China’s Crackdown: Anime Conventions Banned and Webtoons Censored

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Major changes are shaking Asian pop culture. In this video, we analyze the ban of anime conventions in China and the growing censorship targeting webtoons and online comics. From stricter regulations on cosplay and fan gatherings to government control over digital storytelling, these decisions are having a massive impact on creators, fans, and the global anime industry. We break down what is actually being banned, why these restrictions are happening now, and how they could affect anime culture, webtoon platforms, and international fandoms in the long run. ________________________________________ ⭐ In This Video • Why anime conventions are being banned in China • Government censorship and cultural regulations explained • How webtoons and online comics are being affected • Impact on cosplay culture and fan communities • What this means for the future of anime and webtoons globally   00:00 Annual ranking of digital manga 00:53 Graduation with waifu 01:37 Official credit card for DLsite 02:27 Pommu: the new otaku social network 03:18 Blue Archive cancels influencer campaign 04:09 Uma Musume 04:50 South Korea tightens rules on Webtoons 05:36 Censorship in Chinese Comicup

Transcript

00:00On December 17th, 2025, NTT Solmare published the annual rankings for its Comic Kumoe store.

00:09The most striking result was that the isekai genre was the most read by both men and women.

00:14In the boys' manga category, solo leveling took first place. This manhwa tells the story of a

00:21weak hunter who, after a mysterious incident, gains the power to level up and face increasingly

00:27stronger monsters. Among the most read-light novels was The Apothecary Diaries, which follows a young

00:34slave girl who is an expert in herbs at the Chinese imperial court. Isekai not only leads in digital

00:42sales, traditional shounen such as One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen still dominate physical sales,

00:49showing the contrast between online and bookstore consumption. On December 17th, 2025, the case of

00:57a student in Indonesia who attended his graduation ceremony with a cardboard cutout of his waifu,

01:03March 7th from Hongkai Star Rail went viral. Hongkai

01:08Star Rail is an RPG game by Mahoyo set in a science fiction universe where players travel on a space

01:16train. March 7th is a popular character in the game, a pink AI companion, and the young man decided to

01:24share his achievements with her. The news caused a sensation on social media, showing how fans of

01:30anime and gacha games can be very creative in expressing their affection for their favorite

01:36characters. On December 19th, 2025, Japanese digital sales platform DL Site, which offers manga, games,

01:45and Dugenshi, including adult content, announced its own official credit card, Vivian JCB, in collaboration

01:53with JCB. This comes after problems in April 2024, when Visa and MasterCard suspended payments on DL Site due to

02:03its controversial content. With the new card, users will be able to shop on DL Site with peace of mind. The Vivian

02:11JCB card will offer a 4% rebate on purchases made on DL Site between January and July 2026, as well as

02:21allowing the use of an alternative payment method following the suspension of international cards.

02:27In November 2025, DL Site launched Pomu, described as a Twitter-style social network for anime and manga

02:35fans. Introduced on November 7th with the slogan, A Friendly and Secret Place for Otakus, Pomu allows

02:42users to post illustrations, cosplay, and even adult material on their feed. A notable feature is the

02:49Toggle R18 button on the homepage, which allows users to quickly switch between SFW and NSFW content.

02:58In its first few weeks, Pomu was flooded with mature and risque illustrations, as many users took

03:05advantage of the expected lower level of censorship compared to Twitter. The creators of DL Site hope

03:12that Pomu will be a little corner free from the restrictions that other sites impose on otaku content.

03:18Blue Archive, a school-themed gacha mobile game, announced a campaign featuring popular streamers

03:25C-D-A-W-G-V-A, Gigguk, Ironmouse, and Zentreya. However, this news sparked a strong negative reaction

03:34from the fan community, who felt that these creators did not represent the game's usual

03:38audience. Within 24 hours, the developers cancelled the campaign and apologized, promising to listen more

03:45closely to the Sensei, as they call the players, in the future. VTuber Zentreya, who is a fan of the game,

03:53supported the decision. She wrote that she would prefer the campaign to feature someone

03:59who has played Blue Archive non-stop, and added that she herself will continue playing

04:05because she finds the game nostalgic and fun. An article recounted how the collector community

04:11came together to help E.E. Works, a talented Japanese sculptor of handmade figures. E.E. Works had

04:19posted a desperate message because he couldn't sell his hand-painted figure of Gentildana,

04:24a character from Uma Musume. Pretty Derby. After his story went viral, fans highlighted that his work

04:32was a true gem and literally sold out all available units in a matter of hours. Gentildana is a popular

04:40mare from the Uma Musume franchise, and fans celebrated by saving the artist, demonstrating the

04:46power of the anime community to support their favorite creators. Naver Webtoon announced that

04:51it would implement new guidelines to combat hate speech on its platform. This was in response to

04:57the scandal surrounding the amateur Webtoon, Otherworldly Pong Pong Man, which was accused

05:04of misogyny and had sparked massive boycotts in late 2024. The new rules took effect on June 30th.

05:12Naver now monitors all user content, including comments and profiles, and will penalize posts

05:18that promote discrimination based on race, gender, or other categories. The previous scandal

05:25even led to public demonstrations with funeral wreaths in front of Naver's offices in Seoul,

05:31pressuring the company to change its policies to regain the trust of creators and readers.

05:36In December 2025, controversy erupted in China over the organization of Comic Cup, Hangzhou,

05:44one of the largest comic book and fan events in the country. On December 19th, organizers announced

05:50that the end-of-year event, December 27th to 28th, would take on a new Chinese style and expressly ban

05:58Japanese anime, manga, and cosplay. The sudden change, motivated by cultural considerations,

06:05in the face of diplomatic tensions, caused dozens of exhibitors with Japanese content to cancel their

06:11participation. This is not an isolated measure. Even the anime film Demon Slayer Infinity Castle

06:18had to shorten its run in China despite being a box office success due to similar regulatory decisions.

06:26All of this has generated fears of losses in fan tourism and concern in the Chinese cosplay community.

06:35In this case, there's also an isolated measure of the

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