Censored Gaming has reported many times in the past about how the localization process
can affect the portrayal of smoking.
Worldwide governments and age ratings often put strong pressure on companies to remove
tobacco references from their products.
Anime and many video games are produced in Japan where such rules are more lax, so localizing
these properties can mean censoring tobacco use.
So, without further ado, let’s take a look at ten times videogames and anime have censored
smoking.
Number One: One Piece Licensed by 4kids entertainment in 2004, One
Piece, the shounen hit about a group of pirates led by Monkey D. Luffy, has suffered from
a number of localization issues.
Along with violence, smoking was common in the original anime and 4Kids heavily censored
it for US distribution.
Notoriously, Sanji, the cook of the straw hat pirates, had his chain smoking habit transformed
into a lollipop fixation.
Rather than being digitally removed, 4kids redrew all Sanji’s cigarettes into candy.
Other characters didn’t fare much better.
The Marine officer Smoker had his name changed to “Chaser” and had his twin cigars edited
out.
The smoke coming from his mouth was attributed to eating a “smoke smoke” devil fruit.
Even after Funimation took over the project in 2007, the TV version continued to face
censorship.
While Funimation restored many elements like real guns, smoking was deemed unacceptable
for Cartoon network and was edited out.
Fortunately though, Funimation released unedited DVD’s, appeasing fans of the series.
Number Two: Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal.
Pokémon is a storied franchise in both the videogame and anime word.
It also has a long history of censorship across the franchise.
Pokémon has routinely altered video game character designs to remove sexually suggestive
or religious themes, but the redesigns don’t end there.
In the classic second generation of Pokémon the fisherman trainer originally had a smoking
habit,in keeping with the Japanese fisherman stereotype.
In the original art you can see the little cigarette sticking out of the fisherman’s
mouth.
But international versions removed the offending cigarette, leaving the Pokémon trainer smokeless.
Furthermore, for the final second generation release, Pokémon Crystal, the cigarette was
then removed from the Japanese version as well, matching the earlier Western change.
Number Three: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Censorship is not limited to countries outside
Japan.
While more lax then in the west, they have their own standards and practices.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has a long history of censorship both in the west and in Japan
due to the level of violence found in the anime and videogames.
But once again, censorship did not stop with violence.
Since 2014, Japanese broadcasts of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure have covered over Jotaro
Kujo’s underage smoking habit with a bizarre shadow effect.
Before 2014 the smoking was uncensored and can be seen in older DVD’s.
The shadow does nothing to hide the fact that he’s smoking, it just obscures the details.
The rising smoke and the cigarette’s flame are clearly visible.
The other characters even point out that he’s smoking.
Ironically, American networks have often added censorship to anime, but when Jojo’s Bizarre
Adventure came to Toonami in 2016 the programing block aired it uncensored.
Number Four: Streets of Rage 2 The early nineties' Streets of Rage was a
series of beat ‘em up games in the style of Double Dragon.
Published by Sega, the game series is also known as the Bare Knuckle series in Japan.
Compared to many video games of the time, Streets of Rage and Streets of Rage 2 had
very little censorship.
The first game was released uncensored outside of Japan.
The second game however suffered from a few censorship issues, one of these including
tobacco use.
In the Japanese version of Streets of Rage 2, the crime lord and main antagonist of the
series, Mr. X enjoys a cigar in the background before the last battle, casting it away before
joining the fight.
International releases of the game removed the offending object.
The related animation where he throws the cigar away before joining the fight was also
removed.
Number five: Yu Yu Hakusho The classic supernatural battle classic Yu
Yu Hakusho suffered censorship both in Japan and abroad.
Smoking is a common feature of the original manga and anime.
Several characters indulge in it, such as Yusuke’s mother, his teacher Genkai, along
with several villains and side characters.
In keeping with Toonami’s standards and practices, censors edited the anime to avoid
showing tobacco use.
Even in cases where it’s integral to the plot, censors chose to cut out segments of
the show rather than expose viewers to smoking.
In episode 11, a scene where Yusuke explains how he used a thrown away cigarette to keep
track of an enemy in total darkness was cut out.
