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NEWS: Sword Art Online Episode Censors More Content on U.S.-Based Streaming Services

It doesn't surprise me to be honest. No offense to people in the States, but online debate about these kinds of issues gets toxic much faster and in a much greater magnitude than anywhere else.

That’s why I think that self censorship will be on the rise in years to come. Public outrage online will make licensors/ companies hesitant.

Aniplex: "We will be making this anime with graphic content. But because it's too violent, we will be censoring the questionable scenes."

Us: "Then why make it?"

Answer: Ratings!

Marzan wrote:

That’s why I think that self censorship will be on the rise in years to come. Public outrage online will make licensors/ companies hesitant.

Either that will happen or the service models for anime distrubition will adapt and force people to authenticate age and region and then display via local laws.

Ex if you're of the age of consent you'd have unlimited access to uncensored products or censored products. If you aren't that option magically vanishes and you're forced to watch the censored only stuff.

Then they'll just start ignoring the outrage of the 18+ crowd like sensible adults because at that point you should have the mental faculties to self moderate. If you don't like it great, there's literally several options like moving forward, watching something else or just letting the artist tell their story and accepting that while you don't like said content, you're not meant to.

What frustrates me the most about this censorship is how it could drive up piracy. I mean, it won't happen from that incident alone, obviously, but I've seen people in many social media circles talk about how they'd just unsubscribe from legal streaming sites if this became commonplace and unlike most other times, where I'm able to argue with them, I honestly didn't know what to tell them. People pay good money to see uncensored content (As uncensored as can be), now it feels like at least Aniplex is telling us they care more about those who might be offended by the content than they do their paying customers.

I really hope this was an isolated incident and not the new norm. And I really hope we won't be treated to censored BDs later down the line too. It seems like every corner of society these days is embracing censorship.

I seen the comparison of the mentioned rape from the recent SAO episode. Granted I hate censorship of content, but not exactly a fan of SAO since it seems they are still continuing their antics at being an otaku gratification title of sorts by having nearly any named female character in the series be helpless without being saved by the male hero of the series, in the same vain Kirito and Asuna were from the first series.

I'm genuinely confused why you think Japanese BDs are the only option here.

If the Alicization arc gets a physical release overseas (and it definitely will), that's where the uncensored English version is going to show up. Not on a streaming website, because that would cut into potential sales to just "give away" the "best" version like that.

Though if Aniplex decides to not play ball and hogs the uncensored version to themselves, that's hardly the English distributor's fault.

IanKen wrote:

So, more lazy story telling. The authors excuses on twitter were laughable. The women in SAO exist to be rescued by the guys (GGO the exception). That was obvious from the very beginning when Asuna (setup as an ace in the first 12) spent the next 12 episodes locked in a cage with a creeper while in the real world apparently nobody knows how to sniff packets and figure out where she (and the others) was logged in at.

That may be true, but there are thousands of fairy tails, fables or stories of the guy saving the damsel in distress in every corner of the globe. To say it's lazy can be true but it is a plot devise that has survied for years. It is just a matter of how each creator executes it. Sometimes it's a hit, others it's a miss. It all depends on taste.

What frustrates me the most about this censorship is how it could drive up piracy. I mean, it won't happen from that incident alone, obviously, but I've seen people in many social media circles talk about how they'd just unsubscribe from legal streaming sites....

...if this became commonplace and unlike most other times, where I'm able to argue with them, I honestly didn't know what to tell them. People pay good money to see uncensored content (As uncensored as can be), now it feels like at least Aniplex is telling us they care more about those who might be offended by the content than they do their paying customers.

I really hope this was an isolated incident and not the new norm. And I really hope we won't be treated to censored BDs later down the line too. It seems like every corner of society these days is embracing censorship.

God forbid she suddenly find herself in a situation where she is helpless because in-game skills dont mean much in the real world where thematically she is strapped in a shitty arranged marriage while stuck in a coma with her dickhead fiancee isolating her.