Manga Censorship, Part Two.

Sorry about not posting sooner, but I've had a slight case of writer's block, and still do to an extent, but I'm going to try to write through it.

Right now, there are a few possible things I'd like to see happen concerning manga publishers in the near future.

1) Each publisher needs to state their stance on editting, and enforce it across the board. I think that more people are annoyed not by the edits, but by how inconsistant they are. If there is a clear policy on what is and isn't going to make it, people might have less of a problem with edits happening(which is unlikely, really, but let's pretend it isn't). If a company has several different imprints (like Viz), then there needs to be a seperate policy for each imprint. But the important thing is that they stand by it, because if it's the slightest bit inaccurate, then consumers will lose trust in the company.

This one seems the most likely to happen, simply because the fanbase is going to force the publishers to say something to shut them up.

2) All the publishers should get together and create an universal rating board, similar to the MPAA and the ESRB, which would define what exactly would and could be allowed to get each rating. While this wouldn't nessarily stop edits from happening, this would force publishers to become more consistant, and afford them a certain amount of protection from possible legal action (if this is why the edits are being made).

Not too likely right now, as each company already has their own rating systems in place. But, this is still something I'd like to see happen.

3) Stop editting the artwork to force it into a lower rating. Seriously. If this is because publishers are concerned about legal action, well... it's too late now. Most companies already have uneditted, older material available on bookshelves now that could upset parents and other such groups, and it's very unlikely that it'll be editted in later printings. If anything, such as the case of Tenjho Tenge, edits makes things worse, since they're trying to shoehorn adult material into something for teenagers, and failing miserably. The effort spent by doing such edits would be better used by working more closely with the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, or by forming a simlar fund for foreign comics.

And if it's because they're just trying to make money... well, if it works, then nothing I or anyone else says is going to do any good.

My opinion on the edits? On general principle, I don't like it. But I don't really care about most of the titles (as I've said, I just think the editted TT is just stupid and really, immoral), so I'm not terribly upset about it. And there's the fact as long as they're making money off of the editted titles, then there's not a damn thing that can be done. They will continue to do so. But since this is an industry that markets itself as being uncensored, and it has comics for everyone, editting titles so that teenagers (that cursed demographic) will buy them is pretty depressing.

So what can people do about it?

If they truly care, then the easiest thing to do is to not buy it. Whether or not this will accomplish anything remains to be seen, but if nothing else, you're not wasting your money supporting a product that you feel isn't up to your standards, or the standards that the company is supposed to represent.

Write them letters. Real letters, and not e-mails. The fact that you actually cared enough to write something on paper will get more attention. Whether or not it will get the response you want remains to be seen, but it's worth a shot.

Spread the word. A lot of people aren't going to know about these edits, and informing them will fix that. Maybe they won't care, but they won't be able to claim ignorance about it.

The upcoming months will be important, because convention season is upon us (which means company panels and press releases), and we'll soon be seeing sales figures of these editted books. If these protests have worked, then sales should be low, and we might be able to get some answers out of these companies. If not... well, if it bothers you enough, you might need to consider a different hobby, because things won't be changing anytime soon.