What To Do With Bad Images In Mangas?

[Prince Asbel]

I had thought of this before I started buying any mangas. I knew I was bound to run into them sooner or later, so I had a dilemma on my hands. Then I had a great idea. I had purchased Volume 3 of Nausicaa (before I read the whole series in a library) and I decided to do this when it came.

I bought some construction paper and took out a black sheet. Then I got some packing tape, (The completely clear kind, not the frosty blurry kind) and a scissors. I asked my sister to go through the manga and cut out sections of black paper and simply tape it over the bad areas. The black paper blended in perfectly, and I was able to read the manga with perfect safety.

So that's what I do. I personally need to do it like that because I have a huge problem with that kind of thing. I imagine there are other people here who buy mangas. Is there anyone else who does something like this? I think it's a great idea myself.

[RidleyofZebes]

I used to take a black sharpie to 'em there for a little while. I had figured out how to fix stuff without it bleeding through... most of the time, anyway. Eventually though, I developed a thing against altering the artwork in manga, but that's for later discussion.

[Momo-P]

I can't say I do since it doesn't bother me that much (unless it's like outright porn or something, but in that case I don't own it XD), but I do know I've used markers before.

Not only people's bodies or anything, but sometimes when just certain things were said...I know in the Shaman King manga (which I actually don't own, just have through Shounen Jump), there's a scene where they try and put buddha on the same level as Jesus.

Um...no.

I don't care what Japan's dumb thoughts are, I can't even stand the thought that was in there, so I took a black marker and totally scribbled that speech out. Though I do believe I kept the picture buddha there...just...defiled it with googly eyes or something. XD

Otherwise I think I have heard other people who use markers or some other way to avoid the bad stuff in their manga. Usually for me, it's just an easy case of "don't flip to that page".

[Prince Asbel]

Interesting... A black marker would bleed though. I guess that's where construction paper comes handy. There's no bleed, and if you get clear tape, then it doesn't muddle the other parts of the pictures.

[Shao Feng-Li]

A black colored pencil comes in handy sometimes.

[Fish and Chips]

I am staunchly against editing my Manga collection. If I found it troubling on a personal level, I would not be reading it.

[Prince Asbel]

I am staunchly against editing my Manga collection. If I found it troubling on a personal level, I would not be reading it.

So what kinds of manga do you read that you don't find troubling on a personal level? It's not related per-say, but just for curiosity's sake. There are so few mangas I can read, but since I still want to read them, I can simply fix it like this. Then it doesn't trouble me at all.

[eternalprincess]

I used to take a black sharpie to 'em there for a little while. I had figured out how to fix stuff without it bleeding through... most of the time, anyway. Eventually though, I developed a thing against altering the artwork in manga, but that's for later discussion.

I use the Sharpies too.

[Fish and Chips]

So what kinds of manga do you read that you don't find troubling on a personal level? It's not related per-say, but just for curiosity's sake. There are so few mangas I can read, but since I still want to read them, I can simply fix it like this. Then it doesn't trouble me at all.

Well, the problem is that we all have an individual threshold. What I can deal with might be different than what you do, and vice versa.

For example, Naoki Urasawa's Monster. Several chapters have a European red light district. Negatively portrayed, but still in there. I can take it with a grain of salt where someone else might be offended at is very inclusion, regardless of the author's intention for the scene.

The handful of elements that do offend me, I tend to avoid those Manga entirely, with some leverage.

[Prince Asbel]

Maybe I should be a bit more specific. What mangas do you read as in the titles?

[Fish and Chips]

If you want a list:

20th Century Boys
Blade of the Immortal
Bleach
Cromartie High School
Deadman Wonderland
Death Note
FullMetal Alchemist
Hellsing
Historie
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Lone Wolf and Cub
Monster
Mushishi
One Piece
Pluto
Rurouni Kenshin
Samurai Deeper Kyo
Samurai Executioner
Steel Ball Run
Vinland Saga

Longer if I choose titles I am only half-following and one chapter/volume works.

Can I ask why you are interested?

[Radical Dreamer]

I am usually not one to cover up any artwork in my manga, partially because as an artist, I respect the artists' work, and partially because things like female nudity in manga just don't bother me, as I'm an artist and a girl, myself. XD I can understand why people would feel the need to cover up offensive things, but like Fish and Chips said, if something were so terribly offensive to me that I felt I wouldn't want to look at it, I'd just stay away from the series/volumes as a whole.

That said, and this is a message to everyone, let's try to remember Romans 14 in this thread, and remember that there are certain things that individual Christians will or will not handle. Please remember not to make any judgments based on those things.

[Prince Asbel]

Can I ask why you are interested?

No.

...

