Ask John: Will Uncut Naruto Succeed or Fail in America?

Question:
Like many Naruto fans I eagerly anticipate the 13 episode uncut box set that is slated to be released this July. Unfortunately I have a bad feeling that this privilege is going to be short lived. With numerous fans hating the dub for various nonsensical reasons and those who consider the fansubs to be an “accurate” translation rather than something that was accurately subbed by a professional, I foresee fans having to stick with a single volume DVD release due to lack of support from the fan side. What is your opinion Viz’s decision to release these uncut box sets? Probable success or dismal failure?

Answer:
I’m no more adept at predicting the future than anyone else, and, in fact, it’s not uncommon for my predictions to be proven incorrect. More than once I’ve predicted that an anime series was unlikely to ever get an American release, only to see it licensed shortly later. Particularly with the domestic release of Naruto I can’t make any concrete statements, but it’s certainly fun to speculate. I didn’t expect the Cartoon Network edit of Naruto to perform well on domestic DVD, and within the hardcore anime fan community, Viz’s edited dub only Naruto DVDs don’t seem to sell very well. But the release was a significant success, presumably among mainstream consumers. Considering that the first release of Naruto didn’t exactly perform as I’d expected it to, I’m hesitant to guess how the second DVD release will fare.

The uncut, bilingual DVD release of Naruto is theoretically what American Naruto fans have been waiting for and demanding. Consequently, the first uncut Naruto DVD boxed set may be expected to sell briskly. However, there may be several factors that could prevent the uncut Naruto DVDs from reaching their full sales potential in America including decreasing word of mouth and an illogical fan backlash.

During the year before its official American premier, Naruto was one of the most requested anime titles I heard from consumers. When Naruto was only available in America through underground fan distribution, it became a “must have” show that everyone wanted to watch. However, the past year’s worth of poorly reviewed Japanese episodes and the show’s mainstream American success have subdued a lot of the American fan community’s interest in Naruto. Naruto is no longer a “must watch” program because its current and recent episodes aren’t compelling. And the fact that it’s now broadcast on the Cartoon Network exposes the series to a wider audience, but also eliminates much of the trendy underground credibility that the show once had within America’s fan community. Some of the eager anticipation for Naruto has simply dissipated from the height of the fan community’s interest in the show a year ago.

The official distribution of the Naruto anime in America, ironically, may also cost the title some sales. Many American Naruto fans of long standing may feel possessive about the show. When Naruto was only available to Americans through illicit fan distribution, its fans were an isolated community. Naruto was a private treasure only available to select viewers who knew how to get it. But when Naruto got an official, mainstream American release, it suddenly went from being a private treasure shared by hardcore fans to being an easily available commodity accessible to neophytes and mainstream viewers. A percentage of America’s Naruto fans who judged their position in the fan community by their stratification may now try to distance themselves from the title in order to once again establish their position. A similar situation occurred with Dragonball Z. Being a Dragonball Z fan was “cool” when the show was obscure and unknown in America, but as soon as it became mainstream, it became passé and being a Dragonball Z fan was suddenly deemed immature, inexperienced, or novice. Although Naruto fans should be pleased and excited about the forthcoming uncut DVD boxed set, I’m sure that some American fans will illogically and spitefully oppose the release based on selfish pride.

Amateur fan translations have no guarantees of quality or accuracy, but neither do professional, commercial translations. Fans expect fansubs to be as relatively accurate because of the motivation and dedication of fan translators, and the freedom non-profit translations have. Consumers expect commercial translations to be accurate because they’re professional works, and because professional translators may have access to original Japanese language scripts that fan translators do not have access to. Fan translations can contain errors because they’re done quickly by amateur translators with limited resources. Commercial translations may make compromises in order to heighten accessibility for viewers. But as of now, there’s no justifiable reason to avoid supporting the uncut Naruto DVDs from Viz. Since there have been no advance reviews yet, there has been no reason given for fans not to support the legitimate domestic release of the uncut Naruto anime. The uncut DVD releases of Shaman King and Yu-Gi-Oh were commercial failures in America in part because FUNimation produced uncut DVDs with inaccurate subtitle translations, which hardcore fans boycotted. But if the uncut Naruto DVDs don’t perform well, due to no fault of their own, it will ultimately be fans and the American anime industry that suffer. Viz won’t continue releasing anime DVDs that don’t sell, and domestic licensors won’t invest in titles or won’t produce authentic, unedited releases if consumers don’t buy them.

My pessimistic side won’t be highly surprised if the first uncut Naruto DVD set doesn’t sell well, but I hope that it does sell well. And logically it should sell at least as well as the edited version DVDs, if not better. Theoretically all of the consumers that refrained from buying the edited DVDs, such as myself, will buy the unedited discs, and some of the consumers that did buy with edited discs will upgrade to the uncut, bilingual release. We’ll have an impression, if not a formal confirmation, of the fan community’s support for Viz’s uncut Naruto DVDs beginning next week when they officially go on sale.