Why are guns edited out of the American versions of anime and other entertainment?

[Bassik]

American children are obviously easier to impress and will turn into violent killers the moment they see a cartoon that has guns in it. They just need more protection from that kind of stuff then us outlanders do, since American children are extra special.

That, or the people in charge of censorship in the States have a very low opinion of the commoners.

 

[BeeGeenie]

I am asking why it is more acceptable to show guns in cultures that guns aren't easily obtained in, while not acceptable in one that made it is?

Because we Americans are smart enough to realize that guns are only for adults, and so cartoons aimed at young children like One Piece and Dragonball Z shouldn't be allowed to show them.

By that logic, they shouldn't be allowed to show cars in cartoons... otherwise children might be tempted to drive without a license! Ooooo, Scary! O.O

 

[sky14kemea]

Because 4Kids!

I always thought it was hilarious, especially the hand pointing into a gun shape.

 

[Batou667]

Guns don't kill people, comics and cartoons do.

 

[Dandark]

Did anyone watch the edited version of Yu gi oh? They took out all the guns and just had people make gun shapes with their hand, it was hilarious! I think they even edited out one scene that was an important part of one main characters development just because it involved someone being punched.

It's done because they think that anime are cartoons and only watched by kids, they also think that they can't let kids see anything violent although i'll never understand why they bother editing out guns when it's America, the country that idolizes guns.

 

[Syzygy23]

Because idiots place the blame on the art and not on the person viewing it, or if it's a child, their parents. It's easier to remove things than examine them, explain them and live with them.

Well, that really cuts right to the heart of the issue here. /thread if you ask me.

 

[razerdoh]

because of the freaking FCC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NDPT0Ph5rA

 

[Legion]

May be wrong but I think it's the fact that Americans allow guns that is the very reason for it.

In the UK guns are illegal (exceptional circumstances aside), so if we see guns, we are not going to be worried that one of our kids is going to grab a handgun and re-enact a scene they just watched.

In the USA, with such a high proportion of fire-arms, it's that much easier for a kid to get hold of a gun and play around with it, some kids would see a programme (like Power Rangers), see them using guns and quite possibly grab daddies pistol to play around as a Power Ranger.

That's what I reckon anyway.

 

[Wintermoot]

most import/dub studious think that because it,s animated it,s automatically for kids and kids can't handle gun apparently.

 

[Alternative]

Reminds me of how they tend to change beer to juice in the English dubs of certain shows.
which is parodied in DBZ abridge very well.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

Because according to America, anything animated is clearly for children. And part two is that children should never ever be exposed to death or things that can cause death.

For a fun time, watch an anime and see how many times death is referred to, but no use of the word death, kill, murder, die or frakked is used. They write around it in so many ways, Teen Titans was notorious for this. 'Destroy me!' Characters cry, 'I'm going to send you to the shadow realm' the villains respond. 'Won't somebody please obliterate the censors?' The audience ask in vain.

Americans are weird about their children being exposed to death and violence in cartoon form. Avatar TLA was one of the first (if not the first) cartoons to feature the words death, died, murder and killed. That's how far behind everybody else in the world they are on this.

 

[Nerexor]

This was also a big problem in the 1990s animated spider man cartoon. All the weapons were beam weapons, no realistic guns. In the arc with Michael Morbius (basically a vampire character) they couldn't actually say "blood" so instead they kept saying "plasma." Which was hilarious, having a vampire huddled on the ground "Need... plasma..."

The so called "moral authorities" need to realize that 1) Kids aren't that malleable. "OMG a child saw a cartoon involving a gun, now they're going to be the next Ted Bundy!!!!111oneone" It's reactionary BS at its height, and it's been said about EVERY new medium. Hell, even newspapers were said to initially encourage unwanted behaviours. Then it was music, then movie theaters, then rock and roll, then comic books, and now video games. The one thing that hasn't happened... if the "threat" of these things was anywhere near real then North America would have had itself a battle royale by now.

2) Animated does not mean for kids. This why 4kids drives me into unstoppable rage, the very premise of its existence is flat out wrong! Anime does not have to be for kids, and taking it and bastardizing it until it suits the incredibly watered down american standards for a "kids show" is a fucking travesty.

This lack of trust in their own children's reactions to anything outside blandness is why American kids shows have descended into such utter shit. From the epic years of the warner brothers cartoons, which were smart, funny, and made with jokes clearly aimed at parents and kids at the same time; now we have poorly animated tripe like spongebob and god knows what else.

