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Image by Federico Napoli
Anime has taken the world by storm, and it’s no surprise why. Whether it’s the classics like Naruto, One Piece, and Dragon Ball, or more recent hits like Attack on Titan and Spy x Family, anime continue to push the boundaries with their larger-than-life storytelling, multi-dimensional characters, and risque creative choices. But not every episode has resonated well with its audiences, even to the point where it’s banned from broadcast. As times have changed, several of these previously removed episodes have resurfaced on streaming one way or another. Without further ado, here are 7 banned anime episodes that are currently available for watching.
8 ‘Cowboy Bebop’
Episode 19 - "Wild Horses"
Cowboy Bebop - Wild Horses - 1999
Cowboy Bebop’s “Wild Horses” starts off with Spike having some mechanical troubles with his ship, the Swordfish II. While en route to his usual repair shop, Spike’s ship breaks down. Meanwhile, Jet and Fay are capturing a trio of hacker pirates who are responsible for hijacking unsuspecting ships with a virus. Spike eventually joins in on the mission, relying on manual piloting. After an intense chase that leaves everyone panicking, Spike is saved by Doohan and Miles aboard none other than the Columbia shuttle, which in Cowboy Bebop, is all patched up and good to go in space.
The episode’s ban stems from the coincidental timing of it all. “Wild Horses” was written before the shocking Columbia shuttle tragedy in 2003 when the shuttle disintegrated during re-entry, claiming seven lives. Although the episode’s portrayal of the shuttle is put in good light, due to the recent post-disaster nature of it all, it was deemed insensitive to air the episode under such circumstances.
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Cowboy Bebop
The futuristic misadventures and tragedies of an easygoing bounty hunter and his partners.
Release Date April 3, 1998
Finale Year November 30, 1998
Cast Koichi Yamadera , Steve Blum , Megumi Hayashibara , Wendee Lee , Unshô Ishizuka , Beau Billingslea , Aoi Tada , Melissa Fahn
Seasons 1
7
6 ‘Sailor Moon’
Episode 67 - "The Beach, the Island, and a Vacation: The Guardians' Break"
Image via Toei Animation
In one of the many filler episodes in Sailor Moon, “The Beach, the Island, and a Vacation: The Guardians’ Break”, the Sailor Guardians tag along with Rei on a sunny beach vacation. What’s supposed to be a blissful day of cute activities and sand-filled fun turns into the ultimate disaster. Chibiusa discovers a baby plesiosaur on a volcanic island about to erupt. Meanwhile, the Guardians have challenges of their own, including a chess battle between Sailor Mercury and Berthier and Sailor Moon’s awakening from a droid-induced sleep by Mamoru’s kiss.
Oddly enough, this episode isn’t banned for controversial content. Instead, it’s no longer showing due to a technical error - specifically a distribution mishap. DiC Entertainment, the North American distributor, cut Episode 67 along with others to meet limits. Later, the original tape was lost, and Toei Animation refused to send a new copy due to licensing issues. It took almost two decades before the episode resurfaced in Sailor Moon’s orbit.
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A group of schoolgirls discover they are incarnations of super-powered alien princesses, and use their abilities to defend the earth.
Release Date March 7, 1992
Cast Kotono Mitsuishi , Aya Hisakawa , Michie Tomizawa , Emi Shinohara , Rica Fukami , Tôru Furuya , Keiko Han , Kae Araki , Yasuhiro Takato
Main Genre Fantasy
Seasons 5
5 ‘Cowboy Bebop’
Episode 6 - "Sympathy for the Devil"
Image via Sunrise
Cowboy Bebop’s Spike Spiegel and Jet Black are on the hunt for Giraffe in “Sympathy for the Devil”. Giraffe is a self-proclaimed vigilante on a quest for justice, and he just so happens to have connections to a mysterious boy named Wen. On the outside, Wen looks like any ordinary child. However, it is revealed that Wen is an ageless being, forever stuck in his youth following a singularity even as a result of an astral gate explosion.
“Sympathy for the Devil” was momentarily banned as certain scenes allude to the tragic events of 9/11. At one point, Giraffe can be seen getting shot out of the wind of a tall hotel, causing him to fall from a skyscraper window. In addition to featuring buildings getting destroyed and terrorists causing trouble, the whole premise of the episode was deemed understandably triggering during its supposed time of airing.
