Forum - View topicNEWS: Viz Edits Fullmetal Alchemist
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MorwenLaicoriel
 Posts: 1617 Location: Colorado |
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You've got to remember how mainstream this manga is. Fullmetal Alchemist is on Adult Swim--practically *anything* on adult swim is going to be at least known by even casual anime fans. Sure, not everything on Adult Swim is popular--but you can bet that at least fans would've heard of an anime on [as] and know a little about it. And not only is FMA on [as]--it's one of *the most* popular animes on the block right now. Of course, it's ratings aren't nearly as good as Naruto (particularly not with that timeslot!), but I don't think anyone would argue that FMA is unpopular. *and* it's a manga that's really popular with kids and younger teens, as well as adults. There's a lot of kids out there who would maybe never watch, say, Ghost in the Shell--but those same kids, if they have an interest in anime, have probably seen Fullmetal Alchemist. It's one of the most popular animes among kids at my church, too (topped only by Naruto). So, when you think about it, some hard-core fans not buying the book probably won't hurt the series as much as the casual fans that drive the market today not even being allowed to buy the book. |
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solinari67
Posts: 9 |
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um....if you actually read all of that post, you'd notice that the author said that in NO WAY was he trying to compare the two in terms of magnitude. it's simply a "if we don't know it's there, how can we react to it?" comparison. |
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penguintruth
 Posts: 8468 Location: Penguinopolis |
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Censorship of any kind is intolerable.
Viz should be ashamed. And so should any apologists for this poor move. Last edited by penguintruth on Mon Sep 11, 2006 10:04 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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borricula
Posts: 7 |
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hmm well there aren't as many Christians in Japan, right? And people there are pretty laid back about political correctness (if I'm correct, that is) Soooo maybee the mangaka drew this without any Christ undercurrents? And even if he did, symbolism!!! The cross is a great story add-in. The cross adds to the meaning of the story.
That said, it was smart of VIZ to edit this. Otherwise, there'd be a few book burning here and there, and that's not nice. Still though, if the cross has symbolic meaning, it's a shame that U.S. readers won't be able to experience that. It really enhances the story. |
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jvowles
Otakon Representative
 Posts: 219 Location: Maryland |
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It was only about 20-30 years ago that Beetle Bailey comics had to deal with an censor who for some reason thought belly buttons were too erotic for the funny pages, and insisted that navels be cut out. Miss Buxley (the general's sexy secretary) was the most frequent victim here. The edit made no sense but it was something that the artists couldn't control -- until finally the artist drew a strip in which bikini clad girls accepted a shipment of navel oranges, complete with bikini-clad girls on the box labels for the shipment. The thing is, our country has a giant stick up its ass about religion, second only to its bizarre prudishness about nudity and sex. The edit is silly, but it doesn't destroy the story or anything. |
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penguintruth
Posts: 8468 Location: Penguinopolis |
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Whether there would be "book burnings" or offending of religious folk is irrelevant. Viz shouldn't edit simply to cater to the fairy tale obsessed religious types in this country. I'm tired of American companies and institutions covering themselves so they don't offend the irrational children who'd protest a fictional comic character on a cross.
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Storyteller93
Posts: 5 Location: Not on Pluto anymore...*sniff* |
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I have to admit...it took me awhile to notice a difference between the two pictures
And people, with the mistakes in the text, how many books do you think are out there without mistakes in them? If they produced, say, 1,000,000 copies of the volume at $0.10 per volume and then notice a small mistake. There goes $100,000 down the drain because someone is really really mad over a simple uncaught word error and demands that the books be reprinted. |
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Malintex Terek
Guest
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Wow, so even something like FMA gets fingered by Viz, huh? They seem to have problems with religious iconography, cursing, and sexual innuendo more than violence; frankly, I'd think violence to be the most controversial aspects of Japanese manga.
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borricula
Posts: 7 |
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...you know what's good though?
