The handle ProxyMan has cropped up several times in this blog as a source of rare anime, both mainstream (Shibuya Honky Tonk, Dragon Slayer Eiyuu Densetsu: Ouji no Tabidachi) and hentai (Kakyuusei 1995, Lunatic Night 3). The scope of his work is far larger than the tiny fragment that has been released by Orphan (or Okizari). He has been systematically collecting hentai anime from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. His analyses show that material created in Japan is often substantially altered for Western markets, and not always in the ways one might expect.
Now, it's no secret that commercial media like anime has never been treated as sacrosanct in the West. Japanese cartoons were not merely dubbed for American audiences; they were often folded, spindled and mutilated, with the Japanese original being viewed merely as visual source material. Thus, Toei's 1960 Saiyuuki was redone as Alakazam the Great, 1961's Anju to Zushio Maru as The Littlest Warrior, and so on. Macross was dubbed, edited, and rewritten into Robotech. Tezuka Osamu's Tetsuwan Atom became Astro Boy, with deletions and changes that greatly upset the author. Even Miyazaki's revered 1984 Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind was chopped to pieces to create the mid-80s Warriors of the Wind, which remained in circulation until a faithful dub appeared in 2005. After that, Miyazaki put a no-edit clause in his overseas licenses, but that did not stop Miramax from "adapting" rather than translating Princess Mononoke. (Hint: watch it with Japanese audio and English subs to get Miyazaki's original intent.)
Other changes would be done in the name of localization or catering to local market requirements. Some series basically received new scripts. The R1 release of Crayon Shin-chan is crude, raunchy comedy, but as the dedicated work of my colleague Skr at BuriBuri has demonstrated, the US scripts translate the Japanese scripts only by happenstance. In other cases, the artwork was changed to match target demographics. The original Japanese version of Maze is an ecchi boob-fest, with lots of topless girls. In the North American version, aiming at a PG rather than R rating, the bare breasts are all covered up. Because the North American version was the only version to get a DVD release, and the original series masters are considered lost, how Maze was meant to look was not known in the West until the Japanese laserdiscs were found and ripped.
The cavalier stance of overseas licensors toward originals is even more obvious with hentai (or borderline hentai) releases. Most people think that the distinction between Japanese hentai and Western versions is removal of censorship, but that's only part of the story. Japanese R- and X-rated anime receive all sorts of alterations, not just decensoring. In some cases, explicit material has been removed to turn a hentai release into softcore. In other cases, explicit material has been added to make a softcore release into hardcore. Scenes or even whole episodes have been removed because of sensitivities in target markets. As a result, some titles that the R1 market knows in one guise looked very different in Japan. This is where ProxyMan's work in collecting and comparing editions has proved its worth. Some examples follow.
- Turning softcore material into hardcore. Nessa no Wakusei and Dragon Knight Gaiden were borderline stories, with nudity, sex, and fetish material, but nothing explicit. For the US market, Five Ways interpolated some badly done 1-3 second explicit scenes. This in turn became the DVD release in both countries. The Japanese laserdiscs have the original, R-rated versions.
- Turning hardcore material into softcore. Fencer of Minerva, volume 1, had an explicit scene of the heroine being violated by enemy (female) warriors. It was the only explicit scene in all five volumes, so it was removed in the US and Spanish editions. It can still be seen, censored, in the Japanese laserdisc, and uncensored in the French edition. Something similar was done in Dragon Rider, volume 2.
- Catering to local requirements. All hentai in Japan is distributed in censored form, with the "naughty bits" obscured by mosaics or other effects. Unless this was done for comic effect, as in Karakuri Ninja Girl, the R1 releases are uncensored. But other deletions were imposed, particularly because of concerns about underage (2-D) characters in sexually explicit material. Japanese characters, both male and female, are often drawn to look young, which is problematic. Sometimes they are stated to be young, which is really problematic. So the second volume of The Maiden Diaries was never released in R1, because the female protagonist is clearly underage. Inju Seisen (Twin Angels) and La Blue Girl had various scenes cut because characters looked too young.
Now, I'm not trying to defend the "artistic integrity" of ecchi or hentai anime or to second-guess the changes that were made in the licensing process. These shows were throwaways, intended for entertainment, titillation, and profit. Local laws must be observed. But personally, I prefer to watch Japanese anime, of any variety, the way it was made. I prefer Saiyuuki to Alakazam the Great. I prefer Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind to Warriors of the Wind. And the same applies to ProxyMan's trove.
In support of his efforts, Orphan and related groups like Blasphemboys will be redoing some of these shows, with ProxyMan's raws and updated translations and typesetting. Not all of them - just enough to illustrate the transformations and gyrations. Blasphemboys has already released Dragon Knight and Dragon Knight Gaiden, using the Japanese laserdiscs. Gaiden doesn't have the Five Ways explicit interpolations, so both are R-rated.
Blasphemboys' hentai label, Muzu'sNudes, has just released Nankyoku 28 Gou (in R1, Mail Order Maiden 28). According to ProxyMan, "The US release cut out a 2-3 second shot of sex probably because it was the most explicit scene in the OVA, however, they left a screencap of it in the credits." Orphan/Okizari has a few titles in the works as well.
Consider the ProxyMan project a Christmas present to the fans. Well, no one was willing to work on Santa Company: Christmas no Himitsu anyway.