The Dragon Ball series has left a legacy and attracted fans all across the world with its intriguing concept. The Japanese animation series was not always depicted in the way that they wanted. During the dub, there were a few changes made to reduce the impact of the gags, which Toriyama is known for.
Many actions were taken to reduce Dragon Ball to an ‘appropriate’ level. For instance, Dragon Ball Z saw heavy censorship during its early American run, a lot of scenes were cut, the music was changed, and the impact of many events was not conveyed properly.
Of these, there was one episode was deemed too controversial and dark to air. Unlike other episodes in which cuts and changes had to be made, the episode “Plight of the Children” was completely excluded from being aired.
The DBZ episode that never made it to air
Toriyama included a lot of ideas and tropes in his writing, making it expansive and interesting. But ‘Plight of the Children’ was seen as mature and dealing with a lot of elements that the distributor believed were not necessary to be witnessed by the American audience.
The episode explored Gohan’s encounter with a group of orphans struggling to survive after a tsunami. Saban, the distributor responsible for the early U.S. dub, chose to cut it entirely.
FUNimation’s Gen Fukunaga revealed that they had constant clashes with Saban over censorship. They believed that many times, the censorship was a little over the top, but when all was said and done, all of those episodes were aired. This one was outright banned and cut out.
Unlike the usual action-heavy DBZ episodes, with thrill and power being the focus, this one focused on themes of child abandonment, poverty, and even crime.
Why “Plight of the Children” was deemed too dark
Gohan bonds with the orphans steals food with them, and seems to mature as he decides to train with Piccolo instead of returning to his mother, Chi-Chi. It’s an emotional episode that portrays Gohan’s growth, but it is considered to be harmful to the kids.
In an interview with Gen Fukunaga, former CEO of FUNimation, it was revealed how the Dragon Ball Z series went through a lot of censorship in America-
That was a requirement of our distributer, Saban. We had a lot of arguments with them, saying they were going way to far with the censorship, but they would refuse to air it unless it was cut to their liking. In fact, I recall one show that we censored a little less than usual, and they just refused to air it.
Saban was already infamous for inserting awkward dialogue changes, the end result was awkward, but the core essence remained intact. But even he was helpless, as none of his tricks could have saved this episode.
Ultimately, the decision to ban “Plight of the Children” reflects the strict censorship policies of the time. In the modern day, with anime getting accepted as a mainstream entertainment medium, it would not just be for the children.
Dragon Ball Z is available to watch on Crunchyroll.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
