Quantcast
Channel: censorship – SoraNews24 -Japan News-
Viewing all 46 articles
Browse latest View live

Censorship gone wild: Thailand’s kids deprived of swimsuits and bare chests

$
0
0

censored0

If you thought America was gung-ho about censorship, wait ’til you see Thailand’s approach. As the following gallery will show, the broadcasting department’s censors have been unleashed on kids’ anime favourites with a lethal force.

Exhibit A is a scene from Sailor Moon, where the girls are hanging out at the pool.

There’s so much blurring here it’s kind of hard to tell what’s going on, and we can even imagine that a few viewers will be rubbing their eyes or banging the sides of their TV sets before they realise that this is purely censorship gone mad. Maybe it’s just me, but the blurring here seems to make the whole thing look far less innocent than it actually is!

Serena’s one-piece seems downright demure to me – maybe it was the design that offended them?

censored1

For Exhibit B we have boys’ favourite Dragon Ball. I’m not sure if the censorship is for the ripped clothing or the bare chest. Either way, the censorship department’s going to have their work cut out for them with the rest of the series…

censored2

And finally, Exhibit C is from kids’ classic Doraemon. Here, Shizuka’s orange two-piece swimsuit has suffered the wrath of the prudes, although it seems kind of half-hearted compared to the other examples. Maybe someone was eager to get home on a Friday night? Interestingly, the guys’ bare chests have got away censor-free. Not enough muscles to qualify?

censored3

Below are some of the online reactions from Thai people shocked by the overkill.

This is too much!

Most people probably won’t think anything of it, but it makes me feel weird to see characters blurred like this!

We’re paying taxes for people to do this. What a waste!

Why have they blurred it? Do they think kids will get excited looking at it or something?

It wasn’t like this when I was a kid. Why have they introduced this regulation now?

Why do they need to censor such minor things? Thai idols perform in swimsuits, and that’s ok??

It’s not just Sailor Moon! Fairytale is always censored. So lame.

Moon Prism Power Make-up!! (There’s always one…)

While it may look like the censors are trying to shield young viewers from the corrupting influence of a bit of bare flesh, it’s also been suggested that these characters are being blurred so as not to present indecent images of children. Sounds mad, but with the current debates in Japan over what constitutes child pornography, perhaps they’re just erring on the (incredibly) extreme side of caution. Either way, I think it’s sending out a very strange message to kids, but what do you make of this?

Source: Jin115, Thailog

Origin: Censorship gone wild: Thailand’s kids deprived of swimsuits and bare chests
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Related Stories


Film critic proposes censoring latest Studio Ghibli anime for overseas release

$
0
0

KR 1

The newest theatrical anime from Studio Ghibli, Kaguya Hime no Monogatari, opened just over a week ago. While we came away impressed, the movie-going public at large hasn’t been coming out in the numbers expected for a release by the legendary animation production house.

Now, one film critic is speculating that the movie may have trouble bolstering its lackluster box office numbers with overseas revenue, stating his opinion that Kaguya Hime no Monogatari may not be screenable in certain markets outside Japan without censoring multiple scenes.

Author and journalist Akihiko Reizei recently wrote a column for the Japanese-edition of Newsweek, offering his impressions on Kaguya Hime no Monogatari. Reizei was gushing in his praise for the picture, calling it “a tour de force” and predicting that it will go on to become a timeless classic.

But despite his personal love for the film, Reizei expressed concerns about the ability to screen it, in its current form, overseas. The critic expressed his doubts about scenes showing visible breasts while nursing, half-naked babies and children, and a completely naked young girl diving into a pool of water.

▼ Not to mention the scenes with naked boars

KR 4

While Japan’s relaxed attitude regarding on-screen nudity (particularly of the animated sort) mean that none of these scenes are raising eyebrows in the film’s country of origin, Reizei believes they will cause problems with distribution in nations with different cultural barometers. In particular, the critic feels that severe viewing restrictions would be placed on Kaguya Hime no Monogatari in Islamic countries, and that showing it with a general-admission age rating in the US would be “completely impossible.”

As a result, Reizei is proposing that the film be recut into an “international version” for overseas theater screenings. While some readers agreed with the critic’s logic, others were less than receptive.

“If Studio Ghibli does what he’s suggesting, it will kill any value it has as a film.”

“Is it really worth throwing away your artistic vision just to cater to overseas audiences?”

Any discussion of re-edited Ghibli films isn’t complete without a mention of Warriors of the Wind, the 1985 reworking of director Hayao Miyazaki’s breakout hit Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Some 20 minutes shorter than the original, Warriors of the Wind was a critical and commercial failure. Studio Ghibli was so disappointed with this experiment in warping one of its finished films to fit overseas tastes that when it was preparing to release The Princess Mononoke in the US, producer Toshi Suzuki famously sent a katana to American distributor Miramax with a note instructing “No cuts.”

KR 2

Several of Ghibli’s works have been released in America without a general-admission G-rating, such as Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle, both of which were released as PG films. Princess Mononoke and Tales from Earthsea both drew PG-13 ratings for their scenes of physical violence and psychological intensity.

▼ Japanese-theatrical release poster for The Princess Mononoke

KR 3

It’s also worth noting that while the across-the-board appeal of Ghibli’s films in Japan means that a large number of young children are likely to be in the audience of any screening, the fan base for its movies tends to skew slightly older in foreign countries. Many overseas ticket buyers discovered Ghibli films after being drawn in during their teens to the counter-culture appeal of Japanese animation. As such, most are mature enough to not go to pieces over an animated breast, particularly one that’s not being shown for titillation.

That said, if Ghibli’s goal is to reach the largest audience possible, at some point producers are going to have to weigh the gains of sticking to their original edit over the losses of a potentially smaller audience. All in all, the dilemma of how much, if anything, to cut is a fitting one for Kaguya Hime no Monogatari, seeing as how the film is based on a Japanese folktale often translated as The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.

Source: Jin
Top image: RBB Today
Insert images: Lomo, Imp Awards, Anime Room

Origin: Film critic proposes censoring latest Studio Ghibli anime for overseas release
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Related Stories

Dragon Ball Kai: Beautifully remastered but woefully censored for a new generation

$
0
0

A few years back, Dragon Ball Kai was broadcast as a remastered version of the Dragon Ball Z series from the Raditz story arc to the Cell events when production stopped due to the Tohoku Earthquake of 2011. This series boasted more vivid colors, updated music and new voice actors to appeal to a new generation of viewers.

Such changes could be seen as improvement, but surely upset some hardcore fans of the original series with the thinking “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” However, recently even more casual fans are calling the new series a “corruption” of the original after learning that moves were also made to tone down some of Dragon Ball Z’s violence.

Read on to see which classic scene got “cleaned up.”

Much of the attention has centered around the classic final moments of the battle against Raditz. Young Gohan had heroically put a dent in Raditz’s armor which Piccolo could exploit for a deadly makankosappo blast. However, to get a clear shot Goku holds his brother Raditz from behind. Although everyone knew this would mean the death of Goku as well, Piccolo had no choice but to take the shot.

As can see in the following still frames, the makankosappo leaves both Raditz and Goku with gaping bloody holes in their torsos. Gritty as it is, it teaches children a valuable lessons about channeling their life forces into powerful beams of energy.

At least, that’s how things used to be back when Dragon Ball Z first aired. In Dragon Ball Kai we can see that while they were cleaning up the image quality, they also went ahead and wiped off most of the blood. In addition, Goku’s gaping wound was replaced with little more than a scuff mark.

Only this little cut with Raditz’s bleeding mouth was left in. I guess we can assume he bit his tongue during the blast.

Sure, it was only a few seconds, but that kind of tinkering can really dull down the emotional impact for future viewers. It remains to be seen whether the Dragon Ball Kai Majin Bu story arc which airs on Fuji TV from this April will have any kind of censoring, but rest assured cynical eyes will be watching for it. If there’s one thing aging fans like myself like to do, it’s complain about stuff changing.

