Weren't we just doing this last week? Has the "Tenjho Tenge" controversy taught all the manga companies nothing about censorship? I mean, considering how much negative publicity DC Comics has been getting in the newspapers and online websites about the censorship in "Tenjho Tenge," you'd think that other companies would learn from their mistakes. Apparently, someone at Viz hasn't been paying attention to the controversy surrounding censored manga, and now they are paving the way to steal some of the controversy spotlight away from DC. According to a thread started at the Anime on DVD.com forums here, Viz has edited their upcoming release "I''s" by covering up breast nipples with stars. Yes, you heard me: Stars. Now when it comes to Viz making some changes to their manga, I think I would have to say that I've been more tolerant about their changes then some people have been (Beware: I'm going to be briefly defending editing). I didn't oppose the name changes with "Detective Conan" because I was aware that that decision was made by the Japanese publisher, and that nothing could be done about it. I didn't mind it when Viz added a DVD player in "Maison Ikkoku," because even though VHS and Beta were top of the line equipment back in the 80's, in the 90's they are obsolete, and adding the DVD player was probably, more or less, added to drive in the fact that Yusuke's rival was definitely a guy who kept up to speed on the latest technology.

HOWEVER (and that's a big however), I do NOT condone pointless censoring! When I wrote my review for "Ultimate Muscle," I had no choice but to give it a low grade since some of the series comical nudity was (poorly) censored. What bugged me most though, was that there was no reason to censor it. "Ultimate Muscle" was launched under the "Shonen Jump Advanced" label, which meant that it was being marketed to older teens and adults instead of young teens. When Viz finally "announced" the "Shonen Jump Advanced" lineup to the world, they announced that "Hunter x Hunter," "I''s," and "Eyeshield 21," would be the titles to launch the "Shonen Jump Advance" lineup. When people pointed out that "Ultimate Muscle" had already been released under the label, Viz told everyone that that series doesn't really count since the series was released censored and before the guidelines of what the "Shonen Jump Advance" label was were established, and that these new series would be what "Shonen Jump Advance" was really about: Uncut, uncensored manga geared at older teens and adults. Well, from the looks of things, this statement appears to be entirely false, as two of the three titles look to be censored and/or toned-down for American audiences. As stated above, "I''s" has had some retouching of the artwork, and stars have been added to cover up nipples. In "Eyeshield 21," one of the main characters use's the 'f' word a lot, and Viz appears to be eliminating that word all together.

The toning down of "Eyeshield 21" doesn't bother me as much as the "I''s" editing does (I find the 'f' word to be extremely crude and offensive), but here's my problem with the editing: If Viz is just going to edit these series, then why bother creating the "Shonen Jump Advance" lineup in the first place? After all, aren't you creating the "Shonen Jump Advance" label so that you CAN release more mature "Shonen Jump" titles without censoring them?! Aren't the people you created this lineup for is the fans who were afraid that the more mature "Shonen Jump" titles would get censored, and that you were creating "Shonen Jump Advance" so that you could assure the fans that these series WOULDN'T be censored?! Not only is what your doing taking all this a step in the wrong direction, not only does this release make you all a bunch of lying scumbags (yes, I don't mind telling you the truth), but this whole situation makes the creation of the "Shonen Jump Advance" label USELESS!! Absolutely useless. Viz, this thing is just mind boggling. After all the complaints you've gotten about censoring in the past, how you guys were one of the pioneering companies for uncensored manga out there, and that you looked fans in the eye and told them that these titles would be uncut, after all that you go back to censorship. I don't agree with most of the AoD forum posters say, but even I have to side with them when they get frustrated with you. I must admit also admit that I'm "getting sick and tired of this &^@#" too.

Now some people keep pointing out that the "Shonen Jump" name has become so popular with kids, that releasing series with heavy content under any "Shonen Jump" label, could potentially cause some commotion. Well Viz, this is probably true. So let me introduce you to company called Del Rey, who had similar worries over a manga they were releasing called "Negima," written by comic genius Ken Akamatsu. Del Rey was originally going to censor all the nudity in manga and release it as a Teen rated series. Fans protested, and Del Rey put a (removable) warning sticker on the cover, shrink wrapped it, and the Older Teen rating was restored. Del Rey pointed out that no one complained, the problem was solved, and "Negima" went on to become a best seller. This would be the ideal way to approach the "Shonen Jump Advance" books. Shrink wrap them, put on the removable warning sticker, and a disclaimer on the first page warning parents that "Shonen Jump Advance" books are intended for older audiences, and that kids shouldn't read them. This could be done for the first several releases until "Shonen Jump Advance" has been clearly established as being a completely different animal from "Shonen Jump," and it would make the fans happy. Hey, you do this for series like "Saikano," so why not these series? Now I do have to play devil's associate for a minute here.

While the censorship of "I''s" is extremely disappointing and frustrating, we have to be open to the possibility that Viz isn't completely responsible for these stars. Considering how many panty shots, suggestive poses, and other adult situations are contained within this series, I find it strange that Viz would single out the nipples as being the most offensive thing in this series, especially when you consider that Rumiko Takashi's "Ranma ½" series has more nipples in one single chapter of a book then "I''s" has in several books combined. Why would the nipples bother Viz here? Chances are they didn't. Now before you jump all over me, keep in mind that the author of "I''s" is Masakazu Katsura, who also created the hit manga "Video Girl Ai." Now Katsura main concern is, first and foremost, money. Out of all the manga artists in Japan, Katsura has a reputation for compromising his art and stories if it will make him just a few hundred more yen. When some lower half female nudity in "Video Girl Ai" caused a slight controversy in Japan, Katsura censored his own manga. Why? Simple: He didn't want controversy that could effect how many copies of "Video Girl Ai" he sold. I'm going to go as far as to say that I don't even really think Katsura even really cares whether his series is good or not. He could intentionally make a piece of crap, but as long as it sells and makes money he's happy.

He's flexible, he's never shown much respect to his own works, and while fans are saying how disappointed they are they he doesn't fight for his art, I honestly don't really believes he cares for his art so much as he does how much his art can make him money. So there is a chance that Katsura himself told Viz to censor "I''s" the way they did...in fact, if I remember correctly, from book 3 and onwards, stars do appear over the girls nipples in the series, and I KNOW Viz isn't responsible for THOSE!!! So who's at fault here? Who knows for sure. However, regardless who's at fault, the point is that what is happened to the "Shonen Jump Advance" titles is a dirty shame. Hopefully "Eyeshield 21" and "Hunter x Hunter" will turn out better. In the mean time though, I guess fans will just have to decide whether or not these black stars is enough to keep them away from the series. If fans decide that these stars are unacceptable though, then I can't say I blame them. I don't think I'll be picking up "I''s" anytime soon myself. "Shonen Jump Advanced." What's the fricken point it?

P.S. On a final note, there is a new website that is tracking the edits and translation hiccups of "Shonen Jump" properties. While I do not fully agree with everything this site says, many of you may be interested in knowing what is going on with the magazine.

- -Kevin T. Rodriguez- -