When a domestic release of an anime is billed as a "re-versioning" or "creative re-imagining", it instantly recalls painful memories of titles like Robotech and Shaman King. However, when FUNimation announced that their adaptation of Crayon Shin-chan was going to air on Adult Swim, there was obvious confusion. The norm was to edit shows aimed at older audiences for the pre-K crowd. What would FUNimation's editors do this time? Several months and worried "Ask John" columns later, FUNimation unleashed their version of Shin Chan upon the world. However, it's hard to say if it was anything anybody was expecting.

The focus of Shin-chan hasn't changed from the original version: Shin Nohara and his family live in modern-day Tokyo, and deal with a ton of strange (and potentially insane) people. Alternatively, a side character, such as Shin's friends or neighbors, goes about some aspect of his or her life. This, of course, inevitably leads to an encounter with Shin somehow. In either case, hilarity, property damage, and full-frontal pre-pubescent male nudity ensues.

To fit the Adult Swim demographic, FUNimation took a risk that could have easily alienated fans and purists alike. Rather than put out a straight translation, the translators wrote their own dub script from scratch. The result is a hilarious jumble of euphemisms, double entendres, and black humor, all delivered with a strange childlike innocence. To make the series flow better, FUNimation rearranged the order of the series' episodes to bring certain characters in earlier, and to bring the subject matter to modern day.

Some character roles were rewritten. For example, Shin's friend Penny was changed from a simple bitch to a girl who lives in fear of her father's "hurty belt," and pounds a stuffed bunny to chase away "the gloomies." Not every joke works, but there tends to be far more hits than misses in a given episode. The new script is tied together by a dub cast that delivers a simply outstanding performance. The cast, which includes industry vets Monica Rial (Ai), Laura Bailey (Shin), and Troy Baker (Action Bastard), delivers every one liner, every filthy song, and every off-color joke with gusto.

The first batch of episodes introduces Shin and company, as well as the overall strangeness that prevails through the rest of the series. Viewers are led through a number of outlandish stories which include Shin's quest to obtain the hottest new toy based on his idol, Action Bastard, by sucking back ten sausages. Another plot focuses on Shin's drive for an allowance by going on a "pee strike." In short, he claims that he will not use the restroom until his mother gives in to his demand. The situation becomes more absurd when Shin's father, sick of being given a tiny allowance, returns home. The two band together to increase their mutual cash flow, after solidifying their resolve with a strange song about men having honor and a penis. The secondary characters get their own chance to shine, sometimes in shockingly disturbing ways. For example, Penny plays the star of an episode, "Motherfucking Bunny!", in which the very object she uses to chase away the gloomies comes back to haunt her. By the eighth episode, the cast expands further as Shin inadvertently causes the family homestead to explode. They are forced into apartment life as a result, which includes the requisite unusual neighbors and bitchy landlady.

The series' filthy humor is driven to surreal levels by an unorthodox visual style. Shin-chan boasts simply-drawn characters, and bright colors that would be more at home in the Sunday funnies than an anime series. Visual gags and references are inserted in most scenes, which give character to bland environments. The art is tied together by surprisingly clean animation, which focuses on a level of detail more commonly found in American animation.

Shin-chan is a series that won't sit well with most people. It's foul, it's vulgar, and it's far from the semi-innocent family sitcom that airs in Japan. At this point, the scripts are a bit rough, and there are definitely areas for improvement. However, the good definitely outweighs the bad. If the series continues to improve, Shin Chan could easily become a true must-see for the over-18 crowd.