Source: Gadget Tsushin (Japanese)
Videos: Niconico Douga – EP91, Beddob

This video shows both Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Kai scenes after about 18 minutes of video game footage.

And this one shows only the Kai scene in several different languages.

Origin: Dragon Ball Kai: Beautifully remastered but woefully censored for a new generation
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Related Stories

Censored scene shows newest Metal Gear doesn’t pull any punches (except in Japan) 【Video】

$
0
0

GZ 0

Once upon a time, the North American video game market was incredibly squeamish about gory content. The blood and guts present in Japanese releases were painstakingly removed, most hilariously with the North American version of Neo Geo title Samurai Shodown, which retailed for $200 in 1993. Apparently the game’s producers thought their customer base was old enough to have that kind of cash in their pockets, but still too young to handle the sight of a little crimson hemoglobin, so they replaced the fountains of blood that occurred in the game’s swordfights with geysers of what appeared to be highly pressurized milk.

Eventually, everyone saw how silly this was. Gamers as a whole were getting older and more mature, and the youth of Japan, where this kind of content had been allowed for years, weren’t turning into crazed remorseless killing machines. So restrictions were loosened, allowing games like Grand Theft Auto to top North American sales charts.

Now, things have come full circle, as a side by side video comparison of publisher Konami’s Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes shows less graphic content in its Japanese version.

We don’t think we’re spoiling anything when we say that the end of Ground Zeroes contains a couple of plot twists. After all, this is Metal Gear Solid, a franchise with a narrative so full of convoluting fake-outs that in its second installment the player is treated to shocking reveals late in the game regarding what an acronym stands for.

Still, if you don’t want us to spoil part of Ground Zeroes’ story for you, stop reading here, then come back in a few hours after you’ve beaten the notoriously short teaser for the full-length Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

Okay, all set? Ah, one more thing before we go on. You know how at RocketNews24 our articles often feature images of awesome giant robots, natural beauty, or cute costumed pets? Well, today, we’ll be showing you an extremely detailed, next-generation video game cutscene of surgery being performed on a young woman without anesthesia.

▼ If that makes you feel squeamish, feel free to stop right here and spend the rest of the afternoon looking at this photo of a baby rabbit. Awww.

GZ 1

Okay, let’s get this show on the road. We join the action as Metal Gear’s protagonist, Snake, is flying away from a secret American military prison in Cuba, where he’s just successfully extracted two of his former comrades, child soldier Chico and espionage operative Paz.

GZ 2

But wait!

It turns out Snake’s opponents knew he would come to rescue Paz, and they’ve implanted a bomb in the young woman’s body to finish off our hero. They’ll have to operate, and there’s no time to administer any anesthetics!

Now, let’s sit back and watch as Snake and his medic cut Paz open. The images on the right appear in the North American release, while the left side shows the Japanese version.

We don’t spot any differences for roughly the first minute of the scene, but things change once the medical procedure gets underway. Gamers in North America are shown the nitty gritty steps of the incision being stretched open, while in the Japanese version, the camera shifts to show Chico’s pained reaction to what’s unfolding in the helicopter.

GZ 3

Next, the doctor has to reach inside Paz’s body and pull out the explosive. While the Japanese scene doesn’t shift its focus completely away, it still leaves much more ot the imagination than the uncensored version.

▼ By the way, that’s popular anime voice actress/vocalist Nana Mizuki screaming her lungs out as Paz.

GZ 4

Even once the bomb is removed, the North American version shows far more literally juicy details.

GZ 5

In either form, it’s a disturbing scene, but one that series creator and director Hideo Kojima says was absolutely necessary, despite some members of the game’s development staff voicing their strong opposition to its inclusion. Kojima has recently spoken of how such raw, unflinching material is necessary to push gaming to greater narrative heights, and to the scene’s more specific purpose of establishing Snake’s all-consuming desire for revenge that will drive his character through the events of the upcoming The Phantom Pain.

The directorial choice seems to at least have had the intended effect on Ground Zeroes’ voice actors, who were said to have broken down in tears and needed frequent breaks to compose themselves while recording the scene’s dialogue.

In light of Kojima’s bold assertions and the testimonial provided by the vocal cast’s reaction, some gamers in Japan are upset at Ground Zeroes pulling its punches in its Japanese version.

“Why did they do this when the North American version isn’t even that gory?”

“How come the Japanese version is censored like this? There are tons of movies made in Japan with scenes like this.”

“Am I the only one who thinks the censored version seems more disturbing?”

While it’s true that Japanese cinema, from samurai classics to third-rate direct-to-video action flicks, have shown buckets of blood for years, rating standards are different for films and games, and it’s likely Ground Zeroes’ producers wanted to avoid getting slapped with the most restrictive rating, which is often placed on titles with detailed depictions of violence and injuries such as Grand Theft Auto and Skyrim.

Debates about artistic integrity aside, not everyone in Japan seems to mind the edited version, such as this satisfied gamer,

“I watched both versions, and I think they did a pretty good job of censoring it without changing the effect of the scene. The Japanese version has its good points too, like how you can see what Snake and Chico are feeling when the camera shows their reactions.”

We have to agree that in either form, the scene is shocking on a level not often seen in video games. It’s definitely grabbed gamer’s attentions and has them anxious to see how Snake will retaliate. The Phantom Pain doesn’t have a firm release date yet, but in the meantime, you can find us preparing for the next title in the Metal Gear saga by trying to recover from the trauma caused by what happened to poor Paz in the best way we know how.

▼ With more bunnies

GZ 6

Sources: Jin, YouTube
Top image: YouTube
Insert images: The Design Inspiration, Gamr Review, YouTube, Blogspot

Origin: Censored scene shows newest Metal Gear doesn’t pull any punches (except in Japan) 【Video】
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Related Stories

Chinese “porn identification officer” has seen over 600,000 adult videos, threw up after watching some

$
0
0

surprised patrick

Some guys might think that the best job on earth would be to watch adult videos all day and get paid for it. Well, the good news is, there really are such jobs out there. The bad news is, these jobs might not be as fun and easy as you think.

At 59 years old, Chunqi Liu has been working as a professional “porn identification officer” for five years, assisting police investigations on cases involving illegal distribution and possession of pornographic materials in China. He has seen over 600,000 adult videos to date. That averages out to about 329 videos per day! Does that sound like an awesome job to you? He says it makes him throw up.

Some of you might be wondering what exactly a “porn identification officer” does. As mentioned previously, the main purpose of their job is to support the police in investigating cases involving possession and distribution of pornographic materials, which is illegal in China. Their job not only requires them to watch and check videos suspected to be of pornographic nature, they also need to categorize the videos, mainly under three categories – “porn”, “erotic”, and “other”. So it’s not as simple as just watching the videos, there is a certain skill set and professional knowledge required to handle this task.

On top of that, “porn identification officers” are not allowed to choose or reject materials of any genre or from any country. They have to meticulously go through every single piece of evidence handed to them, and thoroughly check the contents of each disk in case there are some vendors attempting to pass the illegal goods off as normal videos by adding in clips of regular movies at the start of the playlist.

Due to the… erm, stimulating nature of the job, older adults who are more composed and psychologically strong are usually preferred for this position. Mr. Liu was a law enforcer before getting transferred to this position due to the organization’s demand for such professionals, and also because of his age. He initially had much trouble accepting his new job, but his chief officer persuaded him into staying in the position.

censored

Mr. Liu initially kept his job transfer from his wife, too embarrassed to tell her what he was doing at work. The cat eventually got out of the bag when his wife called him while he was at work one day, and heard suspicious moaning and groaning sounds in the background. Thinking that her husband was cheating on her, Mrs. Liu brought the matter up to her mother-in-law. Realizing that he could no longer keep things under wraps, Mr. Liu finally spilled the beans, telling his family about his change of job scope from being a police officer to a “porn identification officer”. It took a while for his family to accept the nature of his job, but they have now come to terms with Mr. Liu’s profession.

