Funi Simulcasts Baka Test, Vampire Bund
FUNimation made the surprise announcement yesterday that they had licensed two anime series that are currently airing in Japan as part of the Winter anime season- Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu, & Dance in the Vampire Bund. In addition to licensing these two titles, Funi will also be simulcasting them as well. Both series went live today on FUNimation's official video portal, though the simulcasts wont really begin until next week. The first two episodes of BakaTest were added, along with the first four episodes of Vampire Bund. & next week we can expect the newest episodes straight out of Japan to arrive, along with more back catalog episodes. As such, both series have now been removed from NebsTV, where they'd been unofficially simulcasted until now.
The timing for all this is pretty odd considering we're more than halfway through the season, & that both shows are due to conclude this month. Why start now? Why weren't these started back in January like all the other simulcasts? Why these two series out of all the Winter shows not currently already streaming on Crunchyroll? It really just seems so out of the blue at this point. About a year ago FUNimation really seemed interested in giving CR a run for their simulcast money by not only getting big titles like One Piece & FullMetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, but with a smaller series like Phantom as well. But since then they haven't gotten any new simulcasts & didn't really seem interested in getting any more.
Baka to Test is having its English name changed to "Baka and Test- Summon the Beasts." Which just sounds like a really odd translation. Gotta wonder if they were forced to use that title by the Japanese publisher or something. & then we have Vampire Bund, which has caused a HUGE amount of controversy when the videos went up on Funi's website. The episodes were edited to take out Mina Tepes' nudity, who is the very young looking lolita vampire main character. Now, editing the online streams is one thing. FUNimation has done this at least once before with Strike Witches, a series which also contains naked young girls. The problem though is that Funi also clarified that the DVDs & Blu-Ray versions will ALSO BE EDITED:
FUNimation Entertainment is known for releasing the titles we license in their original, uncut form, as their creators intended. However, after viewing the unedited as well as the Japanese broadcast edit of the series Dance in the Vampire Bund, we have determined the series contains controversial elements which, when taken out of context, could be objectionable to some audiences.
With this in mind and with approval of the licensor, we will edit select scenes from the series in streaming and home entertainment release. These are scenes which are inappropriate for U.S. viewing and are not essential to the storyline.
Dance in the Vampire Bund is a complex and dark drama cited by press and fans as one of the best anime series out of Japan this season. Its strong story is what brought the series to our attention and why we are bringing it to the U.S.
Ummm, what? Did we travel back in time ten years or something to a time when FUNimation only released edited DVDs? Seriously Funi, what the HELL? The anger & portrayal I feel from this has nothing to do with me wanting naked lolis, but I will NOT stand for any kind of censorship! Why even bothering licensing this series if you are too afraid to release it uncut?!
& that's what it all seem to come down to- fear. If you've been following the news of Chris Handley know that the man was recently convicted & given severe punishment for being in possession of hentai & adult doujinshi that depicted minors in sexual acts. He was charged with child pornography, even though everything in his possession were mere drawings & cartoons & no actual photographs of real minors. Now the deeper reasoning behind his conviction is more complicated than I have time or energy to go into, but that's basically the jiff of it. People are saying that because we live in a "post-Handley world" that FUNimation is too chicken sh#t to release a series like Vampire Bund uncensored. If there's actually any truth behind this, than I am EXTREMELY disappointed in them. Releasing edited-only anime in this modern age because of content issues is absolutely unacceptable, especially when the content really isn't that bad! I mean sure you got a naked character who looks like a young girl (even though she's like 500 years old), but this is NOT new to anime or even FUNimation. Just this month they'll be releasing the scandalous Strike Witches anime, which they've again reassured wont be edited at all despite having naked little girls in it.
My favorite part is where FUNimation says "These are scenes which are inappropriate for U.S. viewing." Who the HELL are you to decide what's inappropriate or not for me to watch?! Seriously, what the hell kind of stupid BS statement is that?! Having edited-only Vampire Bund is unacceptable & I will NOT be supporting this release. Mind you that Seven Seas is releasing the much racier Vampire Bund manga in the US completely unedited, & somehow that's okay. Somehow it's okay to release a title like Rin completely unedited despite having a young looking girl having actual sex (a scene they even promote on the official site!). & it's not like Mina Tepes is having sex in the anime version either, she's just naked.
FUNimation has been deemed the savior of the American anime community for some time now, but now they do this? A company that promised to always give us unlicensed anime? & now they expect to sell THIS? Not to mention the biggest market for Vampire Bund are those anime fans who DO wanna see Mina naked. Who do they expect will buy this thing now? & worst of all, this is a slippery slope we find ourselves on. Today it's characters who merely look like a loli, but then what? All anime nudity? & after that violence will be edited out? & what's after that? This is why censorship is evil. This is why it shouldn't exist, why a country like the United States of America which prides itself in freedom SHOULDN'T BE TOLD what's "inappropriate for our viewing."
The worst part is how unnecessary this all is. FUNimation is being scared for no reason. Stuff like this has been released in the past, Vampire Bund is no different. No one will get in trouble if uncut Vampire Bund gets released. Not anyone at Funi, not anyone who buys the DVDs. The absolute cowardice Funi is showing here is unbelievable. If they're too scared, than simply don't release it here at all. That's all there is to it. Doing so only gets fans pissed at you. This isn't right, FUNimation, & I am VERY disappointed in you. You will not be getting support from me on this title, & overall I am now looking at you in a very different & disappointed light. It's not too late to change things though, & we can only pray they do.
I despise censorship. I hate others deciding what's appropriate for me to watch. & currently I am very, very upset with FUNimation. This is NOT right.
Sources: http://blog.funimation.com/2010/03/baka-and-test-dance-in-the-vampire-bund
http://blog.funimation.com/2010/03/baka-and-test-dance-in-the-vampire-bund-now-live-on-funimation-com