Anime Review Roundup
The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 Claims Its First Anime Scalp
On April 6th 2010, the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 came into effect, bringing a whole heap of changes, amendments and alterations to the law. One of those changes was an amendment to the laws on child pornography. Much of what it attempted was laudable and worthy of praise, but the significant problem was that its terms were loosely defined and lacked clarity, now applicable to cartoons and comics, anime and manga, and relying on value judgements rather than strict definitions and guidelines. Naturally there was opposition to this bill from MPs, artists and civil libertarians, including creator of Watchmen Alan Moore, who pointed out that under its provisions, his Lost Girls comic would be deemed illegal. The government hastened to reassure. This law would not impact on the freedom of speech, it would not prohibit artistic expression, and it would not stifle this country's creative industries.
The BBFC have now had cause to act under the guidelines of what is now euphemistically called the Dangerous Cartoons Act, and have demanded that an episode of the action adventure series Code Geass R2 (released here by Beez) be cut. It's just one static image, appearing for half a second in the show, but it is deemed inflammatory enough to be edited out. You can read more about this cut, and indeed see the comparatively innocuous image on the forums at Anime UK News.
If the law is to be applied this stringently, and if this is indeed the way forward for rating anime in the UK, then UK anime distributors will have cause for concern. Except that as usual when it comes to applying new legislation, the BBFC doesn't know its arse from its elbow, and the week after the C&J Act was passed, the BBFC also passed Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful V1 uncut. That's the comedy series with the teacher who has the hots for her student…
I think this is perhaps the most ridiculous edit to a title since the ear clap was cut from Mystery Men. I just wish we had a government to clarify this dog's dinner of a law.
Manga Entertainment Announce Mnemosyne Release Date
This was going to be 4Digital Asia's foray into anime, when they announced the release of this show some 18 months ago. But then Funimation picked up the licence in the US and decided to dub it, around about the same time that they began distributing their titles through Manga in the UK. It's a perfect fit for Manga anyway, immortals, sex and violence. The BBFC will have to work overtime to get through this one in time for its release date of August 23rd. That's just the DVD release by the way, it depends on sales figures if Mnemosyne: Daughters of RIN will get a Blu-ray release as well.
Last week saw only one anime review. If you want to read more about Utawarerumono: Volume 4, then you know just what to click. It's more politics, warfare, and cute girls with furry ears and bushy tails, but there are some revelations and discoveries that begin to twist the world out of kilter. It's a fast paced but fascinating show.
On April 6th 2010, the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 came into effect, bringing a whole heap of changes, amendments and alterations to the law. One of those changes was an amendment to the laws on child pornography. Much of what it attempted was laudable and worthy of praise, but the significant problem was that its terms were loosely defined and lacked clarity, now applicable to cartoons and comics, anime and manga, and relying on value judgements rather than strict definitions and guidelines. Naturally there was opposition to this bill from MPs, artists and civil libertarians, including creator of Watchmen Alan Moore, who pointed out that under its provisions, his Lost Girls comic would be deemed illegal. The government hastened to reassure. This law would not impact on the freedom of speech, it would not prohibit artistic expression, and it would not stifle this country's creative industries.
The BBFC have now had cause to act under the guidelines of what is now euphemistically called the Dangerous Cartoons Act, and have demanded that an episode of the action adventure series Code Geass R2 (released here by Beez) be cut. It's just one static image, appearing for half a second in the show, but it is deemed inflammatory enough to be edited out. You can read more about this cut, and indeed see the comparatively innocuous image on the forums at Anime UK News.
If the law is to be applied this stringently, and if this is indeed the way forward for rating anime in the UK, then UK anime distributors will have cause for concern. Except that as usual when it comes to applying new legislation, the BBFC doesn't know its arse from its elbow, and the week after the C&J Act was passed, the BBFC also passed Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful V1 uncut. That's the comedy series with the teacher who has the hots for her student…
I think this is perhaps the most ridiculous edit to a title since the ear clap was cut from Mystery Men. I just wish we had a government to clarify this dog's dinner of a law.
Manga Entertainment Announce Mnemosyne Release Date
This was going to be 4Digital Asia's foray into anime, when they announced the release of this show some 18 months ago. But then Funimation picked up the licence in the US and decided to dub it, around about the same time that they began distributing their titles through Manga in the UK. It's a perfect fit for Manga anyway, immortals, sex and violence. The BBFC will have to work overtime to get through this one in time for its release date of August 23rd. That's just the DVD release by the way, it depends on sales figures if Mnemosyne: Daughters of RIN will get a Blu-ray release as well.
ADV released Utawarerumono: Volume 4 back in 2007 in the US, and not long after in the UK.
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