Though it may seem like the best job on earth to some, Mr. Liu emphasizes that being a “porn identification officer” is not as easy and pleasant as it seems. He has been through times when he worked 20 days consecutively watching video after video, leaving him exhausted and sick to the stomach. Losing his appetite and throwing up after watching those videos has happened to him one too many times.

Well, as the saying goes, there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. Every trade has its fair share of sweat and tears, and there are unknown everyday heroes in every profession. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a job that allows them to do what they love, but as long as you learn to take pride in what you do, people are bound to appreciate you for doing your job, right? Unless…what you’re doing is against the law, then perhaps you might want to start looking for a new job.

Source: ETtoday
Images: KnowyourmemeWikimedia Commons

Origin: Chinese “porn identification officer” has seen over 600,000 adult videos, threw up after watching some
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Related Stories

Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art forced to cover up “obscene” photos following complaint

$
0
0

bvnzronccaa_b4i

When police arrested Japanese artist Rokudenashiko last month for distributing 3-D printer plans for models of her vagina, the world was at once baffled and outraged. But despite all the fuss that was raised over the artist’s arrest, it looks like the Japanese police are at it again, this time targeting the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art for an exhibition featuring nude photography by the Japanese photographer Ryudai Takano.

Though no one has been arrested, the museum made headlines after it partially covered some of Ryudai’s photographs with cloth after local police deemed the images “obscene.” However, many in Japan are questioning the legitimacy of the cops’ actions.

The exhibit, called “Photography Will Be,” features photos from nine different photographers and is set to run until September 28. According to the museum’s website, the exhibit is intended to “[examine] our relationship to the photograph and the image.” To that end, Ryudai Takano, who is known for his nude photography, contributed nearly 50 pieces, 12 of which feature male genitalia.

▼From Takano’s 2006 series “How To Ride A Man”

takanoTwitter (@webdice)

Realizing that not all patrons would be happy about being confronted with uncensored frank ‘n’ beans, the museum consulted with an attorney and decided to put a curtain up separating the photos from the others on display and included a warning explaining that the images may be unpalatable for some. A guard was even posted nearby to watch the entrance of the cordoned-off area. Nevertheless, the police showed up on August 12, almost two weeks after the exhibit opened, demanding that the 12 “obscene” photos be removed following an anonymous complaint about the exhibition.

However, rather than simply getting rid the offending photographs, the museum worked out a sort of deal with the police. Cloth was put up over the photos themselves so as to censor the images and prevent anyone from seeing anything that might be glimpsed in an everyday locker room.

Though the photographs remain, many are still upset by the police’s apparent violation of free speech–including Shuji Takahashi, one of the museum’s curators. Takahashi explained that he did not want to engage in self-censorship, but had little choice since he would otherwise face arrest. For his part, Takano explained that there were basically three ways they could deal with the situation: 1) Continue with the exhibit unchanged, 2) Replace the photos in question with “safe” photos, or 3) Cover up the offending aspects of the photos.

▼A tweet showing one of the cloth-covered photos and a link to a change.org
petition calling on the police to reverse their decision.

Since letting the museum staff be arrested was out of the question for Takano, he immediately rejected the first option. He also felt that the second option was equally unacceptable as it would imply that they agreed with the police. The third option, though not ideal, would allow Takano to communicate his protest to patrons without anyone ending up in handcuffs.

By partially covering the photos, Takano is signalling to patrons that the police have become involved–though we imagine that most museum-goers have heard about the incident already. However, Takano’s choice to cover up the “obscene” portions of the photos is not without precedent–in an email sent to and posted by webDICE, the photographer references Seiki Kuroda, a Meiji- and Showa-era painter. Kuroda painted in the Western style and spent many years abroad studying a style that was, at the time, quite foreign to Japan. Upon his return from France, the painter opened an exhibit, including a technically excellent female nude which drew outrage. Takano was apparently inspired by Kuroda’s choice to add a “loincloth” to the painting as a way to deal with critics.

While many were displeased with the police deeming works of art in a museum “obscene,” there is another aspect to the case that has people’s ire up: A lack of transparency. In addition to the obscenity charges being a violation of free speech and free expression rights, the anonymous reporting and sudden appearance of the police demanding the photos be removed is troubling for many, including Takahashi. He explained that the anonymous complaint was frustrating–if the patron had reported it to the museum staff, they would have been able to explain the work to the patron.

But even more troubling for Tohoku University professor Tarou Igarashi is how easy it is for anonymous complaints to cause trouble. “If you wanted to make accusations against a work of art, there are a number of easy ways to do so,” he told Yahoo! Japan News.

Screen Shot 2014-08-25 at 1.53.35 PM

Change.Org petition created by fellow photographer Takashi Arai has received over 3,100 signatures since it appeared online. The petition maintains that the police are legally unable to demand the photos be taken down, and dismisses the idea that any of the photos are obscene. You can read the full statement in English or Japanese at the link above.

Perhaps the crux of the problem though is the ambiguity of what, exactly, obscenity is. As outspoken American comedian Bill Hicks once famously said, “Supreme Court says pornography is anything without artistic merit that causes sexual thoughts; that’s their definition, essentially. No artistic merit, causes sexual thoughts. Hmm…Sounds like…every commercial on television, doesn’t it?”

So, what do you think, dear readers? Is the appearance of male genitalia in a work of art “obscene” or do the Japanese police need to take a few art lessons?

Sources: Yahoo! Japan News, webDICE (1, 2), Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Change.org, IMA Online, Yumiko Chiba Associates
Images: Twitter (@asaitakashi)Twitter (@webdice) Change.Org

Origin: Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art forced to cover up “obscene” photos following complaint
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Related Stories

All censor, no sense: Recent cover-ups in Jojo anime are laughably bad, kind of pointless

$
0
0

1

Anime fans are used to all sorts of censorship going on in the foreign releases of their favorite shows, from painting over revealing outfits, to changing characters’ genders and relationships to “mask” themes of homosexuality, to even removing entire scenes or episodes deemed inappropriate.

But the Japanese release of a recent episode of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure has been censored even before being aired abroad. Not only is the reason for the coverups confusing, but the terrible job they’ve done has viewers wondering what the point of censoring was to begin with.

The character Jotaro Kujo from the anime Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is 17 years old. And he smokes. While in most of the US and Europe, the minimum smoking age is 18, in Japan it’s 20 (which is also the legal minimum drinking age). So, it might make sense that scenes of the teen smoking should be cut or covered up somehow.

But surely the best way to hide the sight of the young man smoking isn’t to cover half of his face with a weird black shadow?

4Image: omusubimanman

1Image: Niwaka Sokuhou

But the thing most confusing us is the fact previous episodes of the anime do not censor the character’s love of tobacco, nor does the manga, both of which are still easily accessible to minors. Not only that, but, let’s be honest here, whoever did this censoring job was terrible at it. Not only can you still see the smoke wafting obviously in front of Jotaro’s face, in some scenes you have still see the cigarette’s cherry, and even the cigarette itself.

To echo Japan’s netizens: why even bother?

2Image: animetobacco

5Image: omusubimanman

6Image: s2_sayakaoo0

It’s understandable that the show may not want to condone illegal activities, but if that’s the case then why would they allow this gambling scene? After all, casinos and gambling are technically illegal in Japan, right?

7

Image: Niwaka Sokuhou

8Image: Niwaka Sokuhou

Instead of poorly censored anime to combat underage smoking, Japan might look into implementing stricter laws to prevent the sale of tobacco to minors in the first place. It is very rare that IDs are checked for either tobacco or alcohol purchases, and it’s way too easy for minors to head over to the nearest convenience store and purchase a pack of cigarettes or a can of beer if they want. Dark shadows over an anime character’s face? Yeah, they’re probably not going to help much.

