Anime Cartoons in the States and in Japan. What's the Difference and Does it Matter

As we are discussing the effects of cartoons on children and if they are created with some sort of censoring in place or with a hidden agenda, it is worth looking at how censoring may not be working with cartoons.  I wanted to look at Anime cartoons, not only because I wanted to know more about them, but also because they are extremely popular with today's children.  After viewing both Japanese originals and Americanized versions of DragonBall Z, it is clear that some of the themes present in the Japanese version have been modified to "better suit" the American viewer.

There is graphic violence that I could not imagine seeing in a children's cartoon in DragonBall Z episode clips I found on YouTube.  These Japanese originals are gruesome, but in Japanese culture these are themes that are not taboo, as they are here in America.  Many of the anime story lines come from the mythology of East Asia, and so they are just retelling old stories via anime.  It would be the same for Americans viewing any greek mythology as a cartoon, but it is hard for us to understand their mythology having no background.  There are plenty of "adult" themes in the greek stories that we learn in school and otherwise, but those too are more censored for content with younger people.  The Japanese versions are giving honest depictions, and who is to say that's right or wrong, even though I don't really like watching it.

There is depictions of torture and brutality in the clip below from the Japanese version.  It is interesting to see the gore, even in cartoon form that is allowed to be shown in children's cartoons in Japan.

Here is more of a regular fighting scene japanese style as well:

So, that was pretty interesting, right? Now let's take a look at the Dragon Ball Z Kai shown on Nickelodeon.  It is still basically the same story lines, but the fighting is much different than the example from the Japanese version above.  There was definitely no killing scenes on the nicktoons website, so there's censorship for ya right there.  The actions are really fast in both, so before you know what happened one of the characters is on the ground in pain.  In the Japanese ones you definitely see more hand to hand combat though.  It's almost as if the physical combat parts are cut out in the American versions.  There is also an emphasis put on their alien powers as battle weapons over hand to hand combat.  Be the judge for yourself by following the link.

http://nicktoons.nick.com/videos/clip/dragon-ball-z-kai-kaio-ken-times-twenty-an-all-or-nothing-kamehame-ha-clip-2.html

Either way, censored or not, these cartoons are violent.  I'm not sure that cutting out the more graphic violent images is taking too much away from the overall violence that they show is based on.  Just because there are less punches or killings shown in the American episodes doesn't make them any better for kids than the Japanese ones.  It is easy to see that censorship is taking place in americanized anime cartoons like Dragon Ball Z, but I don't think it's really effective censoring.  If anything, there is a possibility that not showing the more graphic parts makes kids more inclined to try defending themselves the way the characters do and potentially hurting themselves or one another more than if they actually knew what they were doing.  I am not saying I condone violent TV for kids, but I am saying there must be a better way to censor, or better not to censor it at all.

-Tracie

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/editorial/1998-07-09

Final Thoughts:

The process of creating this blog has left me with conflicted ideas about how I feel about cartoons.  In relation to the information I posted and staying specifically to my thoughts I think I have drawn a few conclusions, but also raised some more questions in my own mind.  I believe cartoons reflect the society of the time in which they are created.  They follow the social norms and undoubtedly have an agenda to push.  The censoring on anime cartoons such as Dragon Ball Z takes away some of the violence that the Japanese originals have, but I don't think it really matters.  The false sense of reality and the sensationalism of violence in these cartoons and others is still a problem, even if it does not show specific acts of violence graphically.  Kids want to act like their favorite heros/villains in play and if the characters are jumping off ledges to catch bad guys or holding someone under water to make them tell the truth, who's to say that a child won't try that?

I don't think censoring all violence in children's television makes sense or is realistic.  The violent acts depicted aren't even necessarily the problem, it's that our society shows and accepts them and as relatively normal actions.  It is something that is easier to talk about and explain than issues related to sex/sexuality or other taboo subjects, so it is pushed out into the media as an okay form of entertainment, and it's not.  It seems as though whoever decides what is put into children's television is saying "Give kids sensational violent cartoons and they won't ask questions."  That's what I feel the role of violence on TV has come to be.