English localization of Naruto (spoilers)

[SineSwiper]

To: VIZ Media and Cartoon Network

I'm writing this letter to address a couple of issues with the localization process of Naruto. I am also sending this letter to Cartoon Network, since your American broadcaster would be highly interested in any problems with one of their most popular new anime series to hit their block. Naruto is insanely popular in Japan, so I'm a little baffled at why the localization effort wasn't handled with kids' gloves to begin with.

I'll start with the smaller issue: dubbing. Why hand over the dubbing effort of such a potential cash cow to Studiopolis, a dubbing house with barely any experience? Furthermore, why give the lead voice to a relative newbie in the industry? Naruto's voice sounds like an inexperienced dub with Maile Flanagan's female voice leaking through. Some of the other voices range from almost spot-on (Sakura, Sasuke in some degrees, Ino) to having the wrong tone (The Third = too dark, Kakashi = not dark enough, Shikamaru = too smarmy, Hinata = sounds like she's having an orgasm every time she speaks). I'm not saying that overall Naruto is a completely bad dub, but after getting used to companies like ZRO Limit/Animaze (Ghost in the Shell: SAC, Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist), New Generation Pictures' dubbing of Hellsing, or even Geneon Entertainment's handling of Samurai Champloo, I'd have to say that I'm a little disappointed. To be fair, sometimes voice actors/actresses need a few episodes to adjust their character's voices, so I will give it time.

Actually, the much larger issue is what could potentially ruin the English version of Naruto altogether: censorship. Marketing the series for a TV-PG audience is a horrible, horrible mistake. Since the show is above TV-Y7 and below TV-14, I would have to assume that you think that the target audience is 10-year-olds. Despite its kiddie cast (popular among anime of any audience range) and initial mild beginnings, Naruto is -NOT- a show for little 10-year-olds! Anybody that advances past the first 5-6 episodes will see that. Let's recap what's been censored in the first three episodes: nose bleeds, a goofy accidential kiss, and toilet paper. This may seem like somewhat mild things to censor, and relatively unimportant, but this is merely the calm before the storm. The first instance shows that a no-blood policy is in effect, and the last two just show how far you'll go to censor it.

Naruto is a bloody anime. Let me repeat that, because I know you've (mostly) only had experience with Y7 anime like Zatch Bell and Hamtaro. Naruto is a bloody anime. These little kids are ninjas. The whole point of the series is about ninjas, ninjas that kill, torture, maim, and yes, bleed through the series. This isn't something like Dragonball Z, despite the similar popularities. Even your TV-14 series, Inu Yasha, doesn't really compare to the amount of violence that Naruto has. Granted, it's no Ninja Scroll, and it wouldn't be something that would fall under an untouchable TV-MA rating, but TV-PG it is not.

For a TV-PG rating to even fly in the later episodes, there's a number of scenes that you would really have to think about. In Episode 6, on the first real fight scene, how are you going to handle Naruto stabbing his own hand to bleed out the poison from his system? In Episode 17, how are you going to deal with a story about a kid killing his own father? In Episode 18, how are you going to deal with that same kid getting stabbed in the heart by an energy blast (oh ho, lots of blood there, too)? In Episode 28, how are you going to deal with Naruto being digested by a huge snake, and then blowing up said snake? In Episode 71, what about resurrection of the dead? In Episode 73, what about the Third getting slowly stabbed by a sword (and the constant reminders of that conflict several episodes further)? In Episode 82, what about Kakashi crucified on a cross being stabbed constantly for three days? (Hmmm...religious overtones as well as torture and brutality. What? Are you going to cut the entire scene out?)

That was just a very small and partial list of potential areas that would have to be censored in a TV-PG environment. Was this looked at in advance? Or was the game plan to set a target audience first and mold the show to their tastes later? Even if you did censor the show to a mess of friendly bits, parents of 10-year-old kids would be writing letters about exposing their kid to the content that you do allow to air. Kid ninjas killing other ninjas with daggers, and stories of confused characters with horrible childhood traumas (Sasuke and close to half of the villians in the series)? Not even GI Joe or Dragonball Z had that sort of exposure to a 10-year-old child.

