Malaysia Goes Viral In Japan Because Of What We Did To 'Attack On Titan'
"Rumbling... rumbling..." the Japanese are rumbling about our censorship of 'Attack On Titan'.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 29 May 2023, 04:28 PM
[SPOILER ALERT]: The story contains visual spoilers of the Attack On Titan finale, so read at your own risk!
In February 2021, Malaysians were shocked to find out that a local comic magazine had been censoring Attack On Titan characters
A tweet by user @WallyyTheGreat pointed out that the Attack On Titan manga is very different in Malaysia.
"There, the titans wear a pair of underwear because of the censorship laws there," read the tweet with over 28,000 likes and 7,500 retweets.
Three years later, it is the Japanese' turn to discover the 'atrocity' we have committed against the beloved manga series
In a tweet on Saturday, 27 May, netizen @FJ_GGS posted a panel of colossal titans, one of the largest 'monsters' in the series, stomping over humans.
As cruel as the story may be, what really struck the Japanese are the boxers they are wearing, which should not exist in the first place.
"The Attack on Titan version with Malaysia's corrections is so amusing that I can't stop laughing," read the viral tweet with a whopping 18.9 million views.
The cataclysmic panel above is from chapter 134 of the manga, released in November 2020.
Here's a look at the scene with and without censorship:
For context, Attack On Titan is a Japanese manga series about humans turning into giant monsters — called Titans — to fight for the survival of their own race.
All Titans in the series are designed to be bare, but they do not have any genitals. Some Titans do not even have skin. Hence, netizens were confused over the censorship, as even Japanese manga follows strict rules when dealing with panels involving nudity.
The tweet went on to generate headlines on popular comic news portals and social media pages
Authoritative voices in the world of anime and manga, such as Anime Senpai, Comic Book Resources (CBR), and Daily Dose of Anime, have all reported Malaysia's censorship of the dark fantasy and post-apocalyptic series.
"They literally don't have anything to cover," commented a fan of the series on Instagram.
"Well, at least they didn't censor blood like how China [did] to make it white," said a netizen, while another added, "It's really dumb and pointless."
Several people, who are believed to be Malaysians, also weighed in on the issue.
"I'm Malaysian and I can confirm they do that with most manga. It's freakin annoying, stop that," related a person.
"Don't ask me why (they did it) because I don't even know why they have to censor it," said a netizen in Bahasa Melayu, while another added, "(This issue) has captured global (attention) now."