 Anime fans (fans of FMA) are not prudes. They pretty much understand that there are cultural differences in manga/anime, so most of the people reading this book probably would not care about the cross. I would've been shocked had I read the original version w/ the cross in it, but I would've liked it in the end 
sooo basically VIZ is catering to people who probably don't read manga, because you can't be a fan of anime and so easily offended at the same time. 
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borricula
Posts: 7 |
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haha honestly, i think that's a good think
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borricula
Posts: 7 |
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I like this post. 
It seems like we're talking a lot about how Christians will react to this, so I'm glad to hear from a Christian. Your opinion is very frank and I respect it a lot. aaaand... the 7 deadly sins is christian?  i didn't know that...
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hikura
Posts: 565 |
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Personally i do not understand the edit.I grew up in a catholic household and i do not have a problem with the orginial image.I realize that the image is in a fictional book that is just that "fictional".Meaning it is not real.As an american saying this to the good chunk of the rest of america we need to get our collective heads out of our collective asses and wake up and smell the coffee.
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Minai
 Posts: 21 Location: The Middle of Nowhere, USA |
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Yup. That's right. That's exactly who they are catering to. You see, it shouldn't matter to fans of the series who have already read volumes 1-6 whether it is a cross or a rock he's strapped to crucifiction style. Who it does matter to is librarian at the school of the guy a couple of pages back(who is lucky enough to have FMA in his library) who flips through her latest shipment of books. She sees this cross, takes offence at it, and before you know it, no more FMA in your library. Or, a kid who shouldn't even be in the high school library checks the book out, takes it home, and mom sees it. She freaks out, calls the school board, the local news runs a story, and before you know it, VIZ is getting calls from conservative groups. So don't blame VIZ for taking pro-active measures against our screwed up society. I'd rather have a rock than no FMA at all, thank you very much. |
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Kouji
 Posts: 978 |
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You know what annoys me more than people whining about Viz's edits to manga? People who whine about other people whining. Seriously, I've said this before and I'll say it again, if you don't like what someone's opinion is, DON'T READ IT. Nobody forces you to read a six-long thread about Viz's edit to the FMA manga and nobody forces you to reply to it. We as the FMA fans, however, are paying customers who are paying Viz money that they live off of for our entertainment. We have every right to complain about anything whether it's significant or not because you know why? Because we are the CUSTOMERS. If people never complained about edits to manga because we could understand why they were made, we'd still be reading flipped manga with major censorship edits, Americanized dialog, and name changes, so please stop whining about FMA fans' whinings people. It makes you look retarded and hypocritical.
In any case, I think this edit is stupid and pointless. There should be no need for it because manga has a little thing on the back of the book called a RATING. I'm sorry, but manga is entertainment, not a babysitter. If parents are that worried about their kids seeing a pic of a fictional comic book character being crucified, they should learn to actually be parents and check the ratings at the back of the books they let their kdis pick up. IMO, little kids shouldn't even be reading FMA to begin with considering the violence in this series and there are about a billion worse things in this series that could offend a Christian than a fictional character being cruicified (like the whole Seven Sins thing; the borderline magicalness of alchemy; resurrecting the dead; Ed's atheism etc.). A Christian who's that sensitive wouldn't even make it through the first volume of FMA let alone this far. Yes, this edit is insiginficant and it doesn't alter the story, but that's why it's so annoying. Why edit something this small that little kids shouldn't even be reading to begin with? I'm still going to be buying this only becauses it is a small edit and because FMA is my favorite series, but this is just so pointless and I don't see why they would change something like this now given all the other potientally offensive material in FMA. Last edited by Kouji on Mon Sep 11, 2006 10:45 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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SannaSK
Posts: 5 |
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read all the words. "companies in this for the money alone make me sad... " of course everyone has a job to make money. i work for a non-profit closed captioning company. we bill clients, i get my paychecks. but i take pride in doing my work RIGHT. I don't do it ONLY for the money. I do it because it's good work, and people need what I do. i knew someone was going to miss that... i probably should have bolded it in the original. |
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