, they still decide to modify them to “protect the audience.”

Sex, lies and TV: Censorship and subtitling (Scandura 2004)

  This article add emphasis towards my first perspective of ideology of different broadcaster in different nations on how they have their own version of what is considered ‘politically correct’. Meaning that they will alter a piece to match their ideology of what is deemed appropriate to show on television. Although I argue that this is unnecessary and unneeded as all you are doing is prohibiting content that another equal party is entitled too, I can see that this may had to be done in order to fulfil current broadcasting requirements in this day and age.

  Next is my second perspective of cultural differences between broadcasting nations is that it links with the previous one on how that although they allow these programs to broadcast, they won’t be fully accepting of it because it wasn’t created and made by them to their original standards. However, they will broadcast the parts they allow in order to fulfil popular demand by the viewers. An example with its cultural difference is that scenes in Dragon Ball Z Kai (Yasuhiro Nowatari 2013) will change from the original Dragon Ball Z (Daisuke Nishio 1989) is that scenes where a child gets somewhat ‘hit’ will instead no longer show this but instead change the scene to something else. The reason for this is that US and UK audiences may not be as tolerant to fictional child violence as much as Japan audiences do.

(Sayionwarrior2 2011)

“Up until 1998, American distributors of Japanese anime adapted it especially for the American market. In other words, the remaining product that was still Japanese was Americanized. Extra dialogue was added to clarify the story and American morals were added”

Assimilating Anime: The Americanization of Japanese Cultural Products (Strikkers 2012)

  As Strikkers suggested above in order to broadcast foreign programs on TV, they would have to put a ‘spin on it’ in order to incorporate cultures that their viewers would not understand, so that it can make up for its cultural difference in order for their audience to accept, which is understandable. However, with that being said it can cause the opposite effect to more dedicated fans as they may consider this withholding content that should have been there, but this may only be pointed out by fans of the original version of the series whom they may be accustomed too.

    With changes made to the series it is rather noticeable what they have done to those who viewed the original series, first being the voice actors who are different but if it’s a re-mastered version it’s obvious as the sound quality may have gone down needing newer sound capture to keep up with current technologies and standards even if its different voice actors. Then there was the editing on scenes that involved the younger characters getting hurt, preventing any footage of direct hitting involved within the scenes.  It’s easy to why they would get rid of such imagery as broadcasting companies don’t want to be held responsible for any child related violence, as it’s not tolerated to the point its illegal in the country. However, with it being fictional violence it would seem unnecessary as these are just fictional characters, and everywhere one would view on television there is always some sort of violence being portrayed. Since the usual plot for most programs is hero defeating the villain in usually some sort of violent matter.

  C Fernández Villanueva, JC Revilla Castro, R González Fernández, B Lozano Maneiro (2013 p.582) argue that “Violence on television, either fictional or real, attracts viewers. This interest and attraction is subject to certain conditions. Not all the violence is attractive. The interest has a lot to do with the connection between the scenes of violence and viewers‟ own lives. Viewers are interested in what they can understand, in what is related to what they know and in what they believe that can actually occur.” By reading this it suggests how the viewer perceives things which can changed due to personal experience and morals. Thus fictional violence can only be interpreted as bad if that’s how our ideology is set as. Because the US and UK are such lawful countries, their ideology of what seems morally right is higher than in other countries resulting in this ‘soft-core’ version of the series.

  This then links into the censorship within the series and how it can be considered over used within the series because of the US and UK’s broadcasting high standards in their ideology. This is something that can be expected within a show directed for kids, as they parents would not want their children watching a show where a character has a hole of two on his or her body. However, there should be a limit as weapons; mainly guns are censored and turned into some weird contraption that does not seem as harmful as a normal gun. The reason I bring this up is that kids in this day of age can easily get toy guns that look close to the real thing from any store without having to be considered dangerous because they know and believe that it’s not a real gun. Then it should be alright for a fictional character to have a gun because kids and parents know that it’s not real, but if it causes direct harm to the character of the story I can imagine the show to be to mature for younger viewers. However due to this style of program weapons of these calibre have no effect on the characters thus making it redundant to have these sort of actions censored.

