Fans of Japanese comics are in awe after perusing Malaysia’s Attack on Titan censorship.
A report from Anime Senpai recently shared a tweet from a Japanese manga fan about a panel from the release of the Malaysian hit series. The photo in question shows a collection of Giant Giants walking across the land, taking part in “The Rumble”. However, instead of the typical completely skinless look, they are modified to wear pants. AOT fans who saw this for the first time after its release two years ago shared their thoughts, with the person posting the tweet claiming they couldn’t “stop laughing”.
Attack on Titan fans think about censorship
Many users responded to the tweet, expressing their confusion with the image. Some questioned why AOT’s notorious display of violence was acceptable and not the bottom half of a giant. Another user pointed out that the characters don’t have genitals so it’s pointless to cover them up. Some even suggested that adding clothes to the characters somehow made the product appear more “erotic” than before.
One Twitter user also questioned the censorship, bringing up the topic of Female Titan. They considered whether the publisher would add pants and bras before responding to their comment with an accusing look at the manga. As shown below, the character is depicted in a swimsuit, which covers the entire body. Many of the other answers have more snapshots of the censored artwork, showing characters like Warhammer Titan and Cart Titan. However, the article mentions that there is no official confirmation on whether this is a fan edit at the time of writing.
Censorship in Anime and Manga Industry
Censorship in the animation industry is nothing new, as internationally released Japanese productions have a long history of editing and alteration. There have been many notable cases of characters with suggestive designs receiving censorship in countries like Indonesia, India, China, etc. In some cases, LGBTQ+ themes were also removed, such as such as in Requiem of the Rose King’s censorship. Some anime, such as Puni Puni Poemy, have been banned outright.
Attack on Titan, written by Hajime Isayama, is one of the most prominent works in modern animemanga. The anime adaptation, directed by Studio MAPPA, is coming to an end soon, with a recent key visual that is said to serve as the final new poster for the series. The series is available to stream on Crunchyroll, with the final episode slated to release in the fall of 2023.
Source: Twitter via Anime Senpai