Source: Kotaku US

Origin: All censor, no sense: Recent cover-ups in Jojo anime are laughably bad, kind of pointless
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Related Stories

Apple would rather you not blow up teen couples on your iPhone, asks developer to edit video game

$
0
0

RJ 2

In a lot of ways, digital distribution of video games is a great thing, as it allows developers to easily add new content to a title after its release. It’s a double-edged sword, though, and that same streamlined pathway from programmer to player can also be used to quickly make changes that take things away.

A few weeks ago, we took a look at a smartphone game whose lonely, jaded protagonist and his mystical, jaded companion use their powers to make affectionate couples meet with a host of calamities, including straight blowing them up. Apple, however, is not cool with this sort of vengeful fantasy, and so the iOS version of the game is being toned down and given a new name since the original title, Explode, Real Types! no longer describes the game’s contents.

As we talked about last month, Uehara Labo’s new mobile game called Riaju Bakuhatsu Shiro! references “real types,” the term used by the more bitter factions of Japanese otaku to describe people who have strong relationships with, well, real people. It’s especially used when talking about people in an active and healthy romantic relationship, and those who can’t stand to see others enjoying their time in the real world had already made “Explode, real types!” a jealous rallying cry on the Internet and social media before the game’s development.

As such, there’s at least a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor in Uehara Labo’s game which gave the player the power to literally make loving couples explode by tapping them when they appear on-screen. Apple, though, apparently didn’t appreciate the humor and/or visceral pleasure of making people explode just because they date. Deeming the title and gameplay to be overly violent and the in-game equivalent of terrorism, Apple temporarily pulled Explode, Real Types! from the iTunes store.

It seems this wasn’t a complete shock to Uehara Labs. In a series of tweets, the company explained that prior to its initial release, Explode, Real Types! had already been once rejected by Apple for being too violent. “We really tried to tone it down after that,” the developer says, “but once [the game came out and] started getting so much attention, it seems like Apple rethought the situation.”

The iOS version of the game is now once again available, but with a number of changes. All text references to blowing couples up have been removed, and instead of making hand-holding teenagers explode, the player’s main mode of attack is now creating portals that suck them into subspace.

▼ Original version (left): “OK! Let’s go blow up some real types!”
New version (right): OK! Let’s go rain down divine punishment on some real types!”

RJ 1

RJ 2

In light of these alterations, leaving the game’s title as Explode, Real Types! would upset both those who find the prospect of such violence appalling and those who’d be disappointed Uehara Labo isn’t actually delivering on that promise anymore. As such, the game has been retitled as Riaju Zetsumetsu Shiro!, or Go Extinct, Real Types!

When you stop and think about it, it’s not entirely clear how much kinder and gentler the new version of the game is. Is being pulled into subspace really that much better than getting caught in an explosion? In the original version of the game, the old man who says “Let’s go blow up some real types” definitely seems like a crazed coot with dangerous magical powers, but his offhand mention of “divine punishment” makes it seem like he’s now been promoted a full-on deity. And while death seemed to be implied by Explode, Real Types!, it’s a lot more explicit with the title Go Extinct, Real Types!

Still, those were the changes Uehara Labo had to make before Apple would play ball with them. Go Extinct, Real Types! is available for download for iOS devices here, while the original version, Explode, Real Types!, is still available for Android devices here.

Source: Inside Games via Jin
Top image: Inside Games (edited by RocketNews24)
Insert images: Inside Games (edited by RocketNews24)

Origin: Apple would rather you not blow up teen couples on your iPhone, asks developer to edit video game
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Related Stories


Is it time for China to kiss Japanese AV star/actress Sola Aoi’s sexy butt goodbye?

$
0
0

AS 2

Those of you who spend much time thinking about sports, international politics, or moaning, naked women might recall the incident a few years ago where Chinese soccer fans held up banners proclaiming “The Senkaku Islands belong to us! Sola Aoi belongs to the world!” The dual proclamation served as a simultaneous declaration of their territorial stance towards the disputed land masses and their egalitarian attitude regarding the Japanese porn star-turned singer and actress who’s amassed a massive fanbase in China.

The Senkaku issue remains a thorny one, in part complicated by the islands stubborn refusal to simply pick a side in the spat between Japan and China and move themselves closer to one country or the other. Sola, on the other hand, is much more mobile, and may be taking the comment about the whole world having the right to bask in her aura to heart as she’s reportedly considering moving her target market from China to Southeast Asia.

While Aoi first made a name for herself in Japan, her popularity in China exploded just about the time her adult video career in Japan seemed to be tapering off. As she entered her late 20s, Aoi was already transitioning towards more mainstream TV and movie work that allowed her to keep more of her clothing on, and shortly after she made her Chinese social media debut, she found herself with millions of followers in the world’s most populous country.

Since then, she’s been showing up less often in the Japanese mass media, and some might even argue that China had become the new focus of her professional activities.

▼ Sola Aoi

You may have noticed, though, that the Chinese government isn’t known for its open and permissive policy regarding media content. Even as pop culture becomes increasingly globalized, the country’s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television is seeking to put the brakes on what it considers the increasing vulgarization of what citizens watch, read, and listen to.

Aoi doesn’t seem to have appeared in anything that can be classified as pure pornography for a while, but her sex appeal is still a major selling point for productions she’s involved in. It’s also kind of hard to make people forget about your prior body of work when your resume includes items such as the politely phrased Wouldn’t You Like to Be Shown Sora’s Sex Thoroughly?, terrifying Certain Kill! Cum Face Shot!, plot-summarizing Sola Aoi Becomes a Prostitute, and doesn’t-initially-sound-like-a-porno-but-most-definitely-is Super High Image Vision Hollywood Standard Sex.

As such, Hong Kong media outlets report that Aoi is being targeted by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, or SAPPRFT.

▼ Just a tip, Chinese government: when even your acronym is too long to remember, you might want to consider a more succinct name, like Aoi’s 2004 film Sexy Butt.

AS 3

Apparently, Aoi is no longer being allowed to make live appearances at fan events, which that used to net her some one million yuan (US$161,000) a pop. With this source of revenue plugged, some are speculating that Aoi may start shifting her focus away from China, and give more of her love to film and TV in Southeast Asia. This wouldn’t be her first time working in the region, either, Aoi has previously acted in Indonesian and Thai films, including 2014’s I Fine…Thank You…Love You, a romantic comedy that was Thailand’s second-highest-grossing film for the year.

▼ Aoi as I Fine…Thank You…Love You’s Kaya

AS 1

If this is indeed the end of the China-centric section of Aoi’s career, at least her Chinese fans can look back on their fond memories of their time together as they shed a tear while watching her aforementioned sexy butt walk away.

Related: Sola Aoi Twitter
Source: Record China via Livedoor
Top image: Sola Aoi Twitter
Insert images: Wikipedia/Daderot, YouTube

Origin: Is it time for China to kiss Japanese AV star/actress Sola Aoi’s sexy butt goodbye?
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Related Stories

China swings its ban hammer, blacklists 38 Japanese anime from the Internet

$
0
0

ban 1

It had been rumored for some time that China’s government would be clamping down on sites that stream Japanese anime. The likes of Naruto and One Piece especially were hotly tipped for the Chinese government’s chopping block, but when an official list of prohibited shows recently went public, not only were anime fans in China saddened to see the aforementioned titles pulled from streaming sites, but another 38 popular Japanese anime were blacklisted due to their lewd and violent content.

Did your favorite series get pulled from the Chinese Internet? Check out the list of the fallen after the jump.

After an earlier announcement in March which placed some less popular shows on their blacklist, China’s Ministry of Culture announced that a more comprehensive list was forthcoming. Now we know what sort of anime won’t be shown on Chinese streaming sites, so if you find yourself on a Chinese ISP, don’t expect to find any of these titles readily available. If you’re not in China, meanwhile, you may want to consider the following a list of awesome anime to check out!

