Ask John: Why is Vampire Bund Being Censored?
Question:
Why is some of the content in the Vampire Bund anime considered “off-limits” for U.S. viewers while people aren’t creeped out over FUNi’s sexually-charged banner ads for Negima? Is there some sort of unbalanced standard for what types of risqué content American fans and distributors consider to be acceptable?
Answer:
Before addressing specific situations and titles, it’s necessary for me to first explain that America’s anime/manga publishing industry doesn’t adhere to some cabalistic code that determines what content can and cannot be distributed in America. Naturally America’s anime distributors have to be conscious of remaining within the law, but there is no known anime or manga that unequivocally defies any nationally prescribed American law. American laws pertaining to obscene & sexual material either vary by state and community, or their interpretation and enforcement vary by region and community. There is no manga or anime which can be definitively and consistently called illegal to possess or distribute anywhere and everywhere in the United States. America’s anime distributors are private companies managed by individual people with subjective perspectives. What one company may consider too risqué, potentially controversial, or otherwise inappropriate may be deemed perfectly presentable by another. Media Blasters has demonstrated its willingness to acquire and distribute titles including Kite, Ikkitousen, Kanokon, and Queen’s Blade. Distributors including Viz and Manga Entertainment are never likely to acquire and distribute titles of similar attributes. FUNimation has chosen to censor the Vampire Bund anime while domestic publisher Seven Seas continues to distribute the original manga unedited. American anime distributors are ultimately responsible for their own licensing and distribution decisions, and they make those decisions in light of concerns including corporate image, market consideration, and personal gut instinct.
An observer may question why FUNimation has decided to release Strike Witches unedited and Dance in the Vampire Bund censored when Strike Witches contains significantly more graphic nudity than Vampire Bund. FUNimation has, in fact, explained its rationale quite clearly. But the American fan community hasn’t congnizantly recognized and understood the explanation. In its public statement confirming the censoring of the Dance in the Vampire Bund anime series, FUNimation explained, “The series contains controversial elements which, when taken out of context, could be objectionable to some audiences” (emphasis is mine). FUNimation’s initial statement generated speculation that the decision to censor was motivated by the outcome of the recent legal persecution of anime & manga fan Christopher Handley. FUNimation’s second statement about the Vamipre Bund censoring, which referred to ensuring “compliance with current U.S. law,” seemed to solidify the speculation about the motivation for the decision. FUNimation’s initial statement combined with its evident cause and examination of differences between the Dance in the Vampire Bund anime and other shows including Strike Witches and Negima reveal a clear explanation.
While Vampire Bund shares the imagery of nude or semi-nude girls with Strike Witches and Negima, there’s one significant difference that sets Vampire Bund apart. There are no significant male characters in Strike Witches. Imagery from the Negima!? anime may depict girls in provocative and revealing poses, but it doesn’t do so with the presence of a potentially sexually mature male character. Dance in the Vampire Bund includes no sex, but it does contain shots and scenes in which a man is present with, or even physically touching a nude girl who appears to be underage. Taken out of context, in the form of screenshots or brief video clips, there’s no possibility for any content in Strike Witches or Negima!? to be interpreted as depicting an adult taking sexual advantage of a child. The same is not the case for Vampire Bund. Even though nothing sexual occurs between Akira and Mina in the Vampire Bund anime, if select still images or a particular few seconds of footage are excerpted from the episode, that out of context sample could appear to depict inappropriately sexual activity. In the second episode of Vampire Bund, Akira smears protective sunscreen lotion on Princess Mina’s nude body. Within the episode Akira clearly does so hesitantly and without any sexual intent. However, when perceived out of context, the scene only depicts a man caressing a girl child’s body in a way that could easily be considered sexual. The possibility of a non-sexual scene in Vampire Bund being taken out of context and misinterpreted as something it’s not seems, rationally, an absurd impossibility. But the possibility, in fact, is not so remote or impossible. Following his arrest on charges of possessing obscene manga in 2009, Iowa resident Christopher Handley was accused of violating the stipulations of his pre-trial release for, among other things, accessing an advertisement for a Gaogaigar DVD. Presumably the fact that the children’s robot action anime series Gaogaigar includes child characters convinced a prosecutor to believe that the show was pornographic, or at least sexually suggestive. If an overzealous prosecutor can perceive Gaogaigar out of context and see something inappropriately sexual in it, a similarly predisposed prosecutor could easily perceive inappropriate sexuality in examples from Dance in the Vampire Bund viewed out of context. The overlooked but especially important phrase “when taken out of context” that appears in FUNimation’s original explanation of its Vampire Bund edits is the root of the difference between FUNimation distributing shows like Strike Witches and Negima!? uncut and censoring Vampire Bund. Why does FUNimation censor Vampire Bund while Media Blasters continues to distribute unedited Kite? The difference may be related to the fact that FUNimation is a very high profile distributor and subsidiary of an even larger corporation while Media Blasters is a lower profile privately owned company with a corporate focus on licensing, producing, and distributing edgy, erotic, cultish, and provocative animated and live action programming from Asia, Europe, and America.
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And the Handley case finally bites the rest of us in the Bund!
