Get ready for a wild ride through the most controversial anime episodes that never made it to air! We're uncovering the shocking stories behind the most banned and censored anime in history.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the most infamous anime
00:14episodes that weren't allowed to air in certain parts of the world.
00:24In his quest to catch them all, Ash decided to bond with some Persimian by trying out
00:35their face paint.
00:40Despite his good intentions, all he did was get the whole episode banned from English
00:45territories.
00:46The dubs skipped over this instalment due to Ash's paint job looking an awful lot like
00:51Black Face.
00:56The implications were too much to ignore or edit around, leaving the Pokemon Company
01:01with no choice but to outright ignore it.
01:04Considering how many times this has happened to Ash, he should just be glad this is the
01:08only episode from the Sun and Moon seasons that was skipped.
01:17It's hard enough to get an episode banned.
01:27It's even more impressive to get it banned before it even airs.
01:30To this day, the only public footage of this Ghost Stories episode is a short, 15-second
01:36preview that aired the week before its intended broadcast.
01:39It was supposed to chronicle the story of Kuchisake Onna, a woman with a disfigured
01:44mouth who stalks kids.
01:49But many parents found it offensive that the ghoul's appearance resembled a cleft palate
01:54and protested against the episode's release.
01:56In the hopes of avoiding a PR disaster, Network Fuji TV completely removed the chapter, even
02:03taking it off the eventual DVD release.
02:05Kuchisake Onna won't be haunting anyone now.
02:15Hot Springs Planet Tenrei – Outlaw Star Ah, the good ol' Hot Springs episode.
02:21It's basically an anime tradition.
02:23Better yet, in Outlaw Star, it wasn't just one hot spring.
02:27It was a whole damn planet.
02:35You can probably guess where this is going.
02:37The sexual humour and overall lack of clothing meant it couldn't air within ten miles of
02:43an American network.
02:49So, the original dub release just casually passed over it.
02:56Released on TV, that is.
02:57The episode was fully dubbed, but it wasn't allowed to air for another 17 years.
03:02Given that most banned anime never see the light of day, we should be happy we got to
03:06witness this at all.
03:16The Beach, The Island and a Vacation – The Guardian's Break – Sailor Moon
03:21Not quite as lewd, but just as controversial, Beach episodes are another anime staple that
03:27are hits or miss when it comes to overseas dubbing.
03:30Sorry, Sailor Moon fans, but this vacation landed on miss.
03:34And not for the reasons you'd expect.
03:40There wasn't any offensive or sexual content.
03:43The original dubbing company just didn't want to pay for more episodes than they needed.
03:48Since The Guardian's Break was 100% filler, it was easy to exclude without affecting the
03:54overall plot.
03:57However, its absence from broadcast and DVD releases led fans to name it the Lost Episode.
04:08English audiences wouldn't be able to see it until Viz's new release in 2014.
04:24With a title like that, is it really any surprise that this episode crosses some lines?
04:29Now, what if we were to tell you that was on purpose?
04:36Allegedly, director Shinichi Watanabe wanted to go as far as possible with XL Saga's finale.
04:50He knew it would be way too much for television and only meant for it to be released on the
04:55DVD set.
05:00And well, he got his wish.
05:02Japanese broadcasters gave Going Too Far a big fat no, leaving it as a special bonus
05:08for fans who bought the physical disc.
05:11Say what you will about his storytelling, but Watanabe's definitely got guts.
05:25Even if you don't recognise the name, you've probably seen the screencaps for this episode.
05:30You know, the one where James from Team Rocket is in a bikini and has a big old chest?
05:35Yeah, that's from this episode.
05:40Now, do we really need to tell you why Beauty and the Beach went behind bars?
05:46To be fair, the dub episode actually aired twice, albeit with several edits, for the
05:52more risque moments.
06:04But ever since 2000, it hasn't been included in any release, streaming or physical.
06:10Given that James' rack only grows more problematic as the years go by, that's probably for the
06:15best.
06:1625 years after he last appeared on screen, Mr. Osamatsu returned to broadcast, only for
06:30his first episode to be locked away for good.
06:33Then again, they were kind of asking for it.
06:40In order to catch up on all the anime trends of the last few decades, Mr. Osamatsu spends
06:45this premiere episode parodying some of the most popular shows around.
06:56The quintuplets cycle through Attack on Titan, Pokemon, Bleach, Naruto, Dragon Ball Z, and
07:03more.
07:04But due to the massive breach in copyright, the episode was scrubbed from streaming services
07:08and promptly removed from all future releases.
07:11It was a good joke, just one that could only be done once.
07:31Anyone who wanted to tune in for the finale of this high school romance ended up waiting
07:35a whole extra week to see the bloody conclusion.
07:39School Days' slice-of-life storyline ends with cold-blooded murder, but on the day it
07:44was supposed to air, it was abruptly pulled due to its similarities to another crime recently
07:49committed in Japan.
07:57Several major networks refused to air it even after the delay, leading many to fear the
08:02brutal episode would be buried for good.
08:05Whilst School Days' grisly finale did eventually make it to TV, it had to be on a smaller channel
08:12where the subject matter wouldn't make as many waves.
08:20Wild Horses – Cowboy Bebop Five years after its release, and three since
08:25the dub, an episode of Cowboy Bebop got quietly pulled from rerun circulation.
08:31It had nothing to do with the show or content at all.
08:39Instead, the installment just so happened to feature a NASA spaceship, which was a very
08:44sensitive image following the disastrous re-entry of the Columbia shuttle in 2003.
08:50To avoid any potential backlash, Adult Swim plucked the episode out of its routine schedule
08:55without a word.
09:00Luckily, Bebop fans didn't have to wait long before it was reinstated, but that's still
09:05a lot of fanfare for an episode that, all things considered, is pretty tame.
09:30Electric Soldier Porygon – Pokemon Being banned is the very least of this episode's
09:35problems.
09:36It changed television as we know it.
09:38The story sounds innocent enough – it's about Ash and company following a stray Porygon
09:43into the World Wide Web.
09:48However, in doing so, they traveled through a series of flashing lights that hospitalized
10:00hundreds of real viewers across Japan.
10:03Not only was the episode pulled from TV and retired forever, it sparked a whole governmental
10:08movement about strobe effects in animated programs.
10:15So, if your favorite anime ever looks dim, you have Porygon to thank, assuming you can
10:21even track down the episode anymore.
10:29Which of these banned episodes do you want to see the most?
10:33Let us know in those comments below.