[Zeus]

You're forgetting two very important things: they're going to release the uncensored on the DVD and this IS for the 10-year olds, at least if you expect it to stay on TV here at all. Otherwise, they wouldn't have spent the coin to get it here.

[Nev]

<img src="http://rainbarrel.info/lostintranslation.jpg">

[SineSwiper]

You're forgetting two very important things: they're going to release the uncensored on the DVD and this IS for the 10-year olds, at least if you expect it to stay on TV here at all. Otherwise, they wouldn't have spent the coin to get it here.

Why isn't Cartoon Network making room for the uncensored version on Adult Swim? This would solve a lot of problems.

Two, there's just no fucking way that they can mold it into a kid's show. Naruto is NOT for 10 year olds. It never was. Parents aren't going to fall for it. This is not Dragonball Z with ninjas. And it doesn't matter how much coin you spend for it, the series is popular because of ADULTS watching it, not 10 year olds. By trying to make it into a show for kids, you alienate the audience that made it popular in the first place. They would make plenty of money by keeping the audience they have and getting more ADULTS in America watching it. In the end, the majority of the audience is the adults, and removing that element will cause them to lose money.

{VG Cats image}

Actually, 4Kids got passed up on this venture, thank god. If it was up to them, it would be a TV-Y7 show. The image is in reference to 4Kids' butchery of One Piece. (The amount of censorship is so wild that normal weapons get changed to crazy toys and pop guns.) Unforunately, VIZ Media and 4Kids have a relationship, since VIZ does the manga translation for One Piece, and 4Kids does the anime. I suspect that means that they have similar ideologies.

[Zeus]

You're forgetting two very important things: they're going to release the uncensored on the DVD and this IS for the 10-year olds, at least if you expect it to stay on TV here at all. Otherwise, they wouldn't have spent the coin to get it here.

Why isn't Cartoon Network making room for the uncensored version on Adult Swim? This would solve a lot of problems.

Kids always want what adults do, right? So whehter it's made for kids or not, it's going to appeal to them.

Also, for anyone other than people like us who grew up with anime, all animation is for children, period. It doesn't matter what it is. They don't even know violent or pornographic anime exists. I know SOO many people my age and even younger who have no concept of cartoons as anything for other than adolescence. Really, Family Guy and King of the Hill are the only non-children cartoons that have been succesful. Simpsons always had a child appeal, even if they didn't get the jokes, and Futurama never really hit the masses.

So, Cartoon Network ain't gonna pay for the show that much money (don't think that the Japs dont' know it's popular here) and NOT make it appeal to children as much as possible. They simply wouldn't pay that much to bring it over and localize it without thinking they could get it to the kids market. So, it's going to be butchered, whether we want it to or not. We just have to pray they throw us a bone with the uncensored in Adult Swim (I imagine it'll have to be subbed?) or on the DVDs, otherwise, the only thing we have left are the fanusbs.

Let's just hope it doesn't get so popular they try to bury the fansubs and make it that much more difficult for us to get it. For now, they see the benefits of allowing the fansubs, but if it gets too big, they'll start to see them as competition.

[SineSwiper]

I'm talking about having both the censored and uncensored versions on Cartoon Network. They show it enough times as it is. Just put in a slot or two for Adult Swim. It can still be dubbed, since they are going to be doing it for the uncensored DVDs anyway.

[Nev]

You know, I don't think they actually spent "coin" to get it here... These are moderately profitable companies, who usually spend money out of electronic bank accounts via paper checks, at least as far as I know. You guys should be more careful about that.

(gets killed by Sine and Zeus for smartassery)

[SineSwiper]

God damn, Mental. You're worse than a spelling nazi. You took up an entire post just to bitch about the use of the word "coin".

It's slang, okay? :)

[Nev]

Well, sometimes a humorous tone doesn't come when it's just printed words...

[Don]

Naruto isn't for kids just like Yugioh isn't for kids... right.

