Naruto Studio President: Anime Censorship Will Weaken Overseas Popularity

Michiyuki Honma, president of Naruto’s studio Pierrot, says that Japanese anime shouldn’t aim to censor itself to achieve overseas popularity, stating that there’s “no way people overseas will want to watch.”

Honma spoke to Comic Natalie, where he opened up on the overseas success of Naruto, Naruto Shippuden and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. He said replicating this was difficult but that it shouldn’t lead to certain compromises just to be successful. “It’s difficult to make a work that will be popular overseas or that will become a long-term series,” he said. “Of course, aim for it in part, but if you make animation with just that in mind, it will become increasingly boring: ‘We won’t have them smoke so that we can take it overseas,'” he references. “‘We have to tone down the violence a little. Avoid sexy expressions.’ If Japanese animation is bound by such restrictions on expression, there is no way that people overseas will want to watch it. Works that are a hit in Japan are also a hit overseas. I believe that we must not make the mistake of approaching anime production in the wrong way.”

Naruto’s anime Team 7, Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke look determined.

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Naruto Was Less Censored for Violence & Fanservice Than Some Other Shonen Anime of Its Era

The decision to create Naruto like this, regularly employing brutality and fanservice, paid off. Naruto’s success will “last for many years,” Honma said, adding, “A series this large will have a different revenue structure than a TV anime with only a dozen or so episodes. I am endlessly grateful to have had the opportunity to meet and produce a great work that will become a long-term series that will last for years.”

For many fans, Naruto was their introduction to anime, with some critics looking back at the series not just as a typical action series but also boasting gripping drama and clashes of ideals. This was something Naruto director Hayato Date sought to create, seeking to make a period drama while letting the action staff ‘do whatever they want.’ Naruto also heavily benefited from significantly less censorship than its shonen contemporary One Piece, whose “4Kids dub” is a notorious example of how censorship aimed to widen an audience backfired. Production staff cite American laws on children’s programming as the reason for the changes. Others add flippant attitudes toward what was a more niche medium back then, motivating certain decisions that might not be made today.

Demon Slayer’s Tanjiro attacking with his sword with Naruto from the titular anime

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Naruto Studio President: “Demon Slayer Was a Major Turning Point of the Anime Industry”

The president of Naruto’s Studio Pierrot, Michiyuki Honma, credits the massively popular Demon Slayeras a major turning point in the anime industry.

Crunchyroll streams the Naruto anime, which will get four remastered episodes at an unconfirmed date. The series is officially described: “The Village Hidden in the Leaves is home to the stealthiest ninja. But twelve years earlier, a fearsome Nine-tailed Fox terrorized the village before it was subdued and its spirit sealed within the body of a baby boy.”

Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi sensei and Iruka sensei posing on Naruto Anime cover

Naruto

Naruto Uzumaki, a mischievous adolescent ninja, struggles as he searches for recognition and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the village’s leader and strongest ninja.

Release DateSeptember 10, 2002CastKate Higgins, Junko Takeuchi, Maile FlanaganMain GenreAnimeGenresAction, AdventureRatingTV-PGSeasons1CreatorMasashi KishimotoProduction Company Pierrot, Staralis Film CompanyNumber of Episodes220

Source: Comic Natalie