Terror in Resonance
Blood-C
Highschool of the Dead
Ergo Proxy
Parasyte

ban 4Skull Man
Another
Inferno Cop
Afro Samurai
Tokyo Ghoul
Sword Art Online

ban 3

Tokyo ESP
Tokyo Ravens
Devil May Cry
Mnemosyne RIN – Daughters of Mnemosyne –
The Testament of Sister New Devil
Attack on Titan
Corpse Party
Strike the Blood
Death Note

ban 2

Deadman Wonderland
Date A Live
Psycho Pass
Devil Lady
Those Who Hunt Elves
Elfen Lied

ban 6

Highschool DxD
Hyakka Ryoran: Samurai Girls
So, I Can’t Play H!
Girls Bravo
Kanokon
Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero
Sakura Diaries
Black Butler 3
CLAYMORE
Dance in the Vampire Bund

Assassination Classroom

ban 5

The Chinese government is enforcing this list through warnings and fines levied against streaming sites. They have already cracked down on 29 sites, while eight others have closed down completely.

These blacklisted shows, which “encourage juvenile delinquency, glorify violence and include sexual content,” are being banned in order to “protect the healthy development of youth,” according to the Xinhua News Agency. Critics of the list, however, see this move as part of a broader movement of the Communist government’s attempts to control online content.

Many Internet users are slightly skeptical that this action is going to actually prevent the consumption of any of these shows and may conversely prompt curious Chinese citizens to seek them out through illicit means.

“Won’t people just watch them through illegal uploads, and then nothing will have changed? And controlling that will be a considerable task.”

“It’s not because it’s harmful for children, but because it’s harmful for the Communist Party.”

Attack on Titan is definitely like the Chinese government vs. Chinese citizens.”

Will this blacklist protect the development of Chinese youth? Or is this just another useless case of government overreach? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Source: My Game News Flash
Additional Information: Japan Times
Top image: Gaming City
Inset Images: Amazon JP 1Sword Art Online Wikia, Amazon JP 2, 3, 4

Origin: China swings its ban hammer, blacklists 38 Japanese anime from the Internet
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Related Stories

Video of Chinese couple doing it in changing room triggers Uniqlo selfie boom

$
0
0

Young people around Beijing have suddenly begun taking selfies in front of a Uniqlo shop as a part of a recent trend that started online. Many of the photographs depict a man standing behind his girlfriend, occasionally in provocative poses.

The reason for these peculiar pics is a graphic sex tape that went viral in China showing a man and women having intercourse inside a Uniqlo dressing room. The video has become a hit in a country that strictly prohibits such material from being available to the population.

The following video shows some censored still images from the original recording. Be sure to keep the volume down if you’re watching near others though – in it you can hear the heavy breathing, distinctive rhythmic pounding, and the occasional spank of the couple along with dirty talk like “Call me your husband.” and “Say we’ll be together.” Dirty talk is apparently very romantic in China.

Lending legitimacy to the video, the sounds of Uniqlo announcements can be heard in the background as well. The identity of the couple is unknown but police are investigating. Uniqlo has distanced themselves from the incident and denied any involvement but will undoubtedly be reminding the public that they frequently clean their fitting rooms.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government is outraged that the video was able to proliferate as it did, and held the country’s biggest social networks Sina and Tencent accountable, giving their top execs a stern talking-to.

This time the damage had already been done, however. “Fitting room” has become a slang term for a place to have sex, and many online have been calling for the clothing retailer asking for larger changing areas. Under normal circumstances Uniqlo is considered a rather generic clothing store, known more for its reasonable prices and reliable quality than wild antics. But now it’s hard to walk by that Beijing Uniqlo and not see someone taking a picture of themselves simulating sex in front of it.

Source: Huffington Post UK
Video: YouTube – Aden News
Top Image: Twitter

Origin: Video of Chinese couple doing it in changing room triggers Uniqlo selfie boom
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Related Stories

Artist strikes back at Indonesian government’s Internet censorship with parodic moe character

$
0
0

11779761_853190428092785_4180229563562303515_o

If you’re in Indonesia and trying to view some lewd content on the Internet, it will most likely be blocked. Strict Internet content regulations have been an area of controversy for some time in the country, but a recent development has put a new spin – and a new face – on the fight against governmental censorship.

Ipo-chan is a moe anthropomorphism of the Indonesian Ministry of Communication’s web-filtering service, “Internet Postif”. She’s cute, she looks tough, and she’s becoming so much more than the embodiment of Internet police.

▼ “Don’t be immoral or I’ll block you!”

11700579_853190424759452_9172457021539553227_o

Ipo-chan is a parodic representation of the web-filtering service, which blocks any websites that the Indonesian government deems “inappropriate or immoral”. What started as censoring porn and gambling sites soon spread to banning social media sites, including the likes of video-sharing site Vimeo and Reddit (yet, according to one online commenter, illegal file sharing sites are still ten-a-penny and go unblocked). Understandably, the Indonesian public is not amused by Ipo-chan’s existence.

▼ You want to watch some porn? Ipo-chan thinks that’s “Gross!”

Untitled

The character was originally thought up by Indonesian artist Rouzille Erzabalna after Indonesia’s Minster of Communication and Information – the head of Internet censorship – stepped down last year. In the months leading up to her big debut on Spring Roll in July, Erzabalna has developed Ipo-chan into a full-blown character, complete with a detailed profile.

▼ Included in her profile are her hobbies: Blocking websites, surveying netizen users, and browsing the web. 

d5b

Ipo-chan
Age 20, Single
B-W-H: 84 -64 -89
Height: 157 cm
Weight: [This information is blocked by Internet Positif]
Hobbies: Blocking websites, surveillance on netizens, browsing the web

Personality:
– Tsundere but can be bullied
– Very sensitive, especially towards lewd content
Disciplined and loyal to the Minister
– Messes up when blocking websites, which causes controversy among netizens

Things she likes:
– The Minister
– Educational Websites
Things she doesn’t like:
– Bad websites especially the lewd ones
– Manga, Hentai, Japanese Adult Videos
– Proxy
– Immoral and perverted netizens
– Hamster

Short Explanation:
Ipo-chan is a program created to filter negative websites. Ipo-chan began operating on July 26th, 2015, but after running for two weeks, Ipo-chan is surprised to discover a big phenomena that has happened to her…” [Translation from Know Your Meme]

As many adept net users know, there are ways around censoring systems such as Indonesia’s, such as proxies and VPNs, and Ipo-chan can’t really hold her ground against them – this explains that, while she’s tough and domineering on the outside, she’s easily “bullied”.

▼ Ipo-chan is no match for the tough guys like OpenDNS and proxies.

68d0887e

Yurukuyaru

Since Ipo-chan is so cute, she’s already gained a significant following in the past few weeks. Fan art is appearing everywhere and she even has her own dance video made with MMD, the 3D animation freeware program originally used to make Hatsune Miku.

▼ We wonder if this video is being blocked in Indonesia right now…

▼ Only a few weeks have passed since her debut and she already has fan art.

893d0ab3

Yurukuyaru

We will no doubt be seeing more Ipo-chan fan art pop up soon, and maybe we’ll even see her at cosplay conventions around the world in the months to come. She’s cute and tough, but also a parody of a strict government initiative, so we’ll also be keeping an eye on how the ministry handles this adorable situation.

Source: Yarukuyaru, Know Your Meme
Images: Facebook/ Spring Roll Circle

Origin: Artist strikes back at Indonesian government’s Internet censorship with parodic moe character
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Related Stories

Japan’s censorship of PlayStation 4 horror game Until Dawn is spectacularly bad 【Video】

$
0
0

Screen Shot 2015-08-28 at 12.43.18

Considering it’s the same country that gave us movies like Battle Royale, Tokyo Gore Police and Ichi the Killer, Japan’s method of handling violent video game content can be quite perplexing at times.

