FUNi gives reason why Hetalia is TV-MA via Twitter

[calavasas.livejournal.com]

Some of you might have already heard about FUNimations' Hetalia rating since another member of this community had posted a few days ago that the Hetalia dub is going to be rated TV-MA and that yes, FUNi will in fact give accents to the characters.

Well a friend of mine (who isn't in this comm) had linked me to FUNi's Twitter page and on there it said:

"We rate each series as a whole and are rating Hetalia as TV-MA because of some instances of profanity, crude humor and adult situations."

Here is their page as proof, though you might have to scroll a bit and press the "More" button at the end to find it.

So basically it's for mature audiences because of England and Romano's colorful vocabulary, the F-box, and France...well, being France. XD At least that's what I think.

Well, now that we all know why it's getting a mature rating, will you buy the dub once it's released? And if you didn't know the reasons why Hetalia was given the TV-MA, what would have been some of your guesses?

I will definitely buy it once it's released. I'm getting excited just thinking about it. And I'll be old enough to purchase it once it comes out anyway, though I might have to explain to my mom why it's given such a strict rating... Though I don't mind the rating at all, because then this means FUNi won't cut or edit anything. I mean how can they without messing it up? The episodes are only five minutes long... Does FUNi even cut or edit anything with their dubs...?

Just wanted to give the Hetalia community an update and create discussion. =) I also posted this because a lot of Hetalia fans didn't understand why FUNi gave the series a TV-MA rating, including myself, so I wanted to help clear things up by letting you guys know.

Mods, I don't know if this would count as being the same as the previous post about the TV-MA rating since it's a bit different, though if you think it is, then I understand if this post is removed.

Comments

[kenichi-bokushi.livejournal.com]

I'm looking forward to buying the DVDs, no matter how the dub turns out, given the quality of the subs. Their TV-MA rating merely tells me they don't plan to censor it.

[calavasas.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's what makes me even happier. More than likely they won't censor anything, all the more reason to buy it, at least for me.

[nupinoop296.livejournal.com]

I'm going to have to get my dad to buy it for me. Mom would ban me so fast. >_>

[calavasas.livejournal.com]

My dad doesn't really care. It's my mom I'm gonna need to give an explanation to...

I'm gonna have to find a way to convince her that there's nothing bad about me watching this series... o__o;

[silverpawz.livejournal.com]

ACCENTS? ACCEEEEEEEENTS? O_______O
sjaJFABFBHJSBGHBGJ :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Where is the original post about accents? :3

[silverpawz.livejournal.com]

nevermind, found it :D

[jenjira.livejournal.com]

I guessed that that would be why it was rated TV-MA but I was still rather surprised.
I would love to buy it, if I have money by the time it comes out...
Still terrified for the dub though. Nonetheless, I must keep my hopes up!
:D

[jenjira.livejournal.com]

Also, I was prepared to rage in case England was not given an accent.

[frills-r-us.livejournal.com]

I'm still dreading it

[calavasas.livejournal.com]

Why are you dreading it? =(

[calavasas.livejournal.com]

My mom doesn't care either, and she won't watch it with me because she doesn't like anime anyway. xD

She won't mind as long as it's not porn and as long as it doesn't have homosexual implica--oh shit...France...damn.

I am...going to have to begin planning what I'm going to say to her...

[azkun.livejournal.com]

I honestly don't care how bad the dub is, if anything, that'll just make it even funnier. I was guarunteed to buy it the moment they said there were going to be accents. THIS IS THE FIRST DUB I HAVE BEEN EXCITED FOR... EVER.

[azkun.livejournal.com]

Oh and tv-ma is cool too I guess.

[rhambling.livejournal.com]

The rating doesn't bug me. I'd be able to buy it even if I wasn't 18 by the time it comes out, the people in Canada are to lazy/don't care enough to ask your age. Then again in Canada it would be rated 14a or PG or something since we're not so strict.

[calavasas.livejournal.com]

Lol Really? Man, America is so strict when it comes to things like these...

I'd be able to buy it either way. I mean, my mom already knows I watch it in the original version with subs, so this won't be much different. The only problem I'll have is the cost of the DVD...

[emsiecat.livejournal.com]

The rating doesn't bother me at all ^^ In fact I'm happy since it'll mean no censoring or cuts.

[calavasas.livejournal.com]

Exactly! That makes buying the dub all the more worth while. ^^ Well, at least for me it does.

[rise-kujikawa.livejournal.com]

I tought it was strange at first that Hetalia was rated as Mature, especially considering that the anime has a somewhat childish style. However, like someone above said, that's awesome, it just means nothing will be censured. PLUS, ACCENTS. OH GOD. Like azkun above said, this is the first time I'm excited for a dub. Ever.

