00:00Several recent incidents have reignited the debate.
00:03In Suzhou, 2022, a young cosplayer was arrested while reporting on summertime rendering.
00:10She was wearing a Japanese kimono and portraying an anime character.
00:14The police detained her for hours and accused her of picking quarrels and provoking trouble,
00:19an ambiguous charge, simply for wearing that outfit.
00:23In the video of the arrest, the officer can be heard shouting at her that,
00:27as a Chinese woman, she should wear hanfu, traditional Chinese clothing, instead of kimono.
00:33The officers confiscated her dress and forced her to write a 500-word self-criticism.
00:39This case exploded on social media.
00:42Thousands of users shared it along with heated debates,
00:45ranging from the most fervent nationalism to voices of alarm over police excesses.
00:50For their part, although reports are less precise,
00:53viral videos have been circulated of cosplayers dressed
00:57as Naruto characters being attacked in public during youth events in Shanghai.
01:02In these images, captured by attendees,
01:05hostile groups lash out at the young people in costume,
01:08rip off their wigs, and shout nationalist slogans.
01:11While there are no official sources that fully document these events,
01:15several witnesses on Chinese and foreign social media confirm
01:18that they took place in the context of street demonstrations by young people,
01:23serving as an example of how some nationalists consider
01:26any celebration of Japanese pop culture to be offensive.
01:30To understand these incidents,
01:31we must look back at the long and painful history between China and Japan.
01:36China suffered Japanese invasions and occupation,
01:39especially during World War II.
01:41The 1937 Nanking Massacre and the Comfort Women
01:45are deep historical wounds.
01:47Resentment still runs high,
01:49and every visit by Japanese politicians to the Yasukuni Shrine,
01:54where the remains of imperial soldiers are enshrined,
01:57provokes massive protests in China.
02:00In addition, recent tensions in the Pacific
02:02over Taiwan and territorial disputes
02:05have fueled Chinese nationalism.
02:08For this reason,
02:09many Chinese believe that wearing a symbol of Japan
02:12is insensitive to historical victims.
02:15In the words of the Guardian,
02:16hostility and unease toward Japan
02:19have existed in China for decades
02:21because of these past atrocities.
02:23Thus, a cosplayer in a kimono or an anime
02:27fan may find themselves, for some,
02:30in the eye of this long storm of historical resentment.
02:34For years,
02:35the Chinese government has strictly censored audiovisual content,
02:39including anime.
02:40Only content that promotes true,
02:42good, and beautiful ideals
02:44is allowed on TV or official platforms.
02:48Entire series have been removed
02:49for being considered too violent,
02:51erotic, or subversive.
02:53For example,
02:54Shingiki no Kaijin,
02:56Attack on Titan,
02:57was outright banned in 2015
02:59for its extreme violence
03:01and for portraying crimes against public morality.
03:04Similarly,
03:05in recent years,
03:06China has set new criteria.
03:08It will not allow student romance plots
03:10or stories of rebellion against governments,
03:13elements that are ubiquitous in many anime.
03:16As a curious fact,
03:17China also creates this type of anime.
03:20Under these rules,
03:21titles such as One Piece,
03:23which tells the story of pirates fighting the authorities,
03:26or even classic high school romances,
03:28Kimi and I, Tadok,
03:30Toradora,
03:31could be banned.
03:32All this means that Japanese studios
03:34and international platforms
03:35must adapt or discard content
03:38before it's broadcast in China.
03:40In addition to eliminating entire series,
03:43Chinese censors often edit specific scenes.
03:46A common technique
03:47is to replace red blood with white,
03:49a measure that leaves sequences comical or absurd.
03:53The result is visible in popular anime,
03:55Chainsaw Man,
03:56Shingiki,
03:57One Piece,
03:58Dragon Ball,
03:59whose Chinese versions sometimes seem
04:01almost like satires of the original.
04:03The official goal is to protect young people,
04:06the main audience for cartoons,
04:08from vulgar,
04:09violent,
04:10and bloody content.
04:11This fits in with the government's general trend
04:13of regulating the media
04:15to instill a moral message
04:17in mass culture.
04:19Despite all this,
04:20anime fandom in China
04:22is massive.
04:23The country is home to millions of fans,
04:26the second largest audience
04:28in the world after Japan,
04:29who watch series on Chinese platforms
04:31or travel abroad.
04:33The star site is Billy Billy,
04:35a Chinese equivalent of YouTube
04:37born out of anime fandom.
04:39According to 2018 data,
04:41Billy Billy already had almost
04:42100 million registered users
04:44and around 76 million monthly active users,
04:48of which more than 80%
04:49were young people for Generation Z.
04:51This portal not only broadcasts licensed series,
04:55such as Jujutsu Kaisen,
04:57Naruto,
04:58Kimetsu no Yaiba,
04:59but also promotes the creation
05:01of fan-generated content,
05:03articles,
05:03fan art,
05:04AMVs,
05:05Dijinchis,
05:06generating a vibrant online community.
05:09Pop culture festivals and events
05:11are flourishing in cities.
05:13For example,
05:14Shanghai hosts the Joy Universe Festival,
05:16a large anime carnival
05:18with themed shops,
05:20collectible passports,
05:21and even official pop-ups
05:22for Japanese series.
05:24Jujutsu Kaisen and Blue Lock
05:26were invited.
05:27A single shopping mall
05:28was expected to receive
05:305 million visitors
05:31in the summer of 2024,
05:33demonstrating how lucrative
05:35the otaku universe is.