  Television has been blamed for many things that go wrong with children as talked about by Peggy Charren (1994) “Popular culture is just one of many contributors to the epidemic of violence in our neighbourhoods and our schools. We make television the fall guy so we don't have to pass the laws and spend the necessary money to take care of our kids.” By allowing ourselves to think that this sort of thing is wrong, viewers would end up clouding their judgement and ideology of what should be considered right and wrong. Although another argument to that would be our influence as a mass is so great that we end up affecting those around us and end up taking overpowering broadcaster to re-think what they should and shouldn’t broadcast on television. However one can also make an assumption that a higher power or leader may have his or hers ideology about what he or she would perceive this sort of program, this can then result on he or she abusing their power by influencing laws or moral standards within the public, but this can be considered just speculation on the argument at hand.

  As I mention previously Dragon Ball Z Kai was a re-mastered version of the original Dragon Ball Z, although it broadcasted in the US and UK, it was originally from Japan meant for Japanese teenagers and children amusement. However, due to its popularity overseas it was then dubbed for English speaking viewers in order to be easier to understand by children rather than have them reading subtitle for long periods of time. It was then decided that the full franchise would be brought to western viewers due to its popularity and business estimations to sell well. This then later resulted into the more westernised version of the series that I’m talking about called Dragon Ball Z Kai. Although meant for kids at the start it then grew a large fan base of multiple ages. This then became a popular culture between various fans around the world, resulting in multiple cross-platform media.

  This then leads me into talking about the cultural differences there are within Dragon Ball Z Kai. This started off because US and UK viewers were initially confused about certain Japanese customs and history which later resulted in it being re-written to some way that can be recognised to a western viewer. However, this then resulted in large levels of change to the point where some objects or actions didn’t match the scene. An example being scenes where the characters are hurt and injured, instead of blood and wounds it will show black liquid and shaded marks and holes.

(Arcadia 2012)

  Although major wounds and missing limbs can be seen as inappropriate to show children of certain age and backgrounds, one might see this as being too ignorant in thinking kids can’t handle the idea of fictional red blood. However, the effect of this fictional violence may vary from person to person, as recent study by Aran and Rodrigo (2013) suggests “From the analysis of the interpretative processes carried out on a sample of fictional television violence, the children participating in the study showed how the reception process is framed by a cultural background and specific reading and consumption practices, in which contextual narrative aspects have a major role, especially relating to the perception of proximity displayed by the subjects.” This could then result in why there are cultural differences and issues between different nations because of the way they would perceive then due to their background.

  There is also the cultural debate on how this is an ‘anime’ not a cartoon, as animated programs made in japan are represented as ‘anime’ while western made animated programs are called ‘cartoons’. Thus showing the cultural differences between these nations, as they have their own representation and word to define an animated program. Although it has been considered that ‘anime’ is more complex than a standard cartoon, it has also been acknowledge and recognised by western company as suggested by Daliot-Bul (2013) “Japanese television animation, however, turned out to be a different story. Because of cost effectiveness, the potential in finished animation products that can be re-edited and relatively easily domesticated was recognized and manipulated by US production companies in extremely creative ways from very early on.” In other words they acknowledge the cultural factors of anime but due to their difference they will ‘westernise’ the product in order to make up for their cultural differences.

  Though in recent years there has been a collaboration of a live-action ‘Americanised’ movie of the Dragon Ball series called Dragonball: Evolution (2009). Although its original intent was to be a live-action version of the series, it ended up becoming a canon in its own right by having the characters to be quite different from the original. However, this is from a long line of anime turned live-action films that have been changed to fit the cultural barrier, although only few have succeeded in doing this. Although the Dragon Ball universe large to do a live-action, it would be obvious to change the locations setting  as reported in an interview by Roberts (2009) with the Director of Dragon Ball: Evolution James Wong “When you read the mangas, you realize that the Dragonball world is really multi-cultural. In fact, it’s multi-everything because there are animals, multi-species with animals that speak and all that. So, to cast this movie, we cast a wide net all over from Asia to Australia to London to New York and every place.” Even the movie was not a success, it gave an idea of how culturally different one can perceive the series in order to make it a product fit for a different nation and its ideology.

