Manga Up! Censors Everything from Cleavage to… Knees!?

Less than a week ago, Square Enix launched their own manga distribution website and app, “Manga Up!” with classics like Fullmetal Alchemist, popular hits like Goblin Slayer!, and new exclusives like Daemons of the Shadow Realm, things looked promising—until readers started noticing the censorship in the form of giant black bars.

Now to be clear, the black bars aren’t just covering nudity—or even implied nudity, like conveniently placed steam or something similar. Instead, they are covering everything from the somewhat understandable—i.e., bikinis, panty shots, and extreme cleavage—to the seemingly absurd—i.e., the crotch region of jeans and the knees of characters. It’s a “bit much” euphemistically speaking.

The Censorship in Square Enix’s MangaUp app is so absurd and hilarious.

ICYMI, Manga Up is a recently launched English manga reading service launched by Square Enix two days ago.

Also RIP knee !!! pic.twitter.com/CRdX6pg9XF

— VisheraGames (That One Mod Guy) (@panja_mani) July 28, 2022

As for Manga Up!’s response to the whole kerfuffle, the issue stems from the fact that the app is being released worldwide outside of Japan. Their statement seems to imply that, instead of different versions of the app being tailored to the differing rules and sensibilities of each country and platform, Manga Up! has only a single version of the app which follows the strictest rules found across all locations and platforms. It’s basically the safest way to maximize profits with global marketing.

While Manga Up! was quick to assure readers in their official statement that the service is “still in the early exploratory stages” and that they “will strive to improve while listening to your feedback,” it’s clear there is no quick fix on the horizon. Even Manga Up! themselves are willing to admit the obvious: If you aren’t happy with the censorship, your only choice is to go somewhere else.

Source: Kotaku