 

[Jmurray21]

All the Dragonball Z episodes I watched as a kid (six and up, and basically every episode made) had guns in them where necessary. I don't remember any lasers replacing guns. Buu was shot at and so was hercule at the point where Evil Buu is born.

This was on Australian morning T.V

 

[Relish in Chaos]

Oh yeah, I remember the whole "next dimension" bullshit with the original Ocean/Saban of Dragon Ball Z, but luckily, they later took that out.

And 4Kids are just retarded, overly sensitive, censorship-crazy morons. Again, in Dragon Ball Z, they once edited out a fucking thought bubble. Can't let those kids start daydreaming about apples now, can we?

 

[spartan231490]

We do not have the highest civilian gun ownership, there are a few countries with higher. I don't know all of them, but I know that Switzerland is "one of the countries" with higher rates of civilian gun ownership than the US. On a side note, I haven't noticed anything like this, probably because I don't watch any 4kids dubs, so maybe it's just 4kids being psychotic like usual.

 

[saintdane05]

Did anyone watch the edited version of Yu gi oh? They took out all the guns and just had people make gun shapes with their hand, it was hilarious! I think they even edited out one scene that was an important part of one main characters development just because it involved someone being punched.

It's done because they think that anime are cartoons and only watched by kids, they also think that they can't let kids see anything violent although i'll never understand why they bother editing out guns when it's America, the country that idolizes guns.

To paraphrase abridged:

Attention Duelists! I am pointing at you with my invisible guns!

(After man gets beaten)

Dang it! Why didn't we just use our visible ones!

 

[Aurora Firestorm]

It has more to do with comic books than anything. One of the moral crusades against them was "ZOMG, comic books are going to turn the children into violent killers! Won't someone please think of the children!?"

I think Batman: The Animated Series was the first iteration of Batman to have guns fired at Batman in decades because of the stigma associated with anything approaching lifelike violence.

This. "THINK OF THE KIDDIES!"

Because they've never seen a gun on TV before, right?

 

[bandman232]

Isn't it obvious?

Americans can't stand firearms, being the first country to outlaw their use completely and opting instead to use the spud gun.

So many potato related fatalities.

The horror.

[sub]The horror.[/sub]

OT: Kids. Parents think they need protecting from teh cartoon violenz!

Oh my god that post just made my day!

 

[Realitycrash]

We do not have the highest civilian gun ownership, there are a few countries with higher. I don't know all of them, but I know that Switzerland is "one of the countries" with higher rates of civilian gun ownership than the US. On a side note, I haven't noticed anything like this, probably because I don't watch any 4kids dubs, so maybe it's just 4kids being psychotic like usual.

You might be thinking of Sweden. Still, we only have a higher rate of gun ownership PER CAPITA. Because, you know, we as a country being 9 million people and you can fit the entire country into New York, and the vast majority of our country is still rural, making hunting-rifles pretty common.
Getting a license for anything else (say, a hand-gun) is very, very demanding. You basically have to not only use it for the sole purpose of sport-shooting, but also prove on a regular basis that you have been to practice and that you are taking your sport seriously. Otherwise, bye-bye gun.

 

[Zagzag]

May be wrong but I think it's the fact that Americans allow guns that is the very reason for it.

In the UK guns are illegal (exceptional circumstances aside), so if we see guns, we are not going to be worried that one of our kids is going to grab a handgun and re-enact a scene they just watched.

In the USA, with such a high proportion of fire-arms, it's that much easier for a kid to get hold of a gun and play around with it, some kids would see a programme (like Power Rangers), see them using guns and quite possibly grab daddies pistol to play around as a Power Ranger.

That's what I reckon anyway.

I think that you have a point there, and a good one at that. I was thinking something along the same lines, but now I don't even have to go the the trouble of explaining it myself.

OT: This seems to be it. If children never come into contact with real firearms there is no real risk to them potentially associating guns with fun, wheras if they do then this could be a bad idea.

I know that Switzerland is "one of the countries" with higher rates of civilian gun ownership than the US.

You might be thinking of Sweden.

Correct me if I'm wrong (as I'm sure someone will), but aren't the majority of the adult population in Switzerland technically members of the army, in addition to whatever they do? I think this means that pretty much every family in the country has weapons, as part of this, and this would probably be higher than the US.