The Hero (Nobuyuki Hiyama) prepares to meet a new challenger in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018), Nintendo
In the aftermath of the two esteemed creators setting the internet ablaze with their criticisms of America’s content standards, nearly all traces of the recent anti-censorship discussion held between Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii and former Shonen Jump Editor-in-Chief Kazuhiko Torishima have been forcefully scrubbed from the internet.

The censored female Gadabout as she appears in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake (2024)/the female Gadabout as illustrated by Akira Toriyama for Dragon Quest III (1988), Square Enix
As previously reported, during an interview given to Japanese video game news outlet Den-fami Nico Game Magazine during the recent Toyo Game Show 2024, the two were asked by their host Naz Chris about the censorious changes made to the Female Warrior, Female Gadabout, and Male Monster Wrangler class designs in the upcoming Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake.

“Well, there are a lot of restrictions. Like you can’t be too revealing,” Horii began, as per a transcript of the interview provided by Japanese video game news source Game’s Talk and subsequently machine translated by Google Translate.

Pressed in turn by Chris, “I mean, it’s fiction, but isn’t it fine for you, the protagonist, to go on an adventure in it?’ Is that wrong? It’s a game. It’s non-fiction in the virtual experience of fiction, so I think it should be fun,” the RPG icon affirmed, “I don’t know. I really don’t know though. If you reveal too much, the [target] age group will increase. Or maybe it won’t be suitable for all ages.”
The female Warrior, as illustrated by Akira Toriyama for Dragon Quest III (1988), Enix / The female Warrior as she appears in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake (2024), Square Enix

Jumping off of his colleague’s point, Torishima then explained, “Compliance is an ‘absolute god’. There is something like evil in the name of good. It’s not like everyone doesn’t feel uncomfortable. Because everyone has different ideas about what is good and bad, like clean and dirty. At the root of everything, there are a few things that you absolutely must not do, and if you don’t do those things, everything else will be fine, right? That doesn’t exist.’”

“The idea of ​​sex education that comes from religious concepts [a reference to America’s puritanism rather than a dig at the group mentality of progressive activists] from the West is in America, right?,” he continued. “Their idea of ​​compliance is really narrow. When publishing comics over there, you have to separate them by age. If it’s a Shonen Jump manga, you can’t publish it unless it’s 13 years old or older. You have to do all the retakes. You have to take out insurance in case of a lawsuit. It’s really troublesome. That’s why Japan is also badly influenced by that.”

Closing out this portion of their interview, Horii ultimately added, “You can choose a male or female protagonist, but you can’t say that you choose a man or a woman. They are Type 1 and Type 2. I wonder who on earth would complain if we made them male and female. I don’t know.”
The Type 1 and Type 2 variants of The Hero in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake (2024), Square Enix
While this admission that such censorship was necessitated by the prudish nature of American audiences and not done out of Japanese creators’ own volition was taken as a victory by those who continue to fight for artistic integrity, it unsurprisingly seems that the pair’s talk ruffled some feathers somewhere up there food chain, as just four days after the interview was initially shared – and three days after it was commented on by X owner Elon Musk – it has been all but entirely scrubbed from the internet.

To this end, the initial video upload has been removed, the above transcript from Game’s Talk has been deleted, and the Twitter user whose translation of the video brought it to widespread Western attention not only took down his original thread, but also posted a direct apology for his actions.

“I would like to sincerely apologize for the incorrect English subtitles created for Mr. Kazuhiko Torishima’s statement,” wrote the user, as machine translated by Google Translate. “In the scene where he mentioned ‘Puritan,’ it was mistakenly translated as ‘sex education.’ This error was due to my mishearing. I deeply apologize for any inconvenience caused to all parties involved.

Archive Link @saou0345 via Twitter
Alongside this removal, a statement was also issued by Japanese news program Koso Koso – who notably did not host the event, but did allow some of their staff to work on it, including Chris – in which a spokesperson for the network both claimed that the relevant segment of Horii and Torishima’s interview had been taken out of context and implored the public to stop sharing the creators’ words.

“Regarding the disturbance and related news reports, etc., the performers would like to inform everyone and make a request,” wrote the network, as per a transcript of the above image shared by Yahoo Japan and machine translated by DeepL. “The live broadcast’“Game Creators Special Program with Yubo & Masirito’s KosoKoso Broadcasting Station’ was held on Saturday, September 28, 2024, and it has been reported on social networking sites that some comments made by the performers were mistranslated by unrelated third parties when translated into English. In addition, some of the comments made by the performers have been spread in a mistranslated form. Not only that, but some of the performer’s statements have been cut out and quoted as if the speaker was expressing a negative opinion about a particular ideology or belief, and the video has been spread in a manner that is far removed from the true meaning of the statements and the original content and message of the video.”
The Heroes of the Erdrick Saga stand tall in Dragon Quest I-III Remakes, Square Enix
“Malicious videos and transcriptions have been spread on multiple YouTube channels and social networking accounts, and videos with incorrect English translations of the subtitles and articles using them as sources of information have spread and spread not only domestically but also internationally,” they continued. “The mistranslated word is ‘puritan’. The word ‘清教徒’ should be ‘puritan,’ but it is mistranslated as ‘sex education’.”

“This situation was an unintentional misunderstanding by the speaker, and we deeply regret it as it may damage the trust not only in the performer himself but also in all parties involved, and we strongly protest against the actions that led to this situation,” the spokesperson concluded. “We strongly protest the actions that have led to this situation, and ask that the public to refrain from spreading articles based on mistranslations or arbitrarily cut videos that differ from the original content and message of the entire video.”
Archive Link KosoKoso (@KosoKoso_hoso) via Twitter
As of writing, it’s unclear which individual or entity ordered the scrubbing of Horii and Torishima’s interview from the internet.

However, given the speed and tenaciousness with which the take down notices were issued, speculation suggests that Square Enix themselves likely had a hand in the entire affair.
Jessica refuses to join in on the group’s conversation in Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (2004), Square Enix
Players can start killing Slimes in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake as soon as it hits shelves on November 14th