Despite being able to attack the undead hordes in survival horror beat-em-up Dead Rising with everything from ‘wet floor’ signs to katanas, decapitations were notably absent from the Japanese version of the game when it released back in 2006. More recently, Japanese Metal Gear Solid and Gears of War fans were shocked to see that numerous scenes and animations were cut from the versions released in their homeland, even though the games were clearly marked as “adults only”.

Japan’s video game censors have struck again this week, this time taking their (presumably family-friendly) hatchets to newly released PlayStation 4 horror game Until Dawn—and the method of censoring the scenes deemed too much for Japan is startlingly bad.

Supermassive Games’ Until Dawn treads familiar ground in that it tells the story of a group of young friends who become trapped in a remote mountain lodge and quickly find themselves fighting for their lives as they are picked off one by one. Despite its rather hackneyed premise, the narrative-driven game has received largely positive reviews, with critics and gamers alike praising its plot twists and multiple endings as well as the voice acting and lifelike visuals.

The launch trailer for Until Dawn

Summer isn’t exactly known for its abundance of triple-A video game releases, so no doubt plenty of PlayStation 4 owners have been looking forward to Until Dawn for a while now. But players in Japan who were expecting the game to be the Saw-like horror fest that it was billed as may be disappointed to learn that Japan’s censors have been doing a little chopping of their own.

The eagle-eyed gamers at YouTube channel Censored Gaming have put together a short video detailing the cuts made to Until Dawn in Japan. It seems that one scene in particular was deemed too extreme for the Japanese public and was heavily edited. While you might be imagining a few awkward cuts or a conspicuous lack of blood, however, the edit is nowhere near as graceful; instead, during a scene where one of the characters is cut in half with a giant circular saw (this is a horror game after all!) Japanese gamers are shown…nothing but a black screen.

Warning: this video contains minor spoilers and, yes, plenty of gore. 

Those who don’t care for horror movies may think little of this ham-fisted edit, and might even argue that, due to the interactive nature of the medium, video game censors are right to be stricter than those policing movie releases. But as a lifelong gamer this kind of censorship irks me terribly. After all, Until Dawn is rated CERO “Z”, the strictest rating a video game can receive in Japan and which indicates that it is suitable for adults only; shouldn’t consenting adults be allowed to see the game as its creators intended? Besides, I’m fairly sure horror fans have seen far worse at the movie theatre.

Until Dawn has been rated “CERO Z”, or adults only

Screen Shot 2015-08-28 at 12.57.06PlayStation Japan

But putting the issue of whether the game should or should not have been censored aside for a moment, let’s focus on the way it was edited. Without making the cuts requested by censors, no film or video game will see the light of day; that’s just the way of the world, and we have censorship for a reason. But can you imagine watching the latest summer blockbuster in a movie theatre when, suddenly, instead of a sex scene or a violent montage playing out as it does in every other country, the screen cuts to black for 10, 20, 30 seconds while the audio played? It just wouldn’t happen, would it?

Video games today are not made by pallid-skinned, neck-bearded men alone in their bedrooms; they’re the product of years of work done by hundreds of talented artists, programmers, directors, sound engineers and testers. They cost hundreds of thousands, often millions, of dollars to make. So to present players—consenting adults who knew exactly what they were getting into when they picked up the controller—with a black screen because a group of people at the Computer Entertainment Ratings Organization said the original scene is too graphic for the general public to see shows a baffling lack of respect not just for the player but the game’s developers.

Screen Shot 2015-08-28 at 15.30.44

Granted, not every game’s publisher is prepared, or able, to spend the time and money required to localise and edit a game so that it retains the same level of polish after meeting censors’ demands. But considering that Until Dawn—a game which had both a sizeable budget and the full support of its publisher, Sony Computer Entertainment—has been released in Japan not with a new title and few subtitles slapped on, but properly localised and complete with a brand new voice track makes these cuts look all the more lazy by comparison. Perhaps Sony Japan just wanted to get the game out at the same time as in its other territories and didn’t have the budget to edit the scene properly; maybe the censors simply didn’t give them enough time to adapt the game prior to its Japanese release; perhaps someone thought a black screen would leave more to gamers’ imaginations and be more horrifying as a result. Whatever the reason for this startling shoddy cut—the censorship equivalent of your mother stepping in front of the TV and flailing her arms about the second an actress takes off her shirt—I’m fairly certain that a lot of gamers in Japan will be feeling understandably miffed right now.

Cut if you really must, Japan, but for the sake of the player and the hardworking people who poured their heart and soul into the game, please, please don’t hack.

Source: YouTube/Censored Gaming h/t Kotaku US
Iimages: screenshots via YouTube/Censored Gaming

Origin: Japan’s censorship of PlayStation 4 horror game Until Dawn is spectacularly bad 【Video】
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Related Stories

Seth MacFarlane’s Ted tones down language, cashes in with edited Japan version for 12-year-olds

$
0
0

ET 5

If there’s one defining aspect of the star of raunchy comedy Ted, it’s that he doesn’t give a damn what anyone thinks about him. As a matter of fact, if he were describing himself, Ted’s first instinct would probably have been a stronger word than “damn,” but being neither a magical living stuffed animal nor the on-screen avatar of massively influential and wealthy comedian Seth MacFarlane, I have to be a touch more careful in my choice of vocabulary.

But shockingly enough, it turns out Ted is capable of self-censoring, as the recently released sequel Ted 2 is being edited into a family-friendly picture aimed at kids as young as 12 in Japan.

Family Guy, the resurrected TV series that MacFarlane rode to stardom, is virtually unknown in Japan, but that didn’t stop the first Ted movie from being a massive hit. While sarcastic English-language comedy usually doesn’t translate very well into Japanese, Ted had enough universally understandable visual humor with its slapstick and gross-out gags to draw plenty of Japanese moviegoers to theaters.

There’s no doubt the film also benefited from Japanese adults’ lower resistance to animated entertainment, plus the country’s general affinity for cute things. Honestly, Ted actually is pretty cute when he’s not spouting vulgarities, and the relative lack of indisputable obscenities meant that the dialogue’s Japanese translations (whether in dubbed or subtitled form) weren’t as out-and-out foul as many of the English lines they were matched to.

▼ For example, in this scene from Ted 2, Mark Wahlberg’s English exclamation of “What the f**k?” is subtitled as “Uso daro?”, literally “It’s a lie, isn’t it?” but essentially the equivalent of “Are you kidding me?”

ET 6

Still, Ted 2 was still judged adult enough in content to warrant an R15+ rating in Japan, for which admission is restricted to those 15 and above. Nevertheless, Ted 2 had a great first weekend in Japan last week, with ticket sales 141 percent above the opening for its predecessor. And while Western audiences might find the film’s moments of supposedly heartfelt emotion to simply be surrealistically corny beats that heighten the comedy, many Japanese moviegoers took them as genuinely sentimental. So while after watching the movie some said “It’s even raunchier and funnier than the first,” others reactions were along the lines of:

“It’s crazy, but I felt moved by Ted.”

“I laughed a lot, but in the end, it had me feeling sentimental.”

“I want to see this movie with my family!”

Actually, in the run-up to Ted 2’s release, an edited version of the original Ted was shown on Japanese broadcast television. After taking a look at the high ratings it garnered, as well as listening to audience feedback, the sequels producers have announced that they’ve created a version of Ted 2 with “milder dialogue” and “reedited scenes,” which will play concurrently with the unedited version in Japanese theaters.

Ted himself appeared in the movie’s official Japanese Twitter account to help spread the word.

“【Mr. Ted’s emergency apology press conference】

‘Eh, so sorry for all the dirty language. In order to show myself as an earnest middle-aged dude, we’re releasing a Ted 2 PG12 version right away, one that’s less vulgar and that you can watch as a family. That’s all I’ve got to say.’”