Their reasons may have logical backing to them, but I’ve still lost some respect for Funimation. After doing an amazing job appealing to both hardcore and casual fans, this concession (however light), seems to be a step back.
If they didn’t want to deal with the controversy, they shouldn’t have picked up the show. There are many other risque shows that they could release uncensored and still have sold well. Leave the show to Media Blasters or Sentai to release if it’s outside your corporate comfort zone. Don’t act like you’re doing the fan community any favors by releasing a show and censoring it.
Again, I understand the reasoning, but that doesn’t really justify the action. As it stands, I won’t be purchasing this title in its censored form. I’ll take that money to another title that’s fully intact.
Seriously, when is this country going to grow up and figure out the difference between reality and fiction?
“If they didn’t want to deal with the controversy, they shouldn’t have picked up the show.”
This is the arrogance of fans which is more problematic than FUNimation’s decision to edit. I’d rather have 15 seconds of editing than not having the series at all.
In addition, no one has confirmed how FUNimation acquired the rights to this series and many speculate it was included in a package deal. Damned if they do and damned if they don’t. Fans should learn to relax, especially when so much more anime is unedited.
“Don’t act like you’re doing the fan community any favors by releasing a show and censoring it.”
The message wasn’t targeted to fans, but to those prosecuting attorneys who’ll waste no time bringing a series like this into the public view to pass even more stricter laws than the PROTECT Act.
“Seriously, when is this country going to grow up and figure out the difference between reality and fiction?”
The true issue of the problem. There is never going to be any time when people can agree there is a difference. Show people Kodomo no Jikan and they’ll think you a pedophile. Hell, even in the anime community, this idiotic opinion shows itself.
If fans can’t tell the difference, good luck trying to get the public to do the same.
“This is the arrogance of fans which is more problematic than FUNimation’s decision to edit. I’d rather have 15 seconds of editing than not having the series at all.”
And this is the naivete and ignorance that is the real killer! Better than nothing you say! Yeah right, tell that when ANY and MORE series with much less “risque” visuals are censored because people concede to others beliefs/morals.
Your way of thinking is was history has taught us time and time again how people let themselves be controlled and restricted and it worst cases leads them to lose however much or few rights and/or freedom they have.
Agree with some of your points thou PetrifiedJello! thou.
People will always try to impose their beliefs/morals, noone nor nothing will change us to be completely objective, particularly anything that can be see remotely sexual will always be taboo, I don’t see how such hypocrisy towards sexuality will EVER change!
Thank God I don’t live in the US, but as an anime fan I feel for US fans and cannot help it but be aggravated myself as well which such closed minded country.
I agree with PockyBox completely! Funi should have not licensed this, BUT as a company they don’t give a **** about fans, no way they could leave what they may have considered a potential seller.
You’re certainly entitled to be satisfied with that concession PetrifiedJello, but personally, I’d rather have no release at all than an edited one, especially if Funi is going to be hiding this fact by not mentioning anything on the packaging (which they will; I’ve never known an anime company to advertise that their titles are edited). Yet I don’t think this is the case. If Funi is licensing this show, it must have some market potential. By that extension, another company willing to take that risk will pick it up anyway. Personally, I feel it’s far more arrogant to alter someone else’s work in the name of turning a profit.
While I appreciate the backing chise, I think Funi has catered to the hardcore fandom quite nicely as of late, releasing a lot of great shows and license-rescuing others. This incident just tarnishes their rep with me personally, and while I won’t purchase this title, I’ll still purchase other titles. My love of anime outways my hatred for politics. I also won’t intentially disrepect an anime by watching a censored version.
Anime has obviously gotten a bad rap for years, and taking out one perverted-looking scene out of a show isn’t going to change this. Anime can’t adhere to mainstream America; by definitiion, it’s a foreign art, and will not be accepted by the mainstream as most of it contains something culturally shocking. The best we can do is support the ingerity of anime and remain as autonimous as possible.
There are a number of shows Funimation “shouldn’t have picked up”.
I’m now basically compelled to start researching the actual definitions of child pornography and exactly who I can report this to.
I’m now officially ashamed to have been an anime fan.
I’m sure one of the thousands of folks who watch this “child porn” would have reported it by now, if it wasn’t caught by Funimation’s legal department first. No need to courageoously step up to be the defender of non-existent children, the laws of commerce will do that for you. Funi stands nothing to gain by selling something illegal. It might make a few bucks (and I mean a few compared to more “socially acceptable” shows), but in the end, it woudl get shut down faster than you could say lolita complex.
Seriously, starcade, you reallly don’t understand what child porn is. You have to have an actual child involved to have child porn.
I suggest you head over to your local art museum and burn it down, because more than likely there are a few naked kids on canvas. What? That’s art, so it’s fine? What sense does that make? Anime is art as well. How arrogant can you be to judge the validity of one artform over another access the board? You might not like it, but to make it your personal mission to take something legal away from everyone is a bit mad. Best to burn the Bibles too, there’s some nasty content in there as well involving the genocide of children. Wait, killing children is better than showing them naked in a piece of art/literature? I’m finished with this country.