05:37Similarly,
05:38comic and anime conventions
05:39called ACG fairs
05:41are filled with costumed fans,
05:43Japanese merchandise,
05:45talks,
05:45and cosplay contests.
05:47On the industrial side,
05:48China even produces
05:49its own successful
05:51Donghua,
05:52Chinese anime.
05:53Njutsu,
05:54for example,
05:55sparked both national pride
05:56and rejection
05:57of Hollywood competitors.
05:59In short,
06:00in everyday Chinese reality,
06:02conservative policies
06:03coexist with a youth culture
06:05enthusiastic about
06:06Japanese anime.
06:08Social media reflects
06:09this contradiction.
06:11Platforms such as
06:11Weibo and Bilibili
06:13are buzzing with geek activity.
06:15Debates,
06:16memes,
06:16streamers,
06:17and otakus
06:18sharing opinions.
06:20In response to cases
06:21such as that of the
06:22Sujo cosplayer,
06:24messages emerged
06:25in both directions.
06:27Some internet users
06:27supported the police,
06:29recalling the brutalities
06:30of the Japanese occupation,
06:32and claimed that wearing
06:33a kimono there was
06:34offensive.
06:35However,
06:36many others condemned
06:37the arrest as absurd.
06:39By the same logic,
06:41would we be criminals
06:41if China went to war
06:43with the U.S.
06:43and we used iPhones?
06:45Asked one indignant user.
06:47Defenders of a young woman
06:48called for a halt
06:49to rampant
06:50ultra-nationalism,
06:51pointing out that
06:52in the past,
06:52it was normal
06:53to rent kimonas
06:54for photoshoots.
06:56In turn,
06:57influential commentators
06:58such as Huxi Jin,
07:00former editor
07:00of the Global Times tabloid,
07:02criticized the measure.
07:04He said that
07:04the woman's clothing
07:05was not illegal
07:06and that,
07:07under normal conditions,
07:09people should be able
07:09to dress freely
07:10even though he admitted
07:12certain sensitivities
07:13on historical dates.
07:15The Naruto issue
07:15was also debated
07:16on social media.
07:18Chinese internet users
07:19collected videos
07:20of cosplayers
07:21being attacked,
07:22with some condemning
07:23the attackers
07:24and others justifying them
07:26with patriotic arguments.
07:28In short,
07:29opinions on the Chinese internet
07:30are mixed.
07:31Humorous memes,
07:33fan lamentations,
07:34and nationalist rhetoric
07:35are mixed with criticism
07:36of censorship.
07:37The truth is that
07:38each new incident
07:39fuels this clash of visions.
07:42Anime as an artistic work
07:43for entertainment
07:44and self-expression,
07:46versus anime
07:47as a possible transmitter
07:48of foreign
07:49or dirty ideas.
07:52To conclude,
07:53it is important
07:53to put things
07:54into perspective.
07:55Not all of China
07:56hates anime.
07:58There is a very large
07:59and active segment
08:00of the population,
08:01especially young people,
08:03who openly enjoy
08:04Japanese animation.
08:06Many consume series
08:07on Chinese platforms,
08:09attend events,
08:10form fan clubs,
08:11and call themselves
08:12otakus.
08:13The state itself
08:14is aware of this.
08:16In fact,
08:16it sometimes promotes
08:17pop culture expos
08:19or festivals
08:20where Japanese anime
08:21is present,
08:22as we saw with
08:23the Joy Universe Festival.
08:24The confrontation arises
08:26when the official dynamic,
08:28traditional nationalism,
08:29and cultural censorship
08:30clashes with the everyday
08:32expressions of young people.
08:34The cases in the media
08:35are extreme.
08:37They're the tip
08:37of the iceberg
08:38that illustrates
08:39the conflict
08:40between the official
08:41patriotic discourse
08:42and a society
08:43that longs
08:44to freely consume
08:45foreign entertainment.
08:46In other words,
08:48many Chinese people
08:49do not detest anime.
08:51In fact,
08:51they embrace it passionately.
08:53But there is a hard core
08:54of historical
08:55and political sensibilities
08:57that,
08:58when stirred up,
08:59perceive anime
09:00as a reminder
09:02of a painful past.
09:03Ultimately,
09:04the reality
09:05is more complex
09:06than a simplistic phrase.
09:08While the government
09:09tightens cultural measures
09:10to protect youth,
09:12hundreds of millions
09:13of Chinese
09:13continue to devour anime
09:15in secret
09:16or in public,
09:17adapting to the rules
09:18of the game.
09:19The heroes of Dragon Ball
09:20and Naruto
09:21coexist between
09:22official censorship
09:23and ironic comments
09:25in Chinese videos.
09:27In the end,
09:28the question in the title
09:28is best answered
09:30with nuance.
09:31China has sectors
09:32with an ideological
09:33aversion to anime
09:34for historical
09:35and political reasons.
09:37But this coexists
09:38with a massive fandom
09:39that adores it.
09:40It cannot be said,
09:41then,
09:42that all of China
09:43hates anime.
09:44The phenomenon
09:45is a complex mosaic
09:46of culture,
09:48politics,
09:49and historical memory
09:50where many of the reactions
09:51are more expressions
09:52of patriotism
09:53than of intrinsic
09:54hatred of animation.
10:12of the universe.
10:13of the universe.
10:13of the universe.
10:14of the universe.
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