▼ And then he bowed in contrition.

ET 3

The new version, for which parental guidance is recommended for viewers under the age of 12, is officially called the Ted 2 “I Can’t Wait Until I Become an Adult” Version, and will only be shown in Japanese-dubbed, 2-D format. The edited version opens in Japan on September 12.

Source: Eiga Fan via Jin
Top image: Ted 2 official Japanese website
Insert images: Ted 2 official Japanese website, Twitter/@TED_MOVIE2013

Origin: Seth MacFarlane’s Ted tones down language, cashes in with edited Japan version for 12-year-olds
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Related Stories

UN urges Japan to ban sexual images of children in manga, Japanese netizens tell UN to shut up

$
0
0

On 26 October, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, wrapped up a week-long visit to Japan with a press conference at the Japan National Press Club.

During her hour-long speech, De Boer-Buquicchio implored the Japanese government to tighten its relatively lax restrictions on child pornography in which photographs of sexually dressed children and illustrations of children in sexual contexts are still considered legal.

Many other countries would take “legal child porn” to be a serious gap in their law books and promptly get right to work on tougher child porn restrictions. But online comments in Japan have taken the less popular route and rebutted that “the UN should shut-up and mind its own business.”

■  Kind of illegal but not really

Up until last year it was not illegal in Japan to possess child pornography without intent to sell or distribute, but an amendment to the law which only came into effect in July of this year outlawed possession as well. Since then, however, not much has changed, with books and videos featuring children in provocative outfits and poses still being sold with impunity.

Part of the reason recent legislation failed to have significant impact was that it stopped short of certain grey areas, namely manga and chakuero. Chakuero is an abbreviation for “chakui erochishizumu” (clothing eroticism) which is a type of photography in which models wear extremely revealing clothing such as swimsuit, but without revealing certain parts of the anatomy.

While underage chakuero models managed to slip through the net, it was manga that proved to be the cause célèbre of the issue. At the notion of censorship on the highly popular medium, activists, artists and publishers alike came out in opposition of the laws calling them an affront to freedom of artistic expression.

■  Land of tolerance…

In her speech, De Boer-Buquicchio admits that freedom of expression is something worth protecting, but not at the cost of children’s welfare. She criticized the lawmakers for enacting legislation with too many loopholes to be effective, and accused Japanese society as a whole of tolerating these erotic businesses’ continued operation in the country.

If you’d like, here is her full report. Be warned though it’s about an hour long so get a snack ready.

You can be sure the Abe government will take heed of De Boer-Buquicchio’s words. Failure to comply with UN mandates will result in harsh penalties…such as her asking them again to stop, possibly in a more exasperated tone. It’ll take time though. After all, outlawing child pornography is a tricky, delicate matter—not at all like rewriting the country’s constitution.

■  …Unless you’re a UN Rapporteur

You may find Japan’s online reaction to De Boer-Buquicchio’s words surprising. Opening remarks were short but illustrated emotions on the matter quite well.

“Fuck the UN. Let’s just get out of it.”
“Don’t they have crises like refugees and IS to worry about? Useless, bossy organization.”
“Maybe going after countries that actually traffic children first is a good idea…”

Others expressed their position a little more articulately, albeit still with a fair bit of hostility.

“In manga there is no victim, so what’s the problem? Before worrying about that why not try to stop real child prostitution instead, Special Incompetent Rapporteur.”
“I think it’s okay since the characters in manga don’t resemble real humans anyway.”
“2D provides an outlet that suppresses some from acting out in real life.”

It would seem that the root of support for fictional sexual content dealing with minors is that it works to prevent such crimes from occurring in reality. However, there were a few scattered comments that supported restrictions upheld by other developed countries.

“Isn’t it shameful that we’re considered the ‘pervert nation’ of the world?”

But those few dissenting opinion did not go unchallenged.

“It’s a small price to pay if it reduces actual sex crimes in the country?”
“Is Japan’s sex crime rate really any higher than other G7 countries?”

And it’s on that last question that the argument hinges: What is Japan’s actual rate of sex crimes involving children compared to other countries of its stature? Unfortunately that’s nearly impossibly to accurately measure given the massive number of offenses that go unreported in Japan and other countries worldwide. Without hard data on that matter it really is difficult to say who’s right on the issue.

Honestly, though, it seems that selling child porn for profit, even if it prevents crime is a bad idea, but censorship of any kind is also wrong as it tends to bury problems rather than bring them out into the open for us to deal with. Perhaps one thing we can all agree on is the need to clearly understand why there’s a demand for this type of material to begin with and find out what can be done to stop it from hurting people young and old.

Source: YouTube/jnpc (English), AFP via Otakomu (Japanese)

Origin: UN urges Japan to ban sexual images of children in manga, Japanese netizens tell UN to shut up
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Related Stories


Yo-kai watch what the western Yo-kai Watch doesn’t want you to yo-kai watch

$
0
0

With Yo-Kai Watch finally exported overseas, many await the inevitable changes due to localization and censorship that will occur. After all, if it can happen to Doraemon, it can happen to any series. Sure enough, the English version of Yo-kai Watch anime did not fail to disappoint.

The altered scene was posted on Twitter by WolfyMatt who thoughtfully provided a video showing the same scene in both its Japanese and English versions.

In the Japanese version a group of boys are watching a television program featuring a group of women in swimwear and cat accouterments. Being teenage boys who would be turned on by a mere exposed knee this was a great treat for them.

▼ JAPAN

However, thanks to meddling yo-kai the TV suddenly changes to a program featuring musclebound men exercising in skimpy underpants.

▼ JAPAN

You see, this would be the complete opposite of what the boys would want to see and it appeared startlingly quickly. As a viewer, such contradiction would trigger a response in the occipital lobe of the brain causing the us to either smirk or possibly even chuckle. Thus humor is achieved.

While the localization team certainly loves a good laugh as well, they were deeply concerned that young children might be confused to learn that people sometimes wear bathing suits. So, they decided to replace the girls’ attire with something more concealing…while going down a water slide.

▼ WESTERN

▼ JAPAN

▼ WESTERN

The presence of the men was apparently an even bigger challenge. So they decided to just get rid of them altogether and put a cooking show in their place. As a result, western viewers watch as the boys freak out when the television changes from images of reasonably dressed women to that of a chef. This causes the release of dopamine in their brains to stop which in turn makes them pick their nose in boredom.

▼ WESTERN

▼ JAPAN

▼ WESTERN

Granted the sacrificed joke wasn’t a gut-buster, but it’s quick gags like that which help to move the story along at a jaunty pace and keep people entertained.  On the other hand, hand-drawn images of muscular guys in skimpy clothes are clearly a threat to mental stability.  I should know, having grown up on this.

Curse you Lou Scheimer and Hal Sutherland!

Source: Twitter/@TheWildWolfy
He Man Video: YouTube/RetroHeroes

 

Origin: Yo-kai watch what the western Yo-kai Watch doesn’t want you to yo-kai watch
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Related Stories

Illegal mosaic-free porn business busted after earning over US$1M in revenues

$
0
0

Osaka police recently uncovered a booming mail-order business servicing the entire nation with pornographic DVDs which lacked the legally required pixellation over actors’ genitalia.

On 9 February Osaka Prefectural Police announced the arrest of 39-year-old Hiroshi Suzuki of Osaka on charges of possession of obscene material with intent to distribute. He was found on the second floor of a Nipponbashi area commercial building along with 50 copies of DVDs featuring uncensored adult material.

In Japan it is illegal to sell adult videos which show the performers’ genitalia, so adult filmmakers must cover them with a mosaic pixellation effect. Like in this shot of our beautiful RocketNews24 Japan writer…

To bypass this restriction, Suzuki stands accused of obtaining copies of films without the mosaic and selling them online for 150 to 200 yen ($1.30–$1.80) each. He had allegedly been renting both the second and third floors of the building in which he was arrested and where police seized 52,000 blank DVDs and 150 DVD burners.

