Urotsukidoji-Legend of Overfiend, The  

Dir Hideki Takayama / 1989 / Japan

"5. Finding on Material Questions of Fact

5.1 The plot of this animated film is about the domination of the lives of teenagers at a Japanese high school by demons in the guise of students. The demons wreak havoc at the school and in the community through murder, rape and mayhem. The style of the animation is quite realistic when dealing with the "natural" world.

5.2 A dominant theme is that of the subjection of females through sexual assault and verbal abuse. The film contains at least three detailed and prolonged scenes of violent and relished rape, accompanied by strong verbal abuse. The victims' distress is emphasised. These scenes include the rape of a female student by a female teacher (reel 1 at 25 mins) and the non-consenting abusive sex (reel 2 at 43 mins).

5.3 The film has a high level of crude and assaultive language, and the camera frequently and gratuitously focuses on each of the female characters genital and breasts areas.

5.4The films emphasis on violent sexual abuse was not, in the opinion of thee Review Board, diminished by its animated style. The film's techniques gave an implicit invitation to the viewer to focus upon and enjoy the detailed and gratuitous rape sequences,

6. Reasons for the Decision

6.1 The Review Board based its decision principally on the scenes described in 5.2, and their nature as described in 5.4.

6.2 These depictions of sexual violence, in the Review Board's opinion constituted unduly detailed and relished acts of extreme violence against non-consenting persons, and therefore "indecent" within the meaning of sub-regulation 13(1)(a) of the Customs (Cinematograph Films) Regulations.

6.3 The representative of the applicant argued that the film , being animated and thereby exaggerated, and dealing with fantastic situations, was therefore less impactful. He argued that this was the first time that an animated film has been refused registration. He alleged that the video version was on sale in Sydney. He acknowledged that the film embodied ideas and a culture that were alien and unacceptable in Australia, but argued that adults should be able to view this Japanese film from an artistic viewpoint within the constraints of the R classification.

6.4 These arguments were rejected by the Review Board for the reasons cited in 5.2 and 5.4.

6.5 The Board of Review concluded that there was not adequate contextual justification for the material, and that therefore the film constituted indecent material under Customs (Cinematograph Films) Regulations 13(1)(a).

6.6 Under Customs (Cinematograph Films) Regulations 13(1)(a), the Review Board confirms the decision of  the Censorship Board to Refuse to Register Legend of Overfiend.

7. Summary

The Review Board's decision to confirm pursuant to  Customs (Cinematograph Films) Regulations 39b(1)(a), the decision of the Censorship Board to Refuse to Register Legend of Overfiend pursuant to Customs (Cinematograph Films) Regulations 13(1)(a). This decision was taken after full consideration of the applicant's submissions and after assessing the film against relevant legislative criteria and those contained in the current film classification guidelines endorsed by the Censorship Ministers and cited in State and Territory legislation.  21 July 1994"

OFLC and Film and Literature Board of Review-The Year in Review 1994-95

An R18+ (Medium Level Violence, Sex Scenes) was finally awarded on September 14th 1994. The print ran 104min (v), 3 min longer than the banned print. This played the cinemas before being released cut at 102m 54s by Siren Entertainment on their Manga Video label. This is the same length as the British release that the Melon Farmers site says is cut by 2m 12s.

The Manga video release in New Zealand makes mention that the film is banned in Australia.

Central Park Media/Anime 18 offer this uncut on DVD in the US. Better still, they have just put out THE PERFECT COLLECTION, containing this and its (also cut in Australia) sequel Urotsukidoji 2-Legend of Demon Womb. The series is presented on two discs. Disc one contains the three episodes that were edited together to make the LEGEND OF OVERFIEND feature. These are titled, BIRTH OF OVERFIEND, CURSE OF OVERFIEND, and FINAL INFERNO. THE PERFECT COLLECTION release retains all the original credits for each episode, along with the plot recaps. This explains the extended running time for this release.

Schnittberichte.com is a excellent German Language censorship site. Their comparison of the British (time suggests the Australian tape is identical) release and the Anime 18 DVD can be found here. 

The R4 DVD released by the AV Channel/Madman in late 2001 presents the film with the sequel, Legend of Demon Womb. The running time is 102m 54s, the same as the original censored Manga Video release.

Since this initial ban, the following Japanese Animation titles have ran into problems in Australia. All are covered elsewhere on this site.

