Today I will introduce the difference I have found in Japanese anime shown in America.
While I lived in America for 18 years, my grandmother sent me videos and dvd's to keep me updated to Japanese culture and anime. Since anime became so famous in America, American TV channel, "Adult Swim" started showing Japanese Anime in English dub. By watching both Japanese and English versions, I've thought they would be the same, but I realized one day the something was different.
I was watching a anime film called "Inuyasha", written by Rumiko Takahashi, and it was a scene where a half women, half snake looking monster attacking a girl. In the Japanese version the upper body of the women showed the womanly figure, but in the American version, the upper body was flat, like a mens upper body.
In another anime titled, "Dragon Ball Z", by Akira Toriyama, the scene where the little boy, Goku, jumps into the lake, naked, to catch the fish-monster that had escaped. In the original version, Goku is naked top to bottom, but in America, he had underwear on. Not only that, but this same scene showed a girl trying to catch the fish-monster again by tricking him with a girls underwear. However, in American version, it showed the girl fishing the fish-monster with money.
The difference between these shows the culture of each country and it was very interesting to see this through anime films. America thinks negatively about showing naked people, even if that is a drawn cartoon character, but in Japan they show womanly figure or naked young children in anime. The use of money to catch a fish symbolized how American people think differently to Japan and how money would attract people more then perverted things like girls under wears.
It is interesting to see Japanese anime's shown throughout the world and to hear them in another language. I have only noticed few scenes that were different, but if I would to go and compare other anime, I think there are more anime's that are changed slightly to fit each culture.
Thank you for reading and if anybody has ever found differences like this(not only anime but other films) please share! I would like to see more and if I do find others I will definitely share it in this blog!
When we think about Japan's "o-furo" culture it helps to understand the view of the human body according to Japan. There might be a connection to how the characters are drawn and show in Japanese anime. The differences you pointed out are indeed interesting - good observing and thinking!
ReplyDeleteI can't contribute to your discussion, because anime is one genre of movies that I am not interested in at all.....
Ms. MacGregor