Viz has printed the following statement about its
edits in Dragon Ball:
Many anime fans in the '80s dreamed about anime hitting it big in
the mainstream, and unfortunately, one of the problems with "mainstream
success" in America is that when something like anime or manga becomes
popular, it becomes a target for a lot of people who like to pick
things apart for objectionable content and make sure that things
"for children" (i.e., all animation and comics, in their minds)
are as "safe" and harmless as possible. Explaining that Japanese
culture has different standards, or that Goku's nudity in a children's
book like Maurice Sendak's in The Night Kitchen isn't easy. Of course,
even in Japan, the Dragon Ball manga's main audience is 12 years
old through teenagers. But since it's on the Cartoon Network and
in Burger King ads, some people think it must be suitable for preschoolers...
as if there's no middle line between Pokemon and "For Ages 18 and
Older". It'll be a while before the "cartoons are for kids" attitude
of many people in the U.S. turns into a true acceptance that anime
can mean many different things... and probably, it will always be
the fact that anime and manga isn't designed with a U.S. audience
in mind that makes it interesting.
The upshot of this was some tough decisions, in which getting Dragon
Ball into a wide audience was balanced against keeping it true to
the original. And with Shueisha and Toriyama's approval, Viz has
had to make some concessions to that perceived audience (and their
retailers and distributors) the way other licensors such as FUNimation
do.
We are trying to keep the changes minimal, since we'd rather not
make them at all. All the Dragon Ball changes are approved first
by Akira Toriyama, and he has made some suggestions, such as covering
Goku's privates with objects instead of making him look as if he's
neutered (where it's possible). Mostly this has involved changing
some dirty jokes and nudity in Dragon Ball; DBZ has comparatively
little censorship, as we don't plan to cut any violence. The Dragon
Ball Vol. 1 graphic novel, which comes out this month, is the "edited"
version, although the unedited original comics of Vol. 1 and Vol.
2 are still available.
If anyone has any specific questions about what has been changed,
or what "originally" happened in a particular place, please write
to me about it. Our intentions aren't to conceal the truth even
if we have to conceal Goku's genitals. We'll try our best to keep
it as true to the original as possible within the boundaries that
have been set upon us. Hopefully someday America will be mature
enough as a country that Dragon Ball can be printed as it was originally
drawn.
