Macross Plus © Manga Entertainment

Again, this had a worthy ideal, but the response of broadcasters was to use the CSA guidelines to savagely cut anime (not just violence and nudity) to make room for more adverts before and after the programs; this was a rather blatant way of getting round the new law, but one that apparently went unchallenged. Another way in which anime is tampered with in France relates to a further law which stipulates that daily indigenous programming must outnumber imported shows. As a result, many shows are crudely cut down to half their normal length, and broadcasters have commissioned new and poorly animated opening sequences, with new "theme songs," so that they can qualify as locally made.

Germany & Italy
Germany has an increasingly strong base of fandom, but anime has had to struggle to overcome the concerns of parents and there has not yet been a Saint Seiya or UFO Robot Grandizer to create mass appeal. The first anime show to reach West Germany was Mach Go Go Go (Speed Racer) in the early 1970s; but this was branded "brutal" by parents and removed after only a few episodes. One of the more interesting shows to reach German TV in 1980 was Captain Future, based on the books of American science-fiction writer Edmond Hamilton, though this too came in for criticism and was cut. However, many subsequent imports tended toward safe material aimed at young girls, such as Heidi, though even this came under attack, when with others of this type, it was labeled in the German press as a "cheap Far East cartoon." However, things do seem to have improved lately, with shows such as the renowned shoji (girls) series Rose Of Versailles making an appearance in the last 12 months, alongside a flurry of sports based anime, such as Ganbare! Kickers and Attack No. 1.

Italy has perhaps the most relaxed attitude to anime and apparently the best approach in Europe to dubbing. Since 1973, Italian television has shown an astounding number of shows, with Go Nagai's UFO Robot Grandizer once again the forefront. Following on from this has come virtually every major show and format, from the top rated giant robot saga Gundam, to Leiji Matsumoto's Galaxy Express 999 and a bevy of "magical girl" shows, such as Minky Momo and Magical Emy.

Patlabor English Language version: ©1995 Tohokushinsha Corporation.

Back in the UK
In the UK, we have no history of anime on television to speak of, and indeed British TV has always walked a careful line in regards to children's programming. For example, the title of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was changed to Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, because the word Ninja had connotations which were felt to be unsuitable for children. Nor does Britain have much in the way of a comic book culture such as in Spain, which I am sure has worked in parallel to help ease anime into the mainstream on the continent. In our somewhat repressed climate, the arrival of anime on video took the BBFC completely by surprise.

What has amounted to a video invasion was launched in 1991 by Manga Video, a subsidiary of Island World. They had tested the waters with Katsuhiro Otomo's sensational cyberpunk film Akira, and such was its success that they formed a new dedicated label called Manga Video. Unfortunately, the company has had a fairly acrimonious relationship with "anime fans," not least because purists objected to the use of "manga" in connection with an anime label, when everyone knows that it refers to Japanese comic books. The real problems, though, began when Manga Video started to release titles in earnest, beginning with some fairly extreme material guaranteed to kick up a stink. The horror story Urotsukidoji did just this, earning an 18 certificate and giving the poor examiner nightmares for days after.

The British press was quick to pick up on the film and several disparaging articles appeared, notably one in The Independent; but there has been no great anti-anime crusade in this country, and the only real disappointment is that the extreme films have overshadowed the true depth and vision of which anime is capable.

However, along with some rather dubious dubbing practices, these negative factors combined to create something of a schism between "manga" fans and "anime" fans; indeed, the mere mention of the company's name at anime conventions tends to evoke calls of derision. This seems to be healing a little now, especially as Manga has since released some classics with wide appeal like Patlabor and Wings Of Honneamise. Meanwhile, the BBFC continue to tread a careful path, having recently refused for the first time to issue a certificate to a video, in this case Manga's La Blue Girl.