DVD Comparisons

Urotsukidoji 2-Legend of Demon Womb

Dir Hideki Takayama / 1993 / Japan

Like the original this is out on DVD in the US as a single disc, or together with Part 1 in Urotsukidoji-The Perfect Collection, on the Anime 18 label. Disc two contains the two episodes that were edited together to create LEGEND OF DEMON WOMB. These are titled LEGEND OF DEMON WOMB, and BATTLE AT THE SHINJUKU SKYSCRAPERS. The full runtime for both episodes is 97min 37sec. This is nearly eleven minutes longer than the version that is presumed to be the uncut version. This can be explained by the retention of the original credits for each episode, as well as the plot recaps. The slower NTSC speed of the US disc would also have added to the time.

The R4 DVD released by the AV Channel/Madman in late 2001 presents the film with the original, Legend of OVERFIEND. The running time is 83m 33s, just over a minute longer than the old Manga Video release. This time seems to indicate that it is the same as the censored British release. Schnittberichte.com is a excellent German Language censorship site. Their comparison of the British release and the Anime 18 DVD can be found here. 

DVD Comparisons

Urotsukidoji III: Return of the Overfiend 
Episode 1: Birth of the True Overfiend

Dir Hideki Takayama / 1993 / Japan

The missing footage discussed for this film is not the work of the OFLC. However, the distributor SUBMITTED AN EDITED VERSION IN anticipation of Oflc problems.

BPS Video Services had a 49m (v) VHS passed in August 1994 with an R18+ (High Level Sex Scenes) rating. It was released on the Kiseki label soon after.

This would seem to be the same as the 48m 34s dubbed version that Kiseki had submitted to the British censors in April 1994. It had been rated 18 without cuts. This was followed in May 1994 by a 57m 18s subtitled print, again submitted by Kiseki. It was passed only after 3m 31s was removed. This 53m 48s VHS was rated 18.

So it is fair to assume that following the problems with LEGEND OF OVERFIEND in March 1994, that Kiseki decided to play it safe. This resulted in a censored version of Episode 1 being submitted to the Classification Board.

All four episodes of THE RETURN OF THE OVERFIEND have been collected together and released on DVD by US label Anime 18.

Urotsukidoji III: Return of the Overfiend 
Episode 2: The Mystery of Caesar's Palace

Dir Hideki Takayama / 1993 / Japan

The missing footage discussed for this film is not the work of the OFLC. However, the distributor SUBMITTED AN EDITED VERSION IN anticipation of Oflc problems.

BPS Video Services had a 52m (v) VHS passed in August 1994 with an R18+ (High Level Sex Scenes) rating. It was released on the Kiseki label soon after.

This would seem to be the same as the 51m 13s dubbed version that Kiseki had submitted to the British censors in April 1994. It had been rated 18 without cuts. This was followed in May 1994 by a 58m 33s subtitled print, again submitted by Kiseki. It was passed only after 7m 22s was removed. This 51m 21s VHS was rated 18.

So it is fair to assume that following the problems with LEGEND OF OVERFIEND in March 1994, that Kiseki decided to play it safe. This resulted in a censored version of Episode 2 being submitted to the Classification Board.

All four episodes of THE RETURN OF THE OVERFIEND have been collected together and released on DVD by US label Anime 18.

Urotsukidoji III: Return of the Overfiend 
Episode 3: The Collapse of Caeser's Palace

Dir Hideki Takayama / 1993 / Japan

The missing footage discussed for this film is not the work of the OFLC. However, the distributor SUBMITTED AN EDITED VERSION IN anticipation of Oflc problems.

The OFLC database does not list this as being rated, though it was released on tape by Kiseki in 1994. Not having viewed this particular tape, we will have to assume it to be pre-censored like the other three episodes of THE RETURN OF THE OVERFIEND 

In the UK in March 2000, Kiseki by a 40m 44s dubbed version cut down to 40m 41s before being rated 18. The reason for the censorship was described as:

The cuts were Compulsory. Cut required to explicit details of forcible rape, in accordance with BBFC guidelines on sexual violence.

All four episodes of THE RETURN OF THE OVERFIEND have been collected together and released on DVD by US label Anime 18.

Urotsukidoji III: Return of the Overfiend  
Episode 4: Passage into the Unknown

Dir Hideki Takayama / 1993 / Japan

The missing footage discussed for this film is not the work of the OFLC. However, the distributor SUBMITTED AN EDITED VERSION IN anticipation of Oflc problems.

The cover of the Kiseki tape claims that it is rated R18+ (High Level Sex Scenes), though the OFLC database does not list it as being passed. 

In the UK in May 1995 Kiseki submitted a 49m 45s print to the censors. It lost 8m 7s of footage before being passed at 41m 31s with an 18 rating. A pre-cut 41m 21s version was also passed in May 1996.

The Kiseki (Australia) tape runs 42min approx. Comparing this against the UK release seems to indicate that we to have a heavily censored version.

All four episodes of THE RETURN OF THE OVERFIEND have been collected together and released on DVD by US label Anime 18.

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