Japanese manga fans are astounded after getting a look at the Malaysian censorship of Attack on Titan.A report from Anime Senpai recently shared a tweet from a Japanese manga fan featuring a panel from the Malaysian release of the hit series. The picture in question shows a collection of Colossal Titans stomping across the land, participating in "The Rumbling." However, rather than their typical fully skinless look, they are edited to be wearing pants. AOT fans seeing this for the first time after its release two years ago shared their thoughts, with the tweet's poster claiming they couldn't "stop laughing."
Attack on Titan Fans Pondered on the Censorship
Many users replied to the tweet, expressing their confusion with the image. Some questioned why showing AOT's infamous array of violence was acceptable but not the lower half of a giant. Another user pointed out how the characters do not have genitals, so covering them up was a pointless act. Some even claimed that adding clothing to the characters somehow made the product seem "more erotic" than it was beforehand.
One Twitter user further questioned the censorship, bringing up the topic of the Female Titan. They pondered whether the publisher would add pants and a bra before replying to their comment with an alleged look at the manga. As pictured below, the character is depicted in a swimsuit, covering her entire body. Many other replies featured more snapshots of the censored artwork, displaying characters such as the Warhammer Titan and the Cart Titan. However, the article addressed that there was no official confirmation on whether this was a fan edit at the time of writing.
Censorship in the Anime and Manga Industries
Censorship in the animanga industry is nothing new, as international releases of Japanese products have a long history of re-edits and alterations. There have been many notable instances of characters with sexually suggestive designs receiving censorship in countries like Indonesia, India, China and more. In some cases, LGBTQ+ themes have also been erased, such as in Requiem of the Rose King's censorship. Some anime, such as Puni Puni Poemy, have been banned outright.
Attack on Titan, written by Hajime Isayama, is one of the most prominent properties in modern animanga. The anime adaptation, helmed by Studio MAPPA, will soon conclude, with a recent key visual allegedly acting as the show's final new poster. The series is available to stream on Crunchyroll, with the last episode slated for a Fall 2023 release.
Source: Twitter via Anime Senpai