Just kidding. I asked because if I saw the titles and matched them with the reviews here, I could learn better what you did and didn't find personally troubling. I should have just asked you to define your terms because I'm now caught juggling the reviews with what you said you read with two different definitions of troubling all at once.

And yes, like radical dreamer said-

That said, and this is a message to everyone, let's try to remember Romans 14 in this thread, and remember that there are certain things that individual Christians will or will not handle. Please remember not to make any judgments based on those things.

I'm not trying to judge or anything like that. I know there are some things I can tolerate that others couldn't.

[ChristianKitsune]

I used to edit my mangas when I was younger....but only because I had friends that wanted to borrow them, and while female nudity never really bothered me (unless it's pornographic and in that case I don't read it).

But I would take a pen or a pencil and just draw clothes on or whatever.

[AsianBlossom]

Well, it wasn't an image, but I did cover something up in one manga once, and that was because I hadn't looked through the book (it came in the mail) and it was part of the wording. It was the second Strawberry Marshmallow book, and Nobue said the phrase best substituted with "gosh darn." By the time I had taken a black brush pen and some white-out tape to it, she said, "It's to protect her d--- childhood innocence."

Now it's the library's book.

[Shao Feng-Li]

If something were so terribly offensive to me that I felt I wouldn't want to look at it, I'd just stay away from the series/volumes as a whole.

I generally feel the same way. Though, Monster got covered up in a couple of spots. Yes, Naoki, we can figure out it's the bad part of town without detailed pictures...

Especially since my little brothers read it.

[Kairi]

When I was about 12 or 13, maybe younger, I bought all of the (...edited) Pokémon manga by Toshihiro Ono that had been released by Viz. I was the happiest kid alive until I got to the chapter about Sabrina and the Haunter. One of the characters ended up saying the "D-word" and I was so mad about it. XD I immediately scribbled it out with a bright blue pen until it started seeping through the next couple of pages.

[SIZE="1"]I still don't think they should have left that word in there, simply because the manga had the Pokémon logo slapped on it and most American parents would automatically assume it'd be safe for their little kids to read, but whatever.[/SIZE]

Now I'm not really bothered by language, as long as it's not too prevalent in the manga. I draw the line at sexual content and nudity. I can handle the latter if it's female (since I'm a girl), and not explicit, since there are series like Honey and Clover that have it in there but not really to turn people on. There's so little detail that... yeah. It's pretty safe. XD;

I usually try to check out the series before buying them, so I don't own anything that has really offensive content in it. The only exceptions were a couple of pages I found in my Shojo Beat issues, but they could easily be ripped out.

[Cognitive Gear]

I tend to be against modifying manga, comics, or anything, really. If I'm really offended by it enough to not want it in my entertainment, I simply let the publisher know by not giving them my money.

Honestly, I'm not certain as to why you would want to encourage further use of objectionable content.

[Raiden no Kishi]

I tend to be against modifying manga, comics, or anything, really. If I'm really offended by it enough to not want it in my entertainment, I simply let the publisher know by not giving them my money.

Honestly, I'm not certain as to why you would want to encourage further use of objectionable content.

That's . . . a rather daring character indictment. I don't think it's fair to say/imply that those of us who buy manga with anything we don't care for in it want to encourage the use of said objectionable content. Rather, we are supporting everything else.

.rai//

[ShiroiHikari]

Not to be harsh or anything, but it's my feeling that if it offends you...you probably shouldn't keep buying it because it's bound to offend you again.

[Maledicte]

Honestly, I'm not certain as to why you would want to encourage further use of objectionable content.

I don't think the case is here that they're reading manga with lots of objectionable content, just occasional images. It's like watching a movie that you like, but there's one scene that you don't like. It doesn't affect how much you like the movie as a whole, but you would like it a bit better if the scene was removed/changed.

For example, in Immortal Rain, there is no nudity, except for one brief bath scene. It irritated me, not because of the nudity, but because they had bubbles modestly covering up the older woman's breasts, but the fourteen-year-old girl was shown full topless. It's only one panel, but it doesn't mesh with the rest of the manga. I haven't taped it over or anything, but it still bugs me.

And like Shao said, sometimes younger kids want to read/enjoy reading manga as well, and they don't need to see that sort of stuff at that age. So, if I had a little brother, I would cover up that one scene in Immortal Rain and perhaps some of the text, but I wouldn't let him touch something like Hellsing at all.

[Cognitive Gear]

That's . . . a rather daring character indictment. I don't think it's fair to say/imply that those of us who buy manga with anything we don't care for in it want to encourage the use of said objectionable content. Rather, we are supporting everything else.