And it's no problem for the DVDs, I bought a M rated game when I was 15, so there shouldn't be any problems now hahahaha!

[calavasas.livejournal.com]

YES, ACCENTS. I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THOSE ESPECIALLY. I've always been excited about dubs, but this is the first time I've been really excited.

Ah but don't you live in Canada? D: I am not stalking you I swear. Aren't they more lenient with things like these? Here in America they're more strict, at least that's what I've been told from friends who live in Canada...

[dilemina.livejournal.com]

Not surprised. :I I didn't ever think that Hetalia would get anything lower than PG-13. Although, My personal opinion is that the MA is there for Marketing purposes since everyone and their mother will buy that shit.

Eh, to each their own~ I just want to see who is what so I can win my bets with my friends. Oh, and to watch the storm of lulz occur afterward. |D;

[inner-wings.livejournal.com]

MA is there for Marketing purposes since everyone and their mother will buy that shit.

Probably. That's what rubs me the wrong way, but whatever.

[oresame.livejournal.com]

I usually don't buy anime DVDs, but I think I would if I could for Hetalia :D And even if the dub won't be so great, it wouldn't bother me at all. If anything, I'd be more amused, haha. Especially with the accents deal, I can't wait to hear that.

The rating isn't so surprising, too. At least there won't be cuts or censoring, which would be kind of unconventional, maybe, considering episodes are only 5 minutes long. _{Also, unable to resist to add this. Because we all know it's true. Well, not really but still OKAY (http://i40.tinypic.com/ksysp.png)}

[calavasas.livejournal.com]

I think FUNi will do a good job. I can't wait to hear their accents!

FFFFFFFFFFFF. OH MY GOD THAT IS EPIC. LMAO

[the-laurasaur.livejournal.com]

Interesting...

I hope that the accents will be good!

^{I'm still wondering about the voice actors though...hmmm...}

[calavasas.livejournal.com]

Me too. I want to see who was cast as who already!!! Dx

[fuzzlekins.livejournal.com]

Ah, so that's why. That makes sense, I guess~

And the rating doesn't matter for me, since I'm most likely going to have my mom order it online when it comes out. My parents are totally lenient with letting me watch mature rated stuff, as long as it isn't porn. c:

Now I just need to figure out how I'm going to pay for it. Dubbed anime is expensive...

[barnaby.livejournal.com]

Still buying both the DVDs and manga when they come out =w=b I never ever buy anime DVDs and I haven't bought manga in such a long time. I like saving the money for other things to be honest. But I'm super excited for Hetalia to come out and I'm making an exception this time :D

[anyaotaku.livejournal.com]

I would sell my kidney if necessary to buy it. That hopefully won't need to happen, but it's always an option.
It still seems weird to me that it needs to be rated TV-MA. Other than Iggy's bizarre British curse words and France's molestation of the world, there's not much to worry about, and they hardly constitute a mature rating. Whatever, I'm old enough to buy it, so it doesn't affect me. :P

[calavasas.livejournal.com]

I need to get a job in order to buy it. Dx Or just wait and see how much money I get for my birthday...hopefully I get gift cards to Best Buy or something...

Dubbed anime is expensive! The Ouran DVDs I bought were $50 and so was the Soul Eater one! I'm dreading the cost of the Hetalia dub...

[amayaz.livejournal.com]

It's strange to think of it as TV-MA, but that rating implies that they won't censor it all that much, which is a good sign. I certainly hope to purchase the series no matter what.

[calavasas.livejournal.com]

Same here. I just need to save up again in order for me to buy it.

[wakalakaosaka.livejournal.com]

I haven't been this excited over a dub since Funi!One Piece xD

As for the TV-MA rating, I'm glad because it just implies that they won't censor anything. (I'm glad I'm 18 XD)

[calavasas.livejournal.com]

I haven't been this excited ever since the Ouran dub.

Lol I'll be 18 at the end of this month, so I won't have to worry. :3

[brsis.livejournal.com]

I'm A. old enough not to have to worry about ratings anymore and B. actually quite glad that they're making it harder for kids to get hold of this.

I know that they will ANYWAY, but I just think it takes... a certain level of maturity not to take Hetalia too seriously.

FUNi DOES do some editting, but so far I've only ever seen it on the odd series that really, REALLY pushed the boat out I.E. was bordering on illegal in the US.

Now they need to hurry up and sub-license it to Revelation or somebody so I can get a region2 copy.