(Macgyjp 2008)

  Although the Dragon Ball series is quite old in terms of age, it has proved to be seen as iconic within the anime universe and to those who grew up in that era. Due to its popularity one can see why a re-mastered version had been made to capture the current era children, but even if it’s slightly culturally different it’s considered canon to those in that era. It’s mostly how people perceive things with what they grew up with that forms these canon and cultural disputes. Although Fennell, Liberato, Hayden and Fujino (2013) suggest that “Anime is able to weave together images from Japanese culture, from other cultures, of fantasy, and of concerns relevant to our globalizing world. In response, viewers sometimes focus on the fantasy face of anime and do not perceive content as Japanese. Other times, they ground what they see to real-world cultures.” This can be understandable as not all people know the background of everything they watch of find interesting, as they see it as some sort of fun and interesting hobby or pleasure. This can also be linked to how Dragon Ball Z Kai could be canon to those who only know about the series, to those viewers they think it’s just a different program on a children oriented TV channel. The age range of those who watch this type of program probably don’t notice the cultural differences and think of it like its normal because they are so immersed in the program itself, one could say it may create a spark of interest as the story and art style are somewhat different from the standard cartoon norm set by US and UK standards, thus creating a demand and fan base within that region.

  Whilst writing this blog with the intention to prove why it’s irrelevant for there to be a culturally censored version of Dragon Ball Z when the original program already broadcasted years before hand. However, I accept it as a way to bring back a series into a higher definition era with the intention of re-sparking the fan and possible another generations interest, with that being said in order to adapt to the new era I guess one would have to make changes for the future, which includes new voice captures from different voice actors. I also understand that television standards have changed dramatically over the last few years for every broadcaster, so that they won’t be liable in the long run. But my opinion hasn’t changed towards unnecessary editing and censoring of the series that accompanied it in its journey to the HD era. The major reasons why is that it’s one an insult to the creators who made and took effort to create this series and it’s another insult to the fans who were waiting for a HD version of the series. Although I can understand that that it’s to protect the children well-being and perspective, but I feel that it’s ignorant to do this to a fictional program as we are in the age where children have access to technology more than ever, which they can find worse stuff in any type of media. However, this opinion of mine maybe slightly weighted to one side of the argument as I was born to I slightly less guarded era of television programs, but still it’s not major if not any harm to watch anything with fictional violence.

  With the cultural difference between nations, it would seem more appropriate to adapt it to the point where one can understand but is still able to learn from this experience, instead of blocking it out completely making the creators and broadcaster seem ignorant to those who don’t support their ideology. But then again as mention before it mostly how people perceive events and actions and how it compares to what their ideology standards are, and the person with the most power who can apply it to this sort of situation will be able to change it. Although this might sound rash when talking about a kids program, it is true that this theory can be applied to those in power within any department of media and politics.

  From the beginning and throughout this blog it was stated that the purpose of this piece was to answer the question ‘Is it necessary to create and air a censored version of the Dragon Ball Z?’ using the perspectives off ideology and cultural difference between different nation’s audiences and broadcasters. I have discussed both ends of this argument of why it is necessary for Dragonball Z Kai and how it has no point in this day of age, this resulted in multiple discussions about how it has been change to suit the younger US and UK for modern day television. However, it also resulted in how pointless it is to censor this programme as you can easily find worse programmes that any child could access on TV, especially when the previous version of Dragonball Z was already broadcasted on US and UK TV years before. Another argument was aimed at how different broadcaster can influence their ideology into this program because it’s culturally different to them and possibly their audience.  Also, by using academic sources it allowed me to give both impact to my point and it taught me other interesting points from a different perspective.

   If I were to end some arguments it would start off with how one can see why broadcaster would want to get rid of as much violence they can in order to not be viable when something goes wrong. However, since its fictional violence it would seem less likely that a child would be able to mimic these actions, if anything it would broadened their imagination and creative talent. Just because one person may find this hard to watch, doesn’t mean that everyone else has to follow. Next is should we censor or edit out any cultural differences to adapt too this nations culture. I can see why this is issue as some may either be offended of confused about UK or US TV are showing different cultured programs but my argument is that it can be classed as being ignorant as the viewer is not getting a chance to broaden their horizon.  However, to summarise this blog my point, it isn’t necessary to create a censored Dragonball Z as viewers are not as culturally ignorant as they were in the past, because of social media and the internet anyone can learn about anything from anywhere, sure it worked in the past but for this era its outdated way of thinking.

Word count: 3,500

Biography:

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Villanueva, F.C., Castro, R.J., Fernández, G.R., Maneiro, L.B., 2013. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social. Violence on television. Unpleasant, interesting or morbid? [online], 68 (1), 582-598.