The Anime Situation of Chinese Otaku] April New Anime Trends in China and More. Flames in China Immediately Become Protests Against Japanese Officials

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 April on Chinese video sites.

Compared to January, when there was a lineup of new anime titles that were easily talked about in the Chinese otaku community, the initial response to the new anime in April was somewhat subdued. However, even in such a situation, it seems that there are a variety of new works that are attracting the attention of Japanese anime viewers in China.

Attention to works that remind us of the flow of past popular works

The work that attracted the most attention among new anime in April was undoubtedly "Boruto Next Generations.
The influence of the previous "NARUTO" on Chinese youth was so great that it has become the signature work of Japanese anime in China. There was a time in the past when it was common for people to become aware of Japanese anime and otaku activities via "Naruto," and although there are some differences, it can be said that most of the current mainstream generation of otaku in China have been baptized by "Naruto.

Also, because of its high popularity, "NARUTO" was viewed as a standard work not only by the otaku class, but also by the general Chinese public, who are not so resistant to watching anime compared to the Japanese. I believe that "BORUTO" will become one of the standard works of Japanese animation if it does not fail badly.

Then there are works such as "Eromanga sensei" and "Re:CREATORS " that have become relatively popular among the otaku class.

Eromanga sensei" seems to have attracted attention in the Chinese otaku community because it is by the same author and illustrator as "Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai" (My Little Sister is So Cute), which had a period of its own in the past.
The popularity of "Ore no Imouto" in China at the time went in a variety of directions, with each heroine having a strong fan base, and enthusiasm and opposition due to the differences in otaku sensibilities between Japan and China regarding the otaku material and story development.
In particular, the firestorm that erupted over the ending of the original novel was caused by Chinese fans' strong opposition to the heroine, which was both good and bad for Chinese otaku.

Against this background, former Ore no Imouto fans who were not satisfied with the ending of "Eromanga Sensei" have been asking "What is the point of this?
This time, she is not a blood sister, so we can rest assured that she is a safe heroine!　And she's cuter than Kirino from Ore no Imouto!
And she's even prettier than Kirino from Ore no Imouto!
Will there be factions and conflicts between favorite heroines like there was with Ore no Imouto? I want to experience the atmosphere of that time once again.
I want to experience the atmosphere of that time again.

In the Chinese otaku community, there is a lot of talk about "Eromanga-sensei".
Some people in the Chinese otaku community are concerned about "Eromanga-sensei": "How many people can keep up with a novelist, a setting that is too maniacal for China?
It is not clear if it will be as popular as "Ore Imouto" in the future, but at least it seems to be one of the most popular and talked about among the new releases in April.

Next is "Re:CREATORS," which was also initially talked about by the production staff because of its relationship with popular works from the past, especially "Aldnoah Zero.
The setting of the work also attracted attention because the characters would appear in the real world from their creations and would be involved with characters from other works, which was very easy for Chinese otaku to understand, and something they had experienced in their fantasies.

And once it started, in addition to the story development, the various meta stories that are intertwined in the work, with different expressions and trends depending on the medium and genre, can also be understood by the current Chinese otaku community, and can easily be used as predictive material for subsequent developments, making it quite popular in terms of topics. The topic is also very popular in the Chinese otaku community.

In addition to these works, "Natsume Yuujinchou Riku" seems to be maintaining its popularity even in its 6th season, while "Roku de nai Majutsu Tutor to Shitsugyo Kyoujutsu" and "Sakurada Reset" are based on novels, and "Saerenai Kanojo no Nutsukata ♭" is a romantic comedy work that is attracting attention and discussion. Although the start of April's new anime was a bit quiet, once they actually started, there were more than a fair number of well-received works.

In addition to these works, other Chinese-made animations such as "Master of Skill," whose original novel is also being developed in Japan, and "There is No Medicine for My Brother! There are also various movements in the Chinese otaku community with regard to new anime in April.

The Risks of Expanding Otaku Content in China Revealed Once Again

Recently in China, the popularity of Japanese anime and the development of Japanese social games that are linked to new anime have become prominent, and there have been cases of these games gaining considerable popularity locally.
At the same time, however, there have been cases of criticism of the games that have been somewhat different from what we have seen in the past and have resulted in flames, and even flames in a form that has affected Japan.

Two of the most recent major flare-ups in China related to Japanese social games are "Sword Dance" and "Fate/Grand Order".
The causes of the flames are as follows
One of the stamp rally locations for "Sword Dance" was Yasukuni Shrine during the collaboration event with the Sakura Festival in Chiyoda.
Fate/Grand Order": A game-related short story in a magazine published in Japan described the Shi Huangdi Emperor as an ugly monster.
The story was called "Fate/Grand Order.

The firestorm led to direct protests and demands from Chinese users against the Japanese management and creators of the game, and also highlighted the differences in perception and stance between Japanese and Chinese fans, resulting in a state of conflict and disconnection between some Japanese and Chinese fans. These are certainly problems in China.

These issues are certainly problematic in China.
Yasukuni Shrine is a very sensitive issue in China, and unlike the tyrannical image of Japan, the First Emperor is a very popular emperor and hero among young people in China, so it is not surprising that there is opposition and protest.

At the same time, however, it seems that the content was within the scope of what fans with knowledge of the work could expect to understand from the background and setting of the work and related works that have been developed so far in the Japanese sense. In addition, at the time of the firestorm, the work had only been released in Japan and had not been developed for the Chinese market.

From these flames, we can conclude the following
When a service is developed in China, protests from China will fly to the Japanese management and the creators involved, even if the content is only for Japan.
Even if a work has a large number of devoted fans in China, the general information and interpretation of the work in China may differ from that in Japan, making it difficult to expect the same understanding and tolerance from fans in Japan.
Depending on the response to the flames, there may be conflicts between Japanese and Chinese fans, or criticism from Japanese fans that the Japanese users are being neglected.
This is one of the risks of the current environment.

In the current environment, information from Japan is transmitted and diffused in China without time lag, and it is easy to access Japanese officials from China through Twitter and other means.
When developing animation works and related services in China, it may be necessary to be aware of the risks associated with China and how to deal with Japanese fans in the case of developing works in Japan.

(Text by Hyakumen Kagoyo)

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