4 ‘Excel Saga’
Episode 26 - "Going Too Far"
Image via J.C. Staff
The finale of Excel Saga, aptly titled “Going Too Far”, lives up to its name by crossing every line possible. The episode starts off with Excel and Hyatt swapping bodies due to a potion, leading to risque misadventures. From Excel (in Hyatt’s frail body) adjusting to her newfound weakness to Hyatt (in Excel’s body) ending up at a love hotel in Watanabe, it only gets irreverent from here. Nabeshin battles clones of That Man, II Palazzo jams with a punk band, and the episode ends with Hyatt oozing blood and Nabeshin attending a wedding showdown.
The episode had every intention of pushing the envelope and having it banned. Excel Saga’s director purposely tried to test the limits, resulting in “Going Too Far” being loaded with content that was regarded unfit for broadcast, including nudity, extreme gore, prostitution, and pedophilia references. There’s another peculiar reason why this episode was never even aired in Japan: it exceeded the country’s broadcast runtime by one, single minute. As a result, the episode is only available on DVD for a period of time.
3 ‘Dragon Ball’
Episode 18 - "The Turtle Hermit Way"
Image via Toei Animation
In Dragon Ball’s “The Turtle Hermit Way”, Goku and Krillin are pulled into Master Roshi’s grueling training in preparation for the World Martial Arts Tournament. The day starts with them plowing fields by hand, followed by exhausting chores like construction work and swimming laps in a lake swarming with sharks. The training escalates when Roshi has them dodge bees while tied to a tree. The worst part: the training only gets harder from there, with the addition of 50-pound shells strapped to their backs.
The episode faced backlash due to its portrayal of extreme and potentially abusive training methods. Depicting minors engaging in life-threatening activities definitely raised some concerns. Although the episode concludes with the boys showing humor in their resilience, and Roshi’s eccentric methods actually paying off, it does send some questionable moral implications about the idea of “tough love”.
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Dragon Ball
Son Gokû, a fighter with a monkey tail, goes on a quest with an assortment of odd characters in search of the Dragon Balls, a set of crystals that can give its bearer anything they desire.
Release Date February 26, 1986
Cast Masako Nozawa , Jôji Yanami , Tôru Furuya , Mayumi Tanaka , Hiromi Tsuru , Naoko Watanabe , Kôhei Miyauchi
Seasons 1
2 ‘Cowboy Bebop’
Episode 22 - "Cowboy Funk"
Image via Sunrise
In “Cowboy Funk,” the Bebop crew hunts a terrorist named Teddy Bomber, notorious for blowing up skyscrapers using teddy bears packed with explosives. Spike nearly captures him, but rival bounty hunter Andy, a wealthy cowboy enthusiast, gallops on horseback and derails the entire operation. Andy mistakes Spike for the terrorist, allowing Teddy Bomber to escape and set off more explosions. Egos clash, and their mission ends up becoming a high-stakes chase toward who could get their hands first on the actual bad guy.
Despite being a thought-provoking episode, raising themes of hedonism under capitalism, and criticizing Andy’s privileged hobbyist lifestyle compared to Spike’s genuine, noble cause, the airing of “Cowboy Funk” was momentarily held back. Similar to “Sympathy for the Devil”, the episode was banned in the aftermath of 9/11 because of its obvious portrayals of terrorism and the destruction of a skyscraper, which may not be appropriate during the supposed time of its broadcast.
1 ‘School Days’
Episode 12 - "School Days"
Image via TNK
School Days chronicles the daily life of first-year high school student Makoto Itou, who ends up becoming the on-again/off-again love interest of not just one, but several girls at school. Despite the cutesy premise of the show, the final episode of School Days breaks all genre barriers and immediately takes an extremely violent turn. In a sick turn of events, Makoto turns out to be a manipulative and unfaithful character, juggling between Kotonaha and Sekai. After cruelly dismissing Sekai and demanding she gets an abortion via text, Makoto is brutally stabbed by her in his apartment. Kotonoha then lures Sekai to the school rooftop, only to end up slashing her throat.
The unnecessary killing, excessive violence, and poor portrayal of mental instability have cemented this episode of School Days into anime infamy. Episode 12 was eventually pulled from most Japanese networks, following a real-life incident in 2007 where a teenager murdered her father with an axe.
English (US) ·