You're confusing the fact that two cultures have different tolerance for different kind of things. For example the Japanese culture is very intolerant of adult-ish themes in video games, hence nothing remotely like GTA was ever made in Japan for the console. When it comes to 2D, it's obviously the opposite. But there was never a question that it's still meant for kids.

[Zeus]

I'm talking about having both the censored and uncensored versions on Cartoon Network. They show it enough times as it is. Just put in a slot or two for Adult Swim. It can still be dubbed, since they are going to be doing it for the uncensored DVDs anyway.

Well, that offers up the opportunity of confusion re: DVD sales and TV watching. Then they open up the whole can of worms with parents bitching about the violence when it's supposed to be for kids, etc. All boils down to the fact that for about 80% of the population, cartoons are for kids only, period.

Hey, I'm with you, I wish I could get a good, uncensored dub and have the pure, uncensored versions on DVD, but I'm likely not going to get it. Thus, I cherish my fansubs.

[SineSwiper]

Well, that offers up the opportunity of confusion re: DVD sales and TV watching. Then they open up the whole can of worms with parents bitching about the violence when it's supposed to be for kids, etc. All boils down to the fact that for about 80% of the population, cartoons are for kids only, period.

They can bitch all they want. The uncensored version would only be on during Adult Swim, on a TV-14 rating. If they want to bitch about the uncensored version being harmful for their 10-year-old kid, they should look at the rating. (If you're talking about an uncensored DVD, that's a concept they are already doing for anime, so it's nothing new.)

Besides, they are going to bitch anyway. Like I said in my letter, the parents are already going be up in arms with the scenes that ARE in the PG version.

And Don, I understand what your saying with difference cultures and all, but the simple fact of the matter is that for OUR culture, it's not a show for little kids. They are going to lose a lot of fans as soon as the censorship really flys, and then piss off their "new" audience, since it's not really approprate for them.

[Don]

Naruto is a pretty standard Shonen Jump manga that focuses on fighting/friendship. Many years of manga has shown that this kind of stuff only sells well to fairly young people, Japan or otherwise. Yeah there will be other people who watch it but that's not the intended audience, nor is that where the money is coming from. Stuff that targets the older audience are fairly different from the fighting/friendship Shonen model.

[SineSwiper]

Naruto is a pretty standard Shonen Jump manga that focuses on fighting/friendship. Many years of manga has shown that this kind of stuff only sells well to fairly young people, Japan or otherwise. Yeah there will be other people who watch it but that's not the intended audience, nor is that where the money is coming from. Stuff that targets the older audience are fairly different from the fighting/friendship Shonen model.

That's funny. I'm not a kid. The rest of us aren't kids. The people that download from DB aren't kids. The entire audience that made Naruto popular in the US aren't kids. The storylines are fairly complex and not for kids.

Your argument is about as stupid as "video games are just for kids".

[Don]

Because you and five other guys that watch Naruto aren't kids it's obviously not for kids.

Never mind that Naruto is marketed toward kids even in Japan. It's roughly the same kind of age audience as Yugioh, maybe +2-3 years higher at the most. Anything on Shonen Jump (or some equivalent of it, I don't remember what Naruto is serialized on) is most definitely not targeted for adults because if it is the publishers will kick you off to make room for stuff they're actually trying to sell, unless you're Togashi, then you can do whatever you feel like doing.

Just because it's for kids doesn't mean you can't enjoy it. I enjoyed Yugioh. But sounds to me you're trying to justify this isn't meant to be a simple standard friendship + action formula which has been the flagship of any Shonen manga since the Dragonball days.

Actually, I'm pretty sure every manga/Anime with strong commercial success started out targetting kids because that happens to be the best demographics to target.

[Zeus]

Because you and five other guys that watch Naruto aren't kids it's obviously not for kids. Never mind that Naruto is marketed toward kids even in Japan.

There's a huge difference in marketed towards kids in Japan and here, thus the censoring. That's why I have to keep my fansubs if I want the real things