Before anime became mainstream, TV networks would edit them to make them more palatable for American audiences. Some shows got subtle tweaks while others were completely overhauled. If you grew up watching any of these anime, it might be time to revisit the original versions to see what you missed.
2000
1
20
Status
Canceled
The American version ofGhost Storiesis legendary for deviating drastically from the source material. The popular story (although you should take it with a grain of salt) is that the show did not see much success in Japan. So, the distributors, when negotiating a North American licensing deal, gave the licensing company—ADV Films—full creative freedom to do as they liked with the show, and boy, did they take advantage of that freedom.
Stephen Foster, dialogue director at the time for ADV Films, who already had a reputation for messing with anime plots, created a whole new script for the show with wildly different character backgrounds and personalities.
He also switched up the tone of the show so that what was once a serious ghost-hunting story turned into a comedy packed with fourth-wall breaks, ad-libs, and lots of dark humor.
Crunchyroll
Five friends attempt to seal the ghosts haunting an abandoned school in their neighborhood
2002
52
One of the first things that changed whenMew Mew Powercrossed over to the U.S. was the name. The show was originally calledTokyo Mew Mewin Japan, but it was rebranded toMew Mew Powerby the company behind the English dub, 4Kids Entertainment.
This kind of aggressive scrubbing of Japanese references in anime was pretty par for the course for the time, but 4Kids were even more heavy-handed than most. They retained the basic premise of the show, but changed almost everything else.
For starters, while the Japanese version has 26 episodes, only 23 aired in the U.S., and even those were shown out of order. For example, episode 1 ofMew Mew Poweris episode 12 of the original show. It was shown first to make the characters meet each other faster, and the actual pilot episode was cut completely.
Lots of scenes were also trimmed to make the show more kid-friendly. Transformation sequences were cut short to exclude scenes with body outlines, and, strangely enough, one character’s weapon was censored because it looked too much like a cross.
Unsurprisingly, some of these changes resulted in noticeable plot holes and narrative inconsistencies. The series was never completed in the U.S., as 4Kids was unable to secure the rights to the rest of the episodes.
Mew Mew Poweris not available on any of the streaming services I usually watch anime on, but fortunately, you can watch or download the entire show from theInternet Archive.
5
224
Ended
4Kids Entertainment was also behind the English dub ofYu-Gi-Oh!, and while their edits weren’t as extreme as what they did withMew Mew Power, their signature localization style was still very much present.
One of the most noticeable changes was the removal of all firearms and violent weapons—often in ways that weren’t exactly subtle. In a now-infamous scene, armed guards had their guns digitally erased and were instead shown aggressively pointing their fingers, making the moment unintentionally hilarious.
Another major change involved how the show handled death. Rather than allowing characters to die, the dub invented the concept of the “Shadow Realm”—a vague, ominous place where defeated villains were sent, never to return.
A card-battling anime with high stakes and dramatic duels
1999
1137
Ongoing
4Kids also licensedOne Pieceand attempted to make it more kid-friendly by scrubbing out any trace of violence, blood, and firearms. The problem is thatOne Pieceis a pirate adventure series—violence, guns, and blood are kind of baked into its DNA.
To sanitize the show for a young Western audience, 4Kids made some truly baffling edits. Guns were turned into shovels, hammers, and other weird instruments, sharp weapons were swapped for suction cups, and blood was replaced with a mysterious, ink-like substance.
One of the most infamous changes involved the character Sanji. Known in the original for constantly smoking cigarettes, 4Kids replaced his cigarettes with a lollipop, and the dialogue was awkwardly rewritten to make sure you noticed.
Netflix
A pirate adventure known for its wild action and emotional depth
1990
54
The originalSamurai Pizza Catsdidn’t do very well in Japan, so the creators didn’t bother preserving the scripts. When it came time to translate the show for America, the licensing company, Saban, discovered that the scripts were either missing, untranslated, or unusable.
But rather than give up, Saban decided to work with what they had, and so they watched the episodes and reverse-engineered the plot. The result was a show filled with pop culture references, fourth-wall breaks, and wild humor that had almost nothing in common with the original Japanese version.
If you pay attention to the opening theme song, you can even catch as the show pokes fun at itself when it jokes: “As soon as someone finds the script, we might begin the show.”
Robot cat superheroes running a pizza shop
1992
200
Sailor Moonis one of the most iconic magical girl series of all time. However, the English dub produced by DiC took several liberties to make the show more “appropriate” for Western audiences.
Much likeYu-Gi-Oh!, the concept of death was softened. Instead of characters dying, they were said to be sent to the “Negaverse.” Violence was also toned down, and scenes of the Sailor Scouts drinking alcohol or wearing swimsuits were cut.
However, the biggest change toSailor Moonwas the removal of any hints of LGBTQ+ representation. The character Zoisite was changed from male to female to erase a gay relationship, and the romantic relationship between Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus was rewritten so that they were cousins instead of lovers.
Amazon Prime Video
A magical girl series centered on friendship, love, and fighting evil
1997
25
1235
Pokémonwent through the usual changes when coming over to America, including the removal of overly sexual content and other potentially offensive imagery. Some episodes were also banned, including one featuring a gun and another that triggered seizures due to photo-sensitive animation.
However, one change that stood out more than most wasPokémon’sodd relationship with food.
Any time a Japanese culinary item appeared on-screen, the translators made an effort to substitute it with the closest American alternative—even when it made no sense. This led to a couple of unintentionally funny moments in the show, where characters refer to rice balls as jelly-filled donuts, or ramen as pizza, even though they look nothing alike.
Follow the adventures of Ash and Pikachu, his electric sidekick.
1998
3
70
To understand the changes made toCardcaptor Sakura, you first need to know the motivation behind them. You see, the folks behind the English version of the show believed that the show would have higher ratings if it appealed to a male audience, so they set about rewriting it to fit their vision.
One of the first changes was the title itself. “Sakura” was dropped, and the show was simply renamedCardcaptors. The opening theme song was also replaced, and several episodes were slashed and reordered to make one of the male characters appear as a secondary lead.
Join Sakura as she juggles collecting magical cards with the struggles of an everyday fourth grader.
1984
This Studio Ghibli masterpiece isn’t a TV series, but I think it deserves special consideration ion this list.Nausicaä of the Valley of the Windis a Studio Ghibli movie following the journey of a princess as she tries to stop two warring nations from destroying each other and their dying planet.
The film did very well in Japan, and American studios wanted in on its success, so New World Pictures took on the task of bringing it to the West. However, they made several changes first, including renaming the movieWarriors of the Wind, and removing approximately 23 minutes of content—some of which significantly altered the film’s core message.
Hayao Miyazaki, founder of Studio Ghibli, was reportedly so upset by this version that he created a strict policy forbidding future international licensors from editing Studio Ghibli films. Thankfully, a more faithful translation of the movie was eventually re-released in 2005, so if you only sawWarriors of the Wind, it’s worth revisiting to experience the real story.
HBO Max
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Windis a Studio Ghibli masterpiece.
Anime is much more popular today, and Japanese culture is far better understood—so the days of heavy-handed localizations are largely behind us. I’m grateful for that because it means I can enjoy my anime exactly as the creators intended. That said, some of the Western versions of these anime have become cult classics in their own right. They can be a good entry point for people whodon’t like anime,and they’re still worth revisiting every now and then for a good laugh.