.rai//

I apologize. That's not quite how I meant it to come across. It would have been better for me to say I'm not certain why you would continue to purchase items which have content you find to be a stumbling block. The reason being that some of the money does indeed tell the creator of the media that the content in question is just fine. Simply removing the content from sight won't tell the creator that the content is objectionable.

Regardless, I hope that my saying this does not hurt or come across as condescending, that really is not my intention.

And like Shao said, sometimes younger kids want to read/enjoy reading manga as well, and they don't need to see that sort of stuff at that age. So, if I had a little brother, I would cover up that one scene in Immortal Rain and perhaps some of the text, but I wouldn't let him touch something like Hellsing at all.

In this case I don't feel that there is any problem with the censorship. There's a world of difference, I think, between purchasing media that has content you find to be a stumbling block for yourself, and censoring content that is inappropriate for a young individual.

[minakichan]

.........wow, sharpies and construction paper. I thought you guys were kidding.

I censor the manga I find offensive by not reading them. I bought Reset volume 1 last year and have still done little more than flip through.

You might be wondering why I bought it if I think it's offensive and don't read it. This is a very good question.

(I also haven't even opened the shrinkwrap on Detective Academy Q, which I bought 4 years ago... but that's not offensive or anything.)

[Raiden no Kishi]

Could it be beneficial to the discussion to make a distinction between "objectionable content" and "stumbling blocks"? For example, I find vulgar language objectionable, but I do not find it a stumbling block. I've heard many a profanity in my life - shoot, I've watched The Boondock Saints, which has more f-bombs dropped than I've seen anywhere else (with the possible exception of YouTube comments). Yet I find myself having lived 20 years without uttering a profanity myself. Excessive fanservice, however? It can be a trouble for me if I'm not careful. So I would be more likely to ignore language than fanservice in a particular manga. However, I still find both objectionable.

I don't know if that adds anything, but I thought it noteworthy.

.rai//

[Debitt]

If I find something so objectionable that I would simply not want to look at it, I probably wouldn't be reading the series in the first place. Apart from the issues with modifying the artists' original work that I have, I'd be somewhat embarrassed in myself for saying "HEY! If I just take X and Y out then this is okey-dokey! Yup! Didn't just give my money to someone who produces something that violates my moral fiber, no sir!"

Your mileage, of course, many vary.

Note: I read Air Gear. So I don't find a lot of things that you could find "unwrapped" in your average Barnes and Noble manga section horrendously offensive.

[eternalprincess]

I am usually not one to cover up any artwork in my manga, partially because as an artist, I respect the artists' work. . .

Nicely said. I don't normally either, as I am a artist too. Covering up another artist's work makes me feel guilty, thinking of the work they put into the piece. But when the rare occasion comes and I do happen too, I use a Sharpie. Or a little White Out.

And yes, as previously said; if it seriously offends you, I'd just stay away from it period. That's what I do.

[Fish and Chips]

In all honesty, there are only three different things I have trouble digesting in Manga (and the rest of media), two because of nausea, one because it tends to leave me angry.

[EricTheFred]

I'm against censorship, but fully support individual people who do what they feel is necessary with their personal copies of media in order to protect themselves. As for nudity, I just wish everyone would get used to it (its a pretty common element of artwork in general) but anyone personally troubled by it has a right to avoid it.

For myself, when I find actual sexual activity in manga, it goes straight out. I don't indict those who follow the titles, I just don't personally need that, and my kids shouldn't have to deal with it before they are adults, so I just do without the titles in question. I'm much more tolerant of the much more common bad language, comedy peeping tom situations, bathroom nudity, etc. etc. I've avoided a few titles that seem to be primarily designed to feature such things, but in general I just put up with them, and I prefer my boys grow up with a hide thick enough to deal with them as well. We talk from time to time about them, to make sure they aren't confused about my opinion of such things, or how I expect my sons to view them.

I fully support a parent who has a different view of how to deal with such things, or a child who takes a more conservative approach to them, though. We all have to make our own judgments. Mine are based not just on my own opinions, but on the very level-headed children God gave me to raise. I'm sure with other children I might be making a very different decision.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I would say that I am basically in the same boat as Fish, Cognitive Gear, Debitt, etc.

Though honestly, not much really tends to offend me when it comes to manga besides pornographic material and probably some other material which I can't think of right now. XD

[Sheenar]

If material is offensive/a stumbling block to me, then I just don't read or watch those things.
I support the hard work artists do, so I don't mark in my books (don't own any manga), but if I come across an offensive word/panel, I just give a quick glance and move on (if it's only an occasional thing). That happened several times with the FMA manga with the "F" word. I'm not sure why, but that word above all other curse words is offensive to me...I cringe when I read/hear it. So I just skip over it--the rest of the manga is just pure awesomeness.