Chinese Otaku Anime Situation] New Anime in July that have been talked about or attracted concern in China.

My name is Hundred Yuan Kagoyamo, and I am here to introduce you to all things related to the otaku situation in China.

This time, I would like to introduce some of the new anime titles that stand out in the regular distribution of new anime in China in July.

As I wrote in my previous column, at the end of March, a crackdown was imposed on Japanese anime in China, and there was a great deal of confusion regarding the official distribution of Japanese anime. However, so far, there are quite a number of new releases, and it seems that there are a lot of hot titles.

Here are a few of the hot new releases for July.

A Boring World Where the Concept of Subtext Does Not Exist

Every season, a dark horse work that betrays the previous reputation of the Chinese otaku community and industry appears, and it seems that local Chinese otaku are also looking forward to such works, but it seems that this work will probably be the dark horse of the new anime for July.

The original work is not well known in China, and from the visuals of the work that had been circulating in advance, it was thought that it would be a work with many erotic elements and crude material (see ......). However, the topic exploded with the distribution of the first episode, and since then it has been providing various topics of conversation every week. However, the topic exploded with the release of the first episode, and since then, it has been providing a variety of topics every week.

In the recent Chinese otaku community, topics that are easy to handle and spread in online interactions are often the fuel for the popularity of works, and among these, topics and anime cuts that can be disguised as gags are particularly strong.

However, the impact of this is not without its difficulties in Chinese society, where the effects of the crackdown at the end of March still linger, and it is difficult to be optimistic about the situation surrounding China's video sites.

And the stories and settings in "A Boring World Where Undertones Don't Exist" could be considered a direct attack on terrorism and pornography, which were among the main themes of the government criticism and the March crackdown: terrorism, pornography, and violence. In the film, the society is a dystopian controlled society, albeit limited to the underworld and pornography, and the protagonist commits acts of terrorism (albeit in the pornography field) in order to counteract it. If the word "terrorism" is used in the film, there is no room for excuses.

For this reason, Chinese otaku and the otaku industry seem to be more concerned about the effects and consequences of this work than about its content. From a Chinese otaku I know,

"I was expecting a dark horse, but something unexpected and terrible came out.

I was also impressed by his comment, "I was expecting a dark horse, but I didn't expect something terrible to come out.

Ushiooto Tora

The popularity and reputation of the original manga "Ushiooto Tora" has been increasing over the past few years. In addition, the anime "Parasite" has raised expectations in China for anime adaptations of past masterpieces and works that are thought to have storylines and connotations, and it has gotten off to a relatively good start. It is also very interesting to note that this work is being distributed on a "paid members only" basis.

Although there have been paid distribution of theatrical versions of Japanese anime on Chinese video sites, this may be the first attempt to distribute a new TV anime in such a way that it is practically paid for.

Chinese viewers accustomed to the free distribution of anime on Chinese video sites, where free distribution with advertisements was the norm, voiced their opposition and concerns about this attempt, and some people in the Chinese otaku industry predicted in advance that "10% of the free distribution audience, or even 1% if it is bad, may not remain. Some Chinese otaku industry people even predicted that "10% of the viewers might not even remain if the program is free.

However, based on the number of views at this point, it seems to be doing better than expected.

The first and second episodes of "Ushio-Tora" are distributed for free, and the third episode is one of the contents for paying members. The overall number of views seems to be quite large. In addition, as of the beginning of August when this article was written, the momentum of the number of views of the latest episode seems to remain 20 to 30% higher than that of the free distribution.

There are still some concerns about the future growth of the number of views, such as the fact that topics related to the work have not spread among Chinese otaku compared to other works, perhaps due to the limited distribution to paying subscribers. However, depending on the distribution results of "Ushio-Tora," a new model may emerge for distribution of Japanese TV animation on Chinese video sites, where free distribution with advertising was the norm.

In addition, the fact that the video sites can control the target audience to a certain extent through paid distribution will reduce the risk of criticism from the general public and government control due to "too much attention" or "too much buzz," which is a situation peculiar to Chinese society. The future of this work is also interesting, not only in terms of its content, but also in terms of the impact of its distribution.

Junjo Romantica 3

Junjo Romantica 3" seems to have shown a greater-than-expected growth among new releases for women in July. The "Junjo Romantica" series is very popular in China, and has even established itself as a major genre among female otaku in China. However, it is said that expectations in the Chinese otaku community were not so high prior to the start of distribution, perhaps because the sequels that have been regularly distributed in China in the past that were considered "for female otaku" and were very popular in China in the past were not very exciting and did not increase in viewer numbers.

However, once it started, the number of views increased greatly, and it has become one of the top anime distributed in July. According to a Chinese otaku, the reason why "Junjo Romantica" is growing without stalling, unlike other sequel-type works for female otaku, is because "the BL genre is strong,

According to a Chinese otaku, "the BLgenre is strong.

According to a Chinese otaku, "the BL genre is strong," and "there are not so many parts of the story and setting that need to be grasped, so it is relatively easy for new fans to enter the market and for old fans to return.

This makes it relatively easy for new fans to enter the market and for old fans to return.

In recent years, it is said that the rise of anime distributed on Chinese video sites is largely due to the influence of the lightweight demographic, and in addition to the movements of the fan community, we should also pay attention to the hurdles that must be overcome in order to get excited about the works.

In the Chinese otaku community, there was initially a view that the new animations for July were only small productions, but once they started, it seems that topical works and works that gain access have emerged. Even in a season without works that are expected by Chinese otaku to be "big productions" or "mainstays," unexpected things happen, and the situation regarding new anime in July is becoming more and more interesting.

(Text by Hyakumen Kagoyo)