Ask John: How Can We Recognize Editing in Anime?

Question:
Is there a way of knowing whether the American VHS/DVD releases of anime are truly and unequivocally uncut and uncensored as we all assume they are? I know some hentai titles also release a general edited version but what about other “mainstream” titles?

Answer:
I wish I could give you a solid answer for this question, but I ca not, at least, not easily. You mention that some adult titles release general and adult versions, but even that is not always a trustworthy indication. For example, Angel of Darkness 1-3 are all labeled as “uncut, uncensored,” while part 4 is only labeled as “uncensored” because AD Vision simply edited out all of the scenes that included digital mosaic censoring. In terms of mainstream anime, Sony’s release of the Street Fighter movie came in general release and “mature, unrated” versions, but even the “mature” version is missing some scenes from the Japanese version. The introduction of digital editing brings in yet another degree of editing. As just a few examples, titles like Nadesico, Manga’s release of Castle Cagliostro, the first two US seasons of Dragonball Z and the domestic DVD version of Evangelion contain digital editing: all of the original Japanese kanji and kana writing have been digitally replaced with English. In terms of absolute purist mentality, there are almost no domestic anime releases that do not have at least the original Japanese title screen replaced with an American one. Unfortunately, the only real way to find out whether US anime titles are truly uncut is to either be familiar with the original Japanese version, or to keep you ear to the ground, and listen to reports and reviews posted on on-line anime news sites and reviews from other fans, for example, the Anime’ No Editing Zone website.