I am getting sick of those people bashing Disney for airing Naruto: Shippuden. These people often try to associate Disney to 4Kids and think that they are going to ruin the anime.
I haved watched several Disney movies and watched a few movies made by movie companies associated with Disney. I can tell you that Disney doesn't always have a "for children" mindset. Consider the following:
1. Disney themselves have produced animated movies that had scenes of violence. From Lion King to Beauty and the Beast to Mulan and Tarzan, there are usually at least one scene of disturbing violence (and I had admit, Bambi movie gave me nightmares when I first watched it as a very young child).
2. Disney did produced PG-13/R films, but wasn't always under their name (but rather the movie producing companies they own).
3. Disney DID handled, licensed, and distributed Japanese anime before. A moist prominent example will be Hayao Miyazaki's films. They are distributed and aired uncensored and with very good voice acting (although it was Miyazaki's request not to edit his films).
4. Anime in TV are often censored/bowdlerized because they are aired to the general public. The ones in DVDs are usually dubbed and left uncensored because they are for private use.
5. Disney is the one AIRING the anime, the one who is responsible for dubbing and editing is VIz Media.
They should at least be glad that Naruto: Shippuden is being aired in television AND not being aired by 4Kids. 4Kids often bowdlerize the anime to the point that it lost its original meaning and context. What's worse is 4Kids often try to "Americanize" the anime, removing Japanese context and painting a picture that many American anime viewers are familiar with (and giving off a message that U.S.A. is the best culture in the world). Compared to Disney, they accept different cultural contexts in cartoons and don't "Americanize" them. In turn, Disney bowdlerize less than 4Kids and is better than 4Kids when it comes to Japanese anime.
That's why I don't mind Disney dubbing and distributing To Aru Majutsu no Index (or have one company dub the anime while Disney airs it on Disney XD). Seeing that To Aru Majutsu no Index and Naruto are shonen anime (anime directed to preteen and some young adults), I don't see a reason why Disney would refuse to air To Aru Majutsu no Index. I don't mind Disney airing the 2009 version of Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (which is virtually the same as 2006 version but placed in chronological order and have the infamous Endless Eight episode where the repeat it eight times). I don't mind Disney airing Lucy Star in Disney XD or dub and air a official Touhou anime in Disney XD (although there is a Touhou anime called Touhou Niji Sousaku Doujin Anime: Musou Kakyo [translated as Touhou Secondary Creation Doujin Anime: Dreaming Summer Village], this anime isn't made directly by ZUN, the creator of the Touhou series). Well, for the Touhou part, it's mostly a doujin work, which are made by amauteurs; and doujin works made in Japan usually don't get distributed outside of Japan so that's out of the question. But still, compared to 4Kids, Disney in the long run is way better when it comes to Japanese anime.
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Dark Paladin X's Blog
My blog on my opinions and sharable knowledge on zOMG!, Current Events, Issues, and etc. (also, a satirical news journal coming up sometime in the future here in this blog, or maybe in a joint mule account).
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Dark Paladin X
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