Judging by the amount of materials, the organization — which police believe consisted of six men between the ages of 20 and 50 — was expecting a lot of future business. And according to a police investigation into Suzuki’s bank account, they were right to think so.

Through transactions made on websites he allegedly ran such as Himitsu no Rabo (Secret Lab), approximately 800,000 discs were said to have been sold in the past year alone, resulting in estimated 130 million yen ($1.15M) in revenue for the mosaic-free DVD distributors.

▼ The Secret Lab has since been taken down.

Image: Adultwalker

It’s a staggering figure considering the DVDs were bought over the internet, where people usually have to make an effort to avoid seeing uncensored porn.

When questioned by police, Suzuki reportedly admitted saying, “I did it for the money.” And in doing so, he passed up an excellent opportunity to make himself into an anti-censorship martyr.

Nevertheless, the Secret Lab has now been shut down, and Japan can rest safe knowing that all those images of reproductive organs were taken off the market. After all, nothing causes social collapse faster than seeing dingalings and hoonaners.

Now, tentacles; that’s how you build a strong and healthy civilization…

Source: Mainichi Shimbun (Japanese)
Images: RocketNews24 (Unless otherwise noted)

Origin: Illegal mosaic-free porn business busted after earning over US$1M in revenues
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Related Stories

TV anime censorship goes to a crazy new extreme with 30th anniversary Iczer One broadcast

$
0
0

IO 0

At some point, maybe you just have to ask “What’s the point of showing this on TV?”

It took a couple of years for the 1985 anime Fight!! Iczer One to make its way to America, since the brief OVA series predates the commercial anime industry in the U.S. Sure, some kid-friendly shows had already trickled across the Pacific after heavy localizations, but Iczer One wasn’t going to find acceptance in America’s traditionally juvenile animation media sector.

Nope, Iczer One’s story of surprisingly effective genocidal aliens and lesbian schoolgirls wasn’t going to fly on American television in the 1980s. As a matter of fact, Iczer One’s cocktail of violence, nudity, and nude violence doesn’t even fly on Japanese television in the 2010s, as some TV viewers recently found out.

As a proper 1980s sci-fi anime, Iczer One of course has a giant robot, called Iczer-Robo, which requires both a pilot and a human power source, the latter of whom must be naked (also pretty standard for 1980s sci-fi anime). But while Iczer One could do anything it wanted its direct-to-video format, when the OVA was shown on local channel TV Kanagawa last Sunday, some new edits were in place.

IO 1

We’ve seen some heavy-handed anime censorship in Japan before, but is on a whole other level. Rather than using the clumsily added shadows or steam that are the go-to workarounds for toning down anime for TV broadcast these days, the TV Kanagawa version of Iczer One just decided to throw up all-obscuring black bars, for an effect as subtle as if the viewer’s optic nerve had suddenly decided it couldn’t be bothered to handle its full workload.

▼ “Eh, we’ll give you the elbow. You can imagine the rest.”

IO 2

While chuckling at the sudden planes of impenetrable darkness, twitter user @hidaka3 was surprised that a scene of tentacles forcing their way into a character’s mouth was aired without any censoring. Still, we imagine anyone who was watching the 30-year-old anime for the first time was baffled as to what was going on at least once, and now we’re wondering if any ambitious anime fans later made a trip to the hardware store to pick up a plank of wood and bucket of black paint so they could get to work on their Iczer One (TV Kanagawa version) cosplay outfit.

Follow Casey on Twitter, where he’ll take just about any opportunity to talk about anime projects involving Masami Obari.

Source: Hachima Kiko
Top image: Twitter/@hidaka3
Insert images: Twitter/@hidaka3 (1, 2)

Origin: TV anime censorship goes to a crazy new extreme with 30th anniversary Iczer One broadcast
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Related Stories

“One in ten” Japanese adults have blurry genitals, shocking study reveals【FN24】

$
0
0

Screen Shot 2016-03-16 at 18.06.56

Scientists call for more education after a study finds that a huge number of Japanese people are afflicted with a condition that causes their private parts to appear blurry. 

As many as one in ten Japanese adults may have genitalia that are either blurry or constantly surrounded by a series of floating opaque squares, a groundbreaking study by researchers at the Tokyo University for Science Things has found.

Professor Hiroki Yamada and his team found that 10 percent of their 500 adult research participants suffered from varying degrees of “genital blur” which made their nether-regions difficult, and in some cases completely impossible, to see.

“The condition was first recorded in Japanese medical journals back in the 1960s, affecting just one in every few thousand people,” Professor Yamada said. “Today, one in ten people have blurry genitals—it’s out of control.”

“Bokehtama”

Taro Suzuki was just 20 years old when his entire crotch went blurry. Now a successful businessmen, he believes that his lack of knowledge about the condition at the time was a direct contributor to becoming infected.

“I’d never heard of bokehtama (lit. “blurry ball”) back then, so I didn’t know what to look for. I caught it after I slept with a girl I met at an end-of-semester nomikai (drinks party).”

“I remember thinking that everything looked a bit hazy down there, but I put it down to being drunk. Now that I think about it though, I should have realised something was up because her boobs were perfectly in focus.”

Harmless but annoying

Mercifully, those who have contracted bokehtama are able to lead perfectly normal lives, and their health is otherwise unaffected—indeed, the Japanese adult video industry is populated almost exclusively by those affected by the disease, many of whom are both incredibly affluent and have families of their own.

“It’s relatively harmless, but it must be tremendously annoying for those who have it;” Professor Yamada said, “we really must do more to educate people about bokehtama.”

“I mean, it can’t be easy trying to bathe or pee when your junk is constantly obscured by a wall of dancing squares…”

Image © RocketNews24

 


 

This post is the first in our newest addition to the site, FakeNews24, or just “FN24” for short. This story, and all that follow in the coming weeks and months, is completely untrue, intended only to amuse, and should not be taken seriously in any way. Thanks for reading! – The RocketNews24 team  

Origin: “One in ten” Japanese adults have blurry genitals, shocking study reveals【FN24】
Copyright© RocketNews24 / SOCIO CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Related Stories

Japanese TV show decides to censor the exposed nipples…of babies 【Photos】

$
0
0

CB 2

Put a shirt on, you crazy kids!

In Japan, May 5 is a national holiday called Children’s Day. As such, someone at Japanese broadcaster TV Asahi thought that it was a perfect time to air a program highlighting the life of a married couple raising a set of adorable quadruplets.

However, TV Asahi also decided that it was a perfect time to censor some nudity. The promo for the May 5 episode of weekly talk show Ogon Densetsu promises to show walks, naps, diaper changes, feedings, and bath time, but you’ll notice that “nipples” isn’t on the list. But how do you keep your program nipple-free if you’ve got a whole segment about the challenges of giving baths to four babies?

Like this.

When it was time for the little ones to get clean, TV Asahi judged that showing them completely topless would be unforgivably dirty, and decided to preserve their modesty by adding some little chicks in post-production. This, of course, isn’t the first time the Japanese media has made some startling censorship moves, but even by that yardstick, digital pasties for infants are an unusual choice.

Some online commenters even feel like TV Asahi’s actions had the opposite of the intended effect. While obscuring the babies’ nipples likely avoided offending the sensibilities of only the most easily offended, everyone else had their attention drawn to those parts of the tykes’ anatomy by the cartoon covers.

But apparently 7 p.m., the time when Ogon Densetsu airs, is just too early for TV Asahi to feel comfortable showing such lascivious imagery in an unfiltered state.

You can follow Casey on Twitter, but dont expect him to show you his nipples.

Source: Hachima Kiko
Top image: Twitter/@purimart

Viewing all 46 articles
Browse latest View live


<script src="https://jsc.adskeeper.com/r/s/rssing.com.1596347.js" async> </script>