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According to a current report by Mantan Web, the Chinese government has introduced further restrictions on anime that could have an impact on the entire anime industry. We summarize.
No school romances and rebellions
A total of 38 anime and manga titles fell victim to the first major wave of prohibition in China in 2015- with the reasons “Bad influence”, “Harmful to young people” or “Too violent”. Among them were the popular works “Attack on Titan” and “Death Note”.
Since then it has only occurred occasionally that an anime was completely banned – in contrast to a variety of censors, of which we have often reported. But this relationship could change again soon.
According to a report from Japan, the Chinese government has decided that from now on anime with stories about the overthrow of a government or even a school romance for broadcast on television will be rejected.
While the former is still understandable in an authoritarian regime like China, a reason in the case of the latter would have been quite interesting – but you will be waiting in vain.
Lucrative market
If this provision is also extended to other platforms, such as streaming services or cinema, this would not only have consequences for countless existing titles, but also for future productions.
After all, China has always been a stable and lucrative market for anime sales, which despite restrictions is one of the largest sources of income.
New anime projects are already being meticulously checked whether they would be approved in China at all. It is not uncommon for plans to be completely rejected in the event of a negative forecast – and this could be the case more often in the future.
But there are also positive developments: Japan and China recently concluded several agreements that aim to intensify the cultural relationships. This also includes cooperation in the production of anime.
