Manga Moments That Were Censored In Dragon Ball Anime

Dragon Ball is one of the most popular shonen anime ever made that needs no introduction. It’s not a stretch to say that Goku’s adventures played a huge role in making the medium of anime more mainstream than ever before.

This battle shonen series had its fair share of moments in the manga that couldn’t be replicated in the anime without raising some eyebrows. As a result, several moments from the manga were censored in the adaptation, with some being understandable while others were ridiculous.

8 Roshi’s Beer Changing Color

Made To Look Like Water Or Milk

Alcohol is a strict no-no in a show geared towards kids, leading to the first censorship casualty for Dragon Ball. In his retirement, Master Roshi has become quite fond of beer and drinks it regularly in the series.

To hide the contents of this mug, the anime has changed the color of this fluid multiple times. Sometimes, his mug looks blue to make it seem like he’s drinking water. In other instances, this beer is colored white to give it the appearance of milk instead.

7 Piccolo’s Blood Being Recolored

His Alien Heritage Made The Green Blood Believable

Before it was revealed that Namekians had purple blood, it was assumed that Piccolo had the same red blood as that of the Earthlings. Extreme violence would’ve been hard to show on a network for kids, prompting a recolor that has become iconic in its own right.

In moments when Piccolo bled red, the anime was recolored to give his blood a green hue instead. This looked sensible, which is why most people didn’t bat an eye at this change. It wasn’t until later that viewers found out about the blood’s actual color.

6 The Hilarious Renaming Of Hell To HFIL

An Iconic Way To Censor Any Mention Of The Underworld

Back in the day, the mention of hell in a kids’ show wouldn’t have flown past censors. So, when Goku fell off Snake Way in a memorable filler story, some mental gymnastics needed to come into play to work around the idea of the protagonist landing in hell.

This led to a moment of creative brilliance where hell was rebranded as the Home for Infinite Losers, or HFIL. It’s one of the most iconic moments of censorship in Dragon Ball Z that most fans love, to the point where they wouldn’t mind if this was the canon name for hell in the series.

5 Numerous Instances Of Nudity Being Removed

Understandable Given How Liberal The Manga Was In This Department

Japanese censors didn’t have a lot of problems with nudity, but the same wasn’t true for cartoons in America. Any form of nudity was strictly forbidden in a kids’ show, which is why a lot of editing had to take place to censor some of the raunchier moments in Dragon Ball.

The show had no problems with showing a young Goku naked, and characters like Bulma were also subjected to weird panty shots and the like. All of this was either censored or removed entirely from the show for the better.

4 Editing Out Any Middle Fingers

Another Justifiable Moment Of Censorship

A hilarious taunt that Dragon Ball characters had no problem with involved their middle finger. It wasn’t uncommon for cocky characters to flip the bird and show their disdain towards someone, with the manga featuring several instances of characters showing this uncouth hand gesture.

It’s easy to see why this had to be censored for American audiences, with the anime’s Western release removing any scene where the middle finger was shown. Most characters just showed their fist instead, which looks odd but only if players know the context behind this gesture.

3 Removing Blood From Dragon Ball Z Kai

An Initiative To Help Market The Show To A Younger Audience

Most people were elated to find out that Dragon Ball Z Kai would update the series’ dubbing and cut out the fuller to make a rewatch easier than ever before. However, some liberties were taken to make the show easier to watch for kids, with the removal of blood being the most contentious censorship decision in the series.

A lot of fights lacked weight when fighters were barely bleeding despite being beaten within an inch of their life. However, most viewers were able to roll with these changes and appreciate the cleaner and faster fights of Dragon Ball Z Kai, even if they looked less brutal because of a conspicuous lack of blood.

2 Mr. Popo’s Infamous Recoloring

An Admirable Yet Misguided Way To Remove One Of The Most Controversial Dragon Ball Character Designs

People may try to defend Popo’s design, but there’s no denying that the inspiration behind this character’s look is indefensible. So, it’s easy to see why the Western release of this show tried to make amends, but this attempt to censor raised more eyebrows instead.

Seeing a blue Popo in certain Western versions of Dragon Ball Z looks very odd, and it doesn’t help that this recolor doesn’t look all that natural. Instead of trying to hide Popo’s true color, it just raised more questions about what Kami’s attendant actually looks like.

1 Roshi’s Dirty Antics Are Toned Down As Much As Possible

His Lewd Actions Were Hard To Digest

It’s a shame that Master Roshi was turned into comic relief in Dragon Ball Z, with new fans having no idea about how important this sensei is for Goku and Krillin’s development. This character is now a total creep who crosses boundaries time and time again, making for some uncomfortable moments.

His attempts to harass the show’s female characters were omitted in the Western release, with the scenes either being completely removed or rewritten to remove any lewd context. Roshi may not be important in Dragon Ball Z at all, but this censorship ensured that he didn’t turn into one of the most hated characters in the series.

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  Dragon Ball

  Release Date

  February 26, 1986

  Studio

  Toei Animation

  Creator

  Akira Toriyama

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  Dragon Ball Z

  Release Date

  April 26, 1989

  Studio

  Creator