I'm not an "Eyeshield 21" fan per say (I do enjoy it when I've watched it though), but I am a fan of anime, a fan of art, commercial and independent, and I'm definitely not a fan of excessive editing and censorship, and in anime localization it just seems to have a unique case. I thought after what happened with "One Piece" things would change, after all one of the main reasons Toei Animation took "One Piece" away from 4Kids and gave it to FUNimation was because fans were so pissed off.
There's really no point in heavy localization anymore. Anime may be a niche but it's not like Americans don't know what anime is anymore. Back in the day when "Astro Boy" and "Speed Racer" first aired on American airwaves all they did was change the names to ones American kids knew, covered up some Japanese cultural references, and edited out whatever was too violent or too sexual or too controversial for childrens' standards and practices. They never changed the music or spliced/cut episodes or altered character traits in a way that would make it more "appealing" to Western sensibilties. And those two anime, more than any others from back in the day, paved the way for America anime fandom today.
But almost everytime nowadays it's like if you're not an anime fan, if you're an outsider, you don't know what the fans want, and even if you're not a fan finding that episodes have been cut certainly doesn't sit well. Imagine being a 10-year-old becoming a fan of "Eyeshield 21" through the dub and then finding out story material's been cut, I know I'd be pissed off. It should only take common sense to figure out that children aren't as critical of entertainment as adults, and that they'll look past the subtleties as long as it's entertaining. There's no need for all the Americanization, I haven't seen any proof that it makes anime more appealing to a young mainstream audience, all it really does is tick off part of the audience.
Oh well, I guess EYESHIELD 21 PROJECT is just playing it by ear. I'm sick and tired of the industry not learning from mistakes, even "Dragonball Z" would've been just as successful in America without the dub changes. So I encourage "Eyeshield 21" fans and anime fans to do what they can to make things right, find ways to get into contact with the companies involved with the "Eyeshield 21" dub and tell them what you think. I know I will,