The Death of Anime Will Not Be Televised

The director behind one of my favorite series of the last decade, Gundam SEED, has stirred up discussion with his comments on the anime industry, specifically stating regulation and censorship has hamstrung the industry. You can see the Anime News Network article about it here. Is he right? Is there even a problem?

I will answer the second question first, as I think that will answer the first one implicitly. That answer is no.

From the examples and the complaints espoused by Mr. Mitsuo Fukuda, he does seem to be talking about stuff like certain foul language or nudity. He mentions how scenes like the one in Seed with Flay would have been impossible. He is likely talking about the scene where Flay sleeps with Kira. 

Here is the problem with his argument. First, that scene wasn't exactly "uncensored". They weren't shown in the act, and any shot of her nude or partially nude is so fleeting to be as easily forgotten in the scheme of the series. That raises the question of how important actually having her nude is for the scene or the story. That isn't to discount the importance of her role for the story, but let's not pretend simply showing a naked Flay would make all that much difference to the understanding of the events of the series at that point.  

Second, there are many scenes in anime that are just as, if not more, uncensored today than anything back then. You don't even have to go looking that far. Take a look at this season's No Game, No Life. Episode 6 is almost an entire episode of moderately censored nudity of an entire female cast. 

In general one of the things most anime fans and critics have complained about over the last decade or so has been the growth in regularity of things like that scene from Seed in all sorts of anime. It's to the point now that no matter the anime it's a given that somewhere between episode 5 and 8 there will be at least one episode that will, by some manner of excuse or contrived situation, have the cast in bathing suits. Do we really need to see them all naked to think that some issue of anime will be solved? 

If it's blood you're talking about, Attack on Titan showed plenty of blood. It didn't go too deep into the gore aspect, but again, how many shows did that a decade or more ago. It was on the other end of things back then. They still didn't show the actual death, but the lead up, whereas they cut to the aftermath nowadays. For giant robot shows that meant showing characters engulfed in smoke. You know when they cut to the scene of the cockpit exploding or fire erupting what happens. Seeing the actual deed has never been a part of any television  broadcast, so to label approaching that moment from a different direction "censoring" is inaccurate. 

If there is an issue with anime nowadays it is not censorship. Censorship exists, there is no question about that. But that hasn't made animators or writers use such situations any less. If anything, it's given them cover to do it more often, as all they need do is have some convenient camera angles, or steam, or fog, or inexplicable beams of light, or even completely out of place stamps, and they can do whatever they want behind it, cleaning it up later for their uncensored DVD/Blu-ray releases.

As I've said before, I don't think there is anything wrong with the anime industry as it is now. I pose another question; why are Van Gogh and Bach renowned in their craft? Because enough people liked what they did that it became popular and set the standard. It is those with money and influence that shape what is popular and considered artistic. They set precedent and all later works are judged against that bar. It is why I loathe to hear people struggle to forge an excuse for why they like or don't like something. 

Kill la Kill is a stupid show. It is extremely stupid. It is also one of the best shows in the last several years. It is stupid, but it's fun. Trying to invent a deep meaning behind the show is pointless. Again, talking about the censorship factor, KlaK had a scene of similar significance but arguably more perverse depictions than the scene Mr. Fukuda notes from Seed. They managed to get their point across despite the sanction and censorship Mr. Fukuda is concerned with. Madoka Magica is considered a modern classic, yet once more it had a very gory scene early on, showing a young girl beheaded. The show on a whole dealt with somewaht mature tones and story, all while under the supposed yoke of the regulation and censorship that is being blamed right now.

So what's is the conclusion? There is no problem with anime right now, it's just that the older fans are growing up, the scene is changing to suit the newer crowd coming in, and unlike in generations past there is a vehicle for griping about how "things aren't like they used to be". Chances are that any type of anime you liked in the 80s or 90s is around today for you to find. It may not be as popular as your own show was back in the day, but that's because there are a lot more shows for it to compete with, and the tastes of the public have changed from back then. You may not always like the results, but that's just part of a changing world.