I don't like or care about Ghost Stories, but I think it gets a pass because NO ONE thinks that one is "accurate". Everyone knows it's a dumpster fire of improv that is nowhere close to the original.
Shin-chan is basically the Japanese South Park. But again, Americans largely didn't give a shit about it overall. It ran on Toonami and yet still has never really had a huge following. Claiming otherwise is like saying sports anime have been huge in the US when anyone with any connection to the industry will tell you they're not.
Those both also came out in a TOTALLY different era of anime fandom. Crunchyroll (for example) was founded the exact same year Shin-chan was licensed, so streaming was not the primary way most people got their anime. (DVD sales were still robust in that era because for many, that's how they watched so viewers were largely self-selected) Other shows were also graded on a MASSIVE curve because they were compared to things like "Card Captors" and the firm belief that Sailor Stars would never get a US release and earlier seasons of Sailor Moon were also heavily edited.
In other words, in the early to mid 00s, while they were certainly hated, heavy edits were often the norm and considered an unfortunate cost of business. They were also a long running "excuse" for sticking with fansubs/piracy even if there was an official release. Are you conceding that as a valid response for people who don't like the edits?
