Chinese Otaku Anime Situation] Trends in China's January New Anime Trends: Can "Jujo Senki," which has a high distribution risk, be distributed to paying members only?

My name is Baiyuan 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 the trends of new Japanese anime released in January on Chinese video sites.

The Chinese schedule revolves around the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) rather than New Year's Day, so January and February every year coincide with the end of the Chinese school year and the Chinese New Year vacations. During this time of year, university students, who are the main audience for Japanese anime, are busy or have gone home to their parents' families, and some people believe that the excitement of otaku-related topics and events is quieter than during other seasons.

In fact, it is true that for the past two years, there has not been much excitement about new anime in January. However, this year's new anime for January seems to be a little different from the past, perhaps due to the gathering of anticipated works in the Chinese otaku community and changes in the environment and tools for communication on the Chinese Internet.

The hottest new anime in January were

Among new anime titles in January, "Kobayashi-san-chi no Maidragon" seems to have received the highest reputation. In the current Chinese otaku community, the presence of the Kyoani brand seems to be even higher than in Japan, and each new Kyoani anime attracts a great deal of attention.
In addition, "Kobayashi-san-chi no Maidragon" has become quite popular in the past with "Husband ga Koto ga Naiwa Matter," which is a work by the same author, and "bilibili," which has the most powerful otaku community in China, is going to distribute it exclusively, which means that the Chinese otaku community will be very busy. The fact that bilibili, the most powerful otaku community in China, was going to exclusively distribute the film attracted a lot of attention, even at a time when many Chinese otaku are very busy.

However, the immediate reaction to the film's release was that it was "disappointing" and "not what they expected.
"It was disappointing.
This is also an interesting point, isn't it?
In fact, in the Chinese otaku community, there is a strong tendency to expect KyoAni works to be highly acclaimed and to be "big productions that live up to their brand name," and it is said that many people felt as if they had been let down by the "moe" and "daily life" elements of "Kobayashi-san-chi no Maidragon.
However, although there were voices of disappointment, from the second episode onward, the high quality, the good characters, and the uncomfortable storyline became the topic of conversation, and the popularity of the series seems to have been above average since then.

2" (Konosuba 2) seems to have become popular in the sequel slot.
The first season of "Konosuba" was distributed in China a year ago, but at the same time "Lingjianzan: The Banquet of Stardust" started with a bang as an anime based on a Chinese Internet novel, so "Konosuba" produced by the same Studio Deen did not attract much attention at first. However, it gradually gained popularity, and by the end of the first season, it was regarded as a dark horse work, and the second season also attracted considerable attention.

It is said that this work had various influences on the Chinese otaku community, and the influence of Aqua, a bad goddess who is one of the heroines, was particularly significant, leading the Chinese otaku community to recognize the "dim-witted heroine" genre. This has also helped to maintain the popularity and buzz of the work after the first season ended.

In addition to the positive reputation of the first season, the second season of "Konosuba" has a main storyline that is a comedy that sticks with the sensibilities of Chinese people, and there are parodies and subplots in the work that "otaku would understand," including reincarnation-type works, and so it has become a popular anime among Chinese otaku in many ways. The popularity of this work is also increasing among Chinese otaku, as it has a wide range of appeal in various ways.

Incidentally, "Lingjianzan," which became a hot topic last year as a Japanese anime based on a Chinese original, also released its second season "Lingjianzan: Qualification for Wisdom" as a new release in January.

In China, over the past year or so, the number of animations for the target age group in China has been rapidly increasing, led by Tencent, and high quality works have emerged, showing its presence as an entertainment for young people. Although the quality of the second season of "Ling Jian Shan" has been evaluated to be higher than that of the first season, the level and number of Chinese domestic animations, which are the main competition, are very different from a year ago, resulting in a relatively harsh evaluation.

In addition to these works, "Gavril Dropout," "Urara Mazecho," "Jujo Senki," and "Masamune-kun no Revenge" were also popular in January, while "Kazatsu" and "Siren" seemed to do well in the romantic comedy frame. In addition, there are several other works that would be among the top first-runners for new anime in October, and it appears that new anime in January are quite popular in China.

Utilization of Exclusive Distribution Works Service for Paying Members and Avoidance of Regulatory Risk

Each season there are a variety of activities on video sites that distribute new Japanese anime in China, but this season we are noticing a number of movements related to the exclusive distribution and utilization of works that have been well-received in the Chinese otaku community.

YoukuTudou" has been offering a service that distributes exclusive works only to paying members, and this season "iqiyi" has also launched a service that allows the latest episodes of exclusive works to be viewed only by paying members. It seems that sites that are active in distributing Japanese anime other than bilibili are offering some kind of service for new Japanese anime only for paying subscribers.

2" and "Child Wars" on YoukuTudou, "Kobayashi-san's Maidragon" on bilibili, and "Masamune-kun's Revenge" on iqiyi, all of which are popular works that will become the signature of each major video site, are being exclusively distributed this season. I am curious about the future popularity of these works and how it will affect them.

In addition, it is also interesting to note that recent trends indicate that the "risk of regulation in China" is thought to be reduced to some extent for works distributed exclusively to paying subscribers.

For example, among the new January anime titles currently being distributed on YoukuTudou, "Jujo Senki" is a hot title, but it is clearly a risky work to distribute in China due to its content and depiction, and even in China, there were questions such as "Is it possible to distribute it? However, as of the time of writing this column in early February, it appears that the work is being distributed normally.

According to a Chinese geek who told me about this, "In the case of exclusive distribution to paying subscribers, it is not possible,
"When the video is distributed exclusively to paying subscribers, the number of viewers is limited, so there is less chance of attracting unwanted attention or causing a firestorm.
The video site can know who their viewers are.
The video sites can know who their viewers are," he said,
In China, even works with high-risk content or depictions that should be self-regulated can be distributed to a certain extent only to paying members.
In China, however, the content and depiction of works that should be self-regulated and high-risk are not.

Of course, as long as the works are distributed in China, it is necessary to read the "atmosphere" to some extent, and it does not mean that anything can be distributed if the distribution is limited to paying members only.
For example, extreme depictions, scenes that are considered too brutal or pornographic by Chinese anime standards, will be modified by blurring or cutting scenes, regardless of whether it is free or paid, and Chinese titles that may cause problems will be avoided.

The above-mentioned "Jujo Senki" also seems to be distributed under the Chinese title "Tanya Senki" ("Tanya" is the Chinese name for the main character, Tanya Degrechov), rather than the original title "Jujo Senki.
However, the image of the work used on the video site still carries the Japanese title "Juvenile Senki" in large letters. ......

(Text by Hyakumen Kagoyo)

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