But even before the anime came to the US, Yu Yu Hakusho faced censorship issues over
smoking.
Yusuke himself smoked in the original manga but this was not included even in the Japanese
version of the anime.
Most likely, censors felt it would be best not to portray the fourteen year old hero
as a smoker.
Number Six: Mario’s Picross Developed by Jupiter and Nintendo and released
in 1995 for the Game Boy, Mario’s Picross didn’t include characters that smoked but
did include an ash tray puzzle with a still smoking cigarette.
The game included sixty four puzzles.
When the player solves them they each display a different image.
The depiction of the ash tray was too indicative of smoking for censors.
Censors removed the offending image, and replaced it with a buddy rabbit.
They also removed several depictions of alcohol beverages and Japanese cultural artifacts.
These were replaced with more innocuous or culturally neutral images.
For instance, as shown here, localizers replaced an image of a Buddhist deity with a picture
of chili peppers.
Number seven: The Big O The Big O, the sci-fi mystery anime about
a post-apocalyptic city that lost its memories, was a beloved among western audiences, but
its Toonami heavily censored its initial release.
Famously, many references to religion were removed from the TV cut, but other targets
for censors were The Big O‘s violence and depiction of tobacco use.
Censors either cut or digitally altered scenes featuring smoking, nearly erasing any references
to tobacco use from the show.
There is an odd twist here.
Despite the edits, the initial Toonami run was incredibly popular.
So much so that Sunrise and Cartoon network Studios joined forces to produce a second
season.
In 2003, Adult Swim began airing the series uncut and released the new second season in
the same fashion.
Number eight: Megaman X7 Megaman X7, or Rockman X7 in Japan, came out
to mixed reviews, but in terms of censorship it got off quite light.
However censors were not willing to turn a blind eye to the presence of tobacco products.
Near the beginning of Megaman X7 the game shows a Reploid named Aluce conducting a shady
business deal.
Throughout the short video he smokes a cigar.
The cigar is somewhat stylized, featuring an exaggerated shape and an off colored flame.
Moreover the smoker himself is a non-human robot, but neither of these facts dissuaded
localizers from removing the appearance of smoking from the game.
In international releases they edited out the cigar completely.
Number nine: Resident Evil The original Resident Evil has gone through
a few incarnations, including a complete remake, but it’s the first game, for the PlayStation
which has a problem with smoking.
In the Japanese version of the game, STARS member Chris Redfield is a smoker and in the
opening intro he lights up a cigarette.
In most international versions however they replaced this scene with a montage of different
shots.
Interestingly, though, you can still hear the sound of Chris’s cigarette lighter in
the background.
This censorship also affected Chris' bad ending, with the Japanese versions showing a depressed
and disheveled Chris Redfield light a cigarette and start smoking.
In most international version the scene cuts out early.
Adding insult to injury an “uncensored” director’s cut was released a year later
in 1997 with all the censorship intact thanks to a localization error.
Thankfully the same year a PC version was released which finally gave western fans an
uncensored version of the game
Were almost done but there's time for one more.
Number ten: Rurouni Kenshin In 2003, Toonami’s airing of Rurouni Kenshin,
the story of a former assassin with a vow to never kill again, was not only widely popular,
but often pushed the envelope of what the programing block could get away with.
But the series still didn't air without heavy censorship of violence, cursing and tobacco
use.
While Japanese shounen anime rarely show underage characters engaging in drug use, that rule
does not apply to adult characters.
They are often shown drinking alcohol or smoking.
These are common activates in Rurouni Kenshin’s unusually mature setting of Meiji era Japan.
The show would be incredibly difficult to show in its original context without keeping
some of these elements.
Cartoon Network’s 2003 running of the anime didn't remove these elements entirely but
did try to tone them down.
Perhaps Saito Hajime: the former Shinsengumi captain and series anti-hero, suffered the
worse from this.
But the edits were inconsistent.
In one episode Saito’s cigarette became a toothpick while in another scene he was
smoking again.
Censorship is a wide field and Censored Gaming is committed to covering all types of censorship,
whatever it may be.
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and, until next time, thank you for watching.