The point is if you judge one form of creative expression, you logically have to judge all of them equally. If you think all offensive works that don’t allign with social thinking must be destroyed, welcome to 1984.
Should have pointed out (though it should be obvious) that I meant Funimation shouldn’t have picked up a show they couldn’t release properly and they should have left it to someone who could.
There are a few anime titles that depress me and have content I can’t say I enjoy, but you don’t see me heading over to Japan and smacking the creator for offending my senses. I accept this as a part of creative freeddom. If I really don’t want to see it, I won’t. This countries very ironic and morib obcession with torture porn movies like Saw certainly didn’t appeal to me and made me question what the hell we were doing, but I’m not going to call for a ban of the movies. I just don’t watch them. Sage advice.
Frankly, I’d rather see loli than brutal torture, rape, and murder in my fiction, given the choice. Isn’t non-violent offensive better than violent offensive? Just makes sense to me.
starcade, you’re certainly within your full rights to say and feel whatever you want, but maybe you should hang up the anime fan mantle and move on to something else? I haven’t read one positive post about anime coming from you ever. I really think your contempt for this hobby has reached a critical level. Seems like there’s nothing left for you here.
Well, there would be a positive post if there were anything positive to post about. There hasn’t been ONE positive thing about anime since the fansubbers and their leeches in the fanbase have taken over anime.
Not ONE.
They have basically stripped away a needed financial infusion which the Japanese studios lived off of for the last several years before this, and put out quality programming that didn’t have to have a high school girl look for “100 fuck buddies” (source: ANN review) or girls in their panties or Vampire Bund or the fourth issue of the Ikkitousen striptease series or much of this other crap.
I didn’t used to be in the “anime = child porn” situation, but I cannot ignore that more and more series, as Japan gravitates more and more to it’s (domestic) otaku “roots”, are falling under that category — and I believe it NO coincidence between those three things: Moving toward Japanese otaku, the lessening US money due to fansubbery, and the pedophilic angle.
If there were “nothing left for [me]” due to legal content and legal acquisition of same, I’d have no argument with you. The problem is that I think the fandom (though not personally) has deliberately removed everything which was good in anime and done so illegally and had it replaced with content which is illegal here.
Do I think Funimation has properly vetted these series? NOT A CHANCE! Not a chance in Hell!! Or they never would’ve licensed this in the first damned place.
No, you don’t need an actual child involved for child porn, and that is why you guys better get damned concerned over the Handley (or whatever his name was) ruling.
It can be considered what is termed “indicative” child porn to have a collection of pictures of young girls in panties and swimsuits and the like — and if you don’t think that’s (at the least, for the Japanese otaku) what’s going on with the current content, you are in denial!
If what you are doing is “freedom” and what I believe is “1984”, I’ll take “1984” over your “freedom” (read: your anarchy).
It’s obvious you have strong values about the issue, and I can’t deny most folks in this country would feel the same way. Let’s say a domestic artist did lolicon artwork. You’d see a backlash there, albiet not as severe I suspect because anime has had a bad rep for decades, and not because of lolicon, but because it’s foreign and unusual to our tastes by definitiion.
I’m not sure you understand the scope of condemning one art form and having others go down with it by principles of fairness. The Bible, for example, can easily be condemned because it’s a very brutal book, filled with genocide, rape, and basically all of the stuff Juedo-Chrsitian society comdemns. If you take it at face value, it’s very offensive, but you’ll never see it banned because of antiquity, tradition, and spiritual importance to the masses (most of whom never actually read it, but I digress).
Quite honestly, as I’m not a Bible believer myself, I would take more personal value in Strike Witches and Vampire Bund. I certainly respect people’s rights to have access to uncensored Bibles, but by that extension, I expect to not have the work of my choice mangled.
I think we can agree that fansubbers who steal anime without ever paying for it our bad. I have no respect for “fans” who refuse to support their favorite shows and want something for nothing and will get it through illegal means. I think fan subs have their place, but it only works if fans do their part and buy the anime when it comes out. Otherwise they’re just thieves.
However, I don’t really think there’s much correlation between the loli trends in Japan and fan subbing. Anime in Japan is fairly independent of the international market, which is part of why I love it. Anime is made for Japanese people, not us. You do see the direction of the industry swayed by other markets from time to time, but as a whole, anime trends reflect what’s popular in Japan exclusively. As a whole, outsiders are rarely given a second thought.
So while it might seem like lolicon and moe is on the rise in Japan, it’s not because of our fan community stealing anime. It’s a trend, and will likely pass at some point.
I take issue with the asertion that anime has nothing good left to offer. There are so many great titles coming out (or have come out in the last ten years, when digital fansubbing began), most of which aren’t loli, this idea is impossible. If you’d look away from the one “black spot,” (and I don’t agree lolicon is inherently a black spot) you’ll see a brilliant canvas of titles you’re missing.
But I’m not going to tell you how you should (not) enjoy anime. If this is a personal crusade of yours, I have no right to stop you, even if I don’t agree with you. However, you might consider not posting on this forum, since most of us our pretty much have our views on the issue. I just say this so you’ll have less hassle, but it’s of course up to you.