Grasp the Truth: Rant/Main Deal
*sighs* It's just not fair. Living in America, and with a limited budget, the only way I've been able to watch most anime is by dubbed episodes on TV that are falsely targeted to a younger audience. *sigh* It's so UNFAIR. Anime is targeted to Japanese children, and in Japanese society children are trusted far more than here in the States. Also, over there (probably half a world away) anime is not just for children--some are targeted to adults.
However, in the United States, when you say "cartoon"--American animation--people almost always assume that it's child's play. This is not so! Have you seen the inner meanings of any piece of the Gundam mega-saga? [I refer to both the UC timeline's pieces and various side stories and Alternate Universes] Why, if it was a novel, Literature teachers would be clamoring for it to be taught in schools! And if it was taught...there may be much less war.... It teaches of peace, of love (to an extent--I refer to Gundam: The 08th MS Team), of connections...and of science, of mechas. ^_^
The whole purpose of the Gundam mega-saga (as well as many other similar mecha anime sagas) is to teach of peace, that it is something we should all strive for. Wouldn't we like the leader of this country to learn that? No, they learn that bopping people on the head with mallets is good, that the girls always look good and the guys always look hot.... [Not that this isn't the case in anime, of course, look at the bishoujo in Sailor Moon--or the bishounen and bisenien {pretty young men--Zechs is an example¹} in Gundam Wing. And check out Akane's mallet in Ramna, too.]
And they claim that the stuff's for kids. Get me a paper bag, please, I'm gonna be sick.
*sigh* Some of the thematics of the anime are lost in translation. For example: the theme of death in Gundam. Duo [Gundam Wing] calls himself the Shinigami, which can be translated as "God of Death" or "devil"...something to that like, y'know? And Heero [also, Gundam Wing] is always threatening to kill Relena. Not to mention that Sanders is called the Shinigami because of his apparent bad luck--every other platoon he has been in has died on the third battle besides himself.
It shows a lot about personalities...in the companion manga to Gundam Wing called Episode Zero, Duo says, "I never have seen a miracle, but I always see death around me...so I don't believe in God, but I believe in the God of Death."² And of course, later on, he claims that he himself (and his Gundam) is said god. In Heero's case, he both threatens to kill her and he uses the you form "omae", a really hostile way to refer to someone you don't know. And of course, they had just met and she was being nice to him: inviting him to her birthday party. *sigh* Although I hate to be on Relena's side, that's really mean of him...threatening a nice girl who just wants him to go to her birthday party. (Strangely enough, he goes anyway.) And then Sanders--he's acting a little paranoid, but he doesn't want to be fighting in a mobile suit since he always blames himself.
Then the censors come in. Duo calls himself the Great Destroyer. Kinda lame, really, when he believes in the God of Death--when I first read Episode Zero, it gave me the image of believing in himself. No wonder he's the cheerful one. In Heero's case, they change it to "I'll destroy you"--also lame, not to mention that it sounds weird and doesn't explain much on Relena's behalf. For Sanders? They kept it: he's called the Grim Reaper. Then again, Gundam: The 08th MS Team is only shown on the Midnight Run here in the States.
My point is that censoring ruins the purpose of an anime and personality of a character. *sigh* Now, now. I support dubbing if the voices are good--they did a great job on the Gundam mega-saga! And look at what they did to Card Captor Sakura (Cardcaptors in the States): nice voices. However, they cut out a lot of essential episodes--and messed around with the order of them, which really piffed a lot of fans--they were Not Happy, if you know what I mean. [Eep: obscure Gundam Wing: A New Era reference!]
So the point of all of this to Grasp the Truth...this is basically a coalition asking for an uncensored dub. Dubs are good, they're great for people who can't constantly be looking at subtitles. Also, dubs are good because...well, they're English. :-P However, censoring brings aways themes and characterizations necessary for the purpose of the anime. So my point is, join Grasp the Truth and show that you support an uncensored dub. This stuff isn't child's play. It has a message that adults should see. And so, it should not be changed to fit children and not targeted to an older audience.
[Oh, a small note: You may notice that it's called Grasp the Truth--one of Wufei's image songs. ^_^]
Benefits of joining:
Another thing to add to your .sig file. ^_^
Another thing to add to your random stuff page--y'know, where you keep all of those banners for coalitions and what not. OK, so it's a cruddy one, but who gives?
A reason to like Wufei's image song "Grasp the Truth".
Show those censors that you want to see more of that uncensored dub that they showed on the Midnight Run. (Tenchi's actually wasn't that bad. Neither was Sailor Moon's. Gundam Wing I understand.... But why do they show Gundam: The 08th MS Team partially censored, partially not? [The use of painted-on swimsuits oh-so-classic in CN dubs (most famous in Tenchi Muyo) vs. Sanders being the "Grim Reaper"]
And when I get to get one of those petition-thingees, you'll be one of the first to find out--and one of the first to sign a petition to get the uncensored dub on the air! ^_^
So how do I join?
Easy...there are two ways.
To add it to your .sig file:
Just add this: Proud member of Grasp the Truth--a coaliton for the uncensored dub. To find out more, contact the president Kawaii Dragoness at [email protected] or find out more at the Grasp the Truth homepage.
[For all of you who need to know: the address is www.geocities.com/kawaiimae/grasp]
As for a banner:
Just save one of these images to your server and link it to the address below...whichever is to your taste, or to your current theme at your site. ^o^ Grasp the Truth is link-free, so don't worry about that.
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The address: http://www.geocities.com/kawaiimae/grasp
Oh, and I request this: When you add the alt tag, just put this text in: "Grasp the Truth: Uncensor our Dubbed Anime. Click for details." THANKS!
¹ Arigatou gozaimasu to the miko of The Shinigami Project for her glossary and the defenition of bisenien!
² Arigatou gozaimasu to Miewth, my source for the Episode Zero manga translation (before it was out in the US, no da.)