show for four and five year olds. Many episodes were cut out or combined to make one. Many things were censored because of the original intended audience. Zoicite, one of Queen Beryl's generals, was made female in the American version because of his intimate relationship with Kunzite/Malachite, another general under Queen Beryl; Fish-Eye was also made female because he lusted after men. In the third season, Haruka/Amara (Sailor Uranus) and Michiru/Michelle (Sailor Neptune), a lesbian couple, were turned into cousins in the



American version. Because the fifth season, Sailor Stars, contains males turning into females, it can easily be one of the most controversial and is highly unlikely the season will ever be dubbed in America.
     In Outlaw Star, there were many things edited, although most of them seemed to be language edits or digital bathing suits for Melfina. Scenes that were "inappropriate" (e.g. Gene at Club Temptation and Hilda's suicide) were cut out and all signs of blood were digitally removed. Fred Luo, the weapons merchant who supplies Gene with weapons, was gay and in love with Gene. However, this fact was taken out leaving viewers who didn't know

know this fact confused about his behavior.
     For the American version of Gundam Wing, it is easier to see the censorship because Cartoon Network did something remarkable: they



aired both the 'censored' and 'uncensored' version. There wasn't much censorship in this anime which made many fans happy. Some blood was digitally removed and language was changed a bit, but that was about it.
     However, the US aired version of Card Captor Sakura was horrible. All true fans will agree that the show they saw on television was definitely not the anime they loved. Card Captors, the US title of the show, slaughtered the anime to bits. Many episodes weren't aired making the plot very confusing, not to mention the fact that the episodes jumped around everywhere. Overall, Card Captors does not deserve to be related to Card Captor Sakura, let alone be called an anime.
     These are only some of the things that happened to censored anime. Although some of the censorship is of good quality (Gundam Wing as a prime example), most censored anime turns out less than adequate.

What Lies Ahead
     It is uncertain if there will be more or less censorship in future releases of anime, although most fans hope the censorship will decrease. With the recent events, it is probably likely the censorship will go up, however that might not be the case.
     As for DVD releases, censorship is expected to continue going down. With licensed titles such as Gravitation, an anime centered around a gay couple, and Yami no Matsuei (Descendants of Darkness), an anime containing many shounen ai (slash) hints, it seems that many companies are more open-minded than before.
     However, there will always be the fansubbed anime. Fansubs are animes subtitled by fans, hence the name. There are many different groups of fansubbers who subtitle popular, but not yet licensed titles. Most are very well done and there is no censorship to be found. As of now, these are the only animes without censorship and probably will be for a long time.
     Too many people are still under the impression that animation is made for the younger generation and not for people of all ages. Until more people realize that anime is not just made for children, censorship will continue. Hopefully more companies will realize that censorship does not sell as well as uncensored anime and continue on that path instead of the other.