„This show is unhinged.” Dandadan doesn't hold back, making fun of anime's bizarre censorship
Dandadan once again shows that it is not afraid to touch on controversial topics. This time the bizarre censorship was the target.
The hit of the current anime season is definitely Dandadan, which can be watched on Netflix. The new crazy sci-fi anime is full of action, ghosts, aliens, and interesting stories that attract anime fans. The creators of this show fearlessly address a wide range of topics, including tragic and controversial ones, fearlessly incorporating various ideas into the storyline.
In Episode 10, they made fun of strange censorship, or more precisely, a particular joke related to it. As is known, in China, in order to meet broadcasting standards, shows must undergo thorough scrutiny, and inappropriate elements must be reworked. We recently saw this in Arcane, but this is not the only case and not the only issue that is subject to censorship.
In China, even blood in anime is censored - when it appears on the screen, it is either removed or the image is simply darkened. However, anime fans have been joking for years that the red color of blood in anime in China is changed to white. And Dandadan apparently decided to refer to this.
The last episode of this anime introduced Mr. Mantis Shrimp covered in a fluid, which was previously thought to be his blood. However, it turned out that in reality it was cow's milk, which helped solve his problem. He was offered a cow and then sent away. It's impossible not to notice that this is a humorous reference to the belief that aliens abduct cows. At the same time, it is also a clear joke aimed at the prevailing censorship in China. This joke has been circulating on the internet for years and was used for this purpose.
Fans of Dandadan immediately noted with amusement the intentions of the anime creators:
I realised that the milk blood was poking fun at censorship like that when I watched that episode - ObjectLess3847.
This show is freaking unhinged – LegitimateHost5068.
I haven't seen anyone point out how the whole milk blood subplot was a hilariously contrived setup to jam a cow abduction into Dandadan. Given what Dandadan is, though, it never would've been a complete work unless Tatsu did this - Steve_Blockman.
Yukinobu Tatsu has a talent for presenting the absurdities of the world in a hilarious way, while perfectly balancing comedy and drama in his creation. Because Dandadan is more than just crazy action and good humor, it's also a collection of interesting and moving stories.