[digitalskye.livejournal.com]

Do you mean Dance in the Vampire Bund? I know they edit the streaming...Though they haven't announced if the DVDs will be uncut, after initially announcing they would be. Not my series, though, so I haven't been keeping up to date.

And I agree--Hetalia is fun and all, but people shouldn't look at past events and stop comprehending the horrors or ignore it in favor of fantasy. I think we've all seen certain fans that are insane in their obsession, where they act that history is Hetalia and nothing else.

[digitalskye.livejournal.com]

I don't mind the TV-MA; it's not like I'm barred from buying itxD Normally, Hetalia probably would have been given a PG-13-like rating, in the 'States. Crude could technically indicate that Funimation wants to avoid potential backlash for the whole "history parody" aspect; that some could take the general tone of the series as trying to ignore or glorify horrendous events. At least with this rating, we know there is no censoring.

Also, I'm interested to see what will become of the dub. I'll be buying regardless, though^^

[calavasas.livejournal.com]

I don't mind the rating. I think it fits actually, I mean, especially if those srs bzns people take the stereotypes (which I didn't even know there were any in the beginning until I started paying more attention to them) to the ass and get super offended, or if they get all angry because it's a parody of history and WW2 is supposed to be horrible, not cute and funny etc. and not all people of that nationality act like that! etc.

Like brsis had said, people shouldn't take Hetalia too seriously. It is mainly for entertainment purposes. You shouldn't get butthurt about it or use it as a substitute for a history textbook.

At least that's what I think. :I

[rabieskatten.livejournal.com]

Accents... I will try to get my hands on this just to hear how stupid the accents will sound XD *seeing very much forward to this* I hope someone will post the dubs at the community for download (It'd be VERY appreciated)

[calavasas.livejournal.com]

Same here. I'd rather have them keep it in it's original format. And yes, THAT is also another reason I'm glad Hetalia was given the TV-MA rating. Little kids wouldn't understand it anyway and parents would probably be WTF-ing when they catch their children watching it. You have to have a certain level of maturity to understand that Hetalia shouldn't be a study guide for a history test and also be mature enough to not take the stereotypes to the ass...which makes me sad because that's the exact reason why S. Korea won't be in the anime. TAT

[piekalla.livejournal.com]

I just think it's so weird that Hetalia was supposed to air on a kid's station in Japan, but now the dub is going to be MA.

[calavasas.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's what still astounds me.

[miezen.livejournal.com]

FUNimation really doesn't censor their DVD releases in the first place. idk if you heard all the fuss about their announcement regarding Dance in the Vampire Bund or not, but the reason why that got people in such an uproar is because FUNimation pretty much never censors their releases, so hearing they planned to censor something pissed people off. They did back in their early days as a company with Dragon Ball, but as far as I know, they haven't since. Hetalia was never in any danger of a censored DVD release.

Also, I don't buy this reason that they gave at all. They also have the license to Sengoku Basara, which they have streaming on their site. Sengoku Basara is just as bad as the Hetalia anime, if not worse, when it comes to profanity/crude humor/sexual situations/etc, but FUNi rated it TV-14. This is their official reason that they'll publicly tell people, sure, but I don't think it's their real reason. I think their real reason is that they're trying to protect themselves from any potential controversy tied with the series. If someone wants to complain, they can pretty easily say they should've had some idea of what they were in for from the rating. Honestly, this makes more sense than their official reason, IMO.

[calavasas.livejournal.com]

Oh good. Thanks for telling me that FUNi doesn't censor the DVD releases.

Yeah, I think you're right. I think another reason why it's rated that way is because of potential problems they'd have with more serious people (like you said), such as it parodying history and the stereotypes, which you really can't tell on the surface unless you look too much in to it. Either way, I'm glad FUNi is taking the saying "Better safe than sorry" seriously.

[violathornhaven.livejournal.com]

The rating doesn't matter to me. I'm nineteen, and there won't be any censoring (not that I thought that there would be any in the first place).

However, I won't be buying it. Most likely my mother would. One, I'm a poor college student. Two, she likes Hetalia. Three, she got me into anime i the first place and would be willing to buy it.

And I don't care about the dub (although accents? HELL YES). I personally haven't been really disappointed by Funi so far, so I'll watch it in English. And if it doesn't turn out as well as I hope, there's always Japanese with English subs.

[calavasas.livejournal.com]

I'll be eighteen soon, so I won't have to worry either.

Wait...your MOM got you into anime? Wow. XD My own mom probably wouldn't mind Hetalia, except France...I don't think she'll like France's molestation of the world...