In the original Japanese release of Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly, Trunks flips Bio-Broly the bird. However, in the recently released Blu-ray version, he does not.
As pointed out by Twitter user Nappasan, here’s how the edited version differs:
今月5日に東映ビデオより発売されたドラゴンボールZのBlu-rayソフトにおいて、中指を立てて挑発する表現がデジタル修正されていました。公式側による告知や但し書きなどは何も無く、過去の映像作品における表現の問題に関する重大な背信行為であると憤っています。 pic.twitter.com/dLhuW1JeHi
— ナッパ教信徒 (@nappasan) December 15, 2018
The edited version is on the left and the original one is on the right. Below is a comparison of both in motion:
映像による比較をしてみました。2カットに渡ってトランクスの中指が修正されているのが判ります。なお画面右側で使用している「オリジナル版」の映像はAmazonプライムビデオにおける配信映像であり、今回発売されたBlu-rayはこれと同じHDマスターを使用しています。 pic.twitter.com/fe5nNfaGgJ
— ナッパ教信徒 (@nappasan) December 15, 2018
The gesture was also removed from this month’s Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound Blu-ray release.
『復活のフュージョン!!悟空とベジータ』におけるベクウの場面でも同様の中指ジェスチャーへの修正が行われていることを確認しました。 pic.twitter.com/lhZE60L4Al
— ナッパ教信徒 (@nappasan) December 15, 2018
Dragon Ball fans will know that middle fingers have appeared throughout the different iterations as taunts. Editing them out isn’t new, either. The bird was cut from certain international releases and in recent years, the hand gesture has been censored for Japanese TV rebroadcasts.
なお中指を立てるジェスチャーが修正された例はこれが初ではありません。『ドラゴンボール改』においても当該表現はデジタル修正の対象となりましたが、『改』はあくまで『Z』の映像を流用して再編集された新規のTV番組でしたし、日曜朝の番組とあってこちらの場合妥当性はあったと思います。 pic.twitter.com/S7BF4zv045
— ナッパ教信徒 (@nappasan) December 15, 2018
But this is the Blu-ray release.
Flipping people off is not originally an obscene gesture in Japan, but due to the American popular culture, loads of people know what it means.
Blu-ray release or not, since kids in Japan love Dragon Ball, there was probably a concern that children would copy the gesture or that it would also be difficult to broadcast these HD remasters on Japanese TV.
Comments
5 responses to “In Japan, Dragon Ball Z Blu-ray Edits Out Obscene Hand Gesture”
Never knew about this or noticed it when DBZ was on cheese TV, but that’s exactly how I used to draw Goku flipping the bird all the time.
cheez tv had the Cartoon Network America edits, which would edit out the handful of birds thrown (though the only one from the series proper I remember offhand was a reverse V sign thrown by Babadi)
Don’t think the films were played on Cheese TV but I do know that the series was heavily edited before the uncensored and uncut version was released.
I remember watching the Piccolo vs Android 17 fight in Japanese and was blown away, when I watched it on Cheese TV I was surprised it had been mostly cut away.
As for the films, I have the madman releases (complete with awesome metal soundtracks) and the uncut release and I honestly can’t tell you if this scene was removed, I always remember Trunks flipping off Broly but with so many versions I can’t be sure if it’s just corrupting my memory.
Weirdest thing about this is the English versions copped the censoring of the swearing because the Japanese version was considered to be inappropriate, now we have the uncut remasters of the English version and Japan is censoring theirs, what a flip.
I’ve got the entire Dragon Ball Z series on box set DVDs (its a lot of DVDs!) With them you got both the English and the Japanese versions its surprising how much is slightly altered or completely edited between the two.
Too vague and clunky, dude. This part here would have added a much needed piece of reasoning behind the topic had it been expanded upon.