‘Naruto’ studio president: Censorship of anime weakens its global popularity
By Ryan General
16 days ago
The president of the anime studio behind “Naruto” and “Bleach” believes that self-censoring anime to appeal to overseas audiences will ultimately hurt its global appeal and make the content “boring.”
Key points:
- Michiyuki Honma, president of animation studio Pierrot, made the comments in an interview with Japanese entertainment news outlet Natalie.
- He said that toning down anime’s content would make it unappealing to overseas viewers.
- Honma mentioned how “Naruto” found success by not heavily censoring its overseas release.
Catch up:
- Moden viewers say they mainly consume anime from mainstream platforms like Netflix, Hulu and Prime Video. Crunchyroll, which helped popularize anime to the global audience over the past decade, is still a popular choice among Gen-Z viewers.
The details:
- During the interview, Honma opened up on the overseas success of “Naruto,” “Naruto Shippuden” and “Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.”
- He noted that “Naruto” was less censored for violence and fanservice than some other shonen anime of its era. Honma said that this decision paid off, helping make it one of the most popular anime of all time.
- Honma lamented how some anime studios have censored their content in an effort to make it more appealing to a wider audience.
Tangent:
- In addition to the Naruto franchise, Pierrot is also renowned for anime series such as “Bleach,” “Tokyo Ghoul,” “Yu Yu Hakusho,” “Black Clover,” “Ghost Stories,” “Great Teacher Onizuka” and “Saiyuki.”
- Honma was instrumental in doubling Pierrot’s sales since becoming president of the studio in 2012.
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