New Japanese anime distribution in China after 10 years, popular works, regulations and lots of flames [Anime Situation of Chinese Otaku].

My name is Baigen Kagoyamo, and I am a writer who introduces various topics related to the otaku situation in China.
Since this is the first article of the year 2022, I would like to write a year-by-year summary of the works that have been distributed in China and have become popular in the otaku community, works that have had a great impact in various ways, and incidents and backgrounds of restrictions and firestorms regarding the official distribution of Japanese anime in China, which has now been going on for about 10 years. I would like to summarize the following information year by year.

2011] Main popular and talked-about works: "Naruto", "Fate/Zero", etc.

There are various theories as to when the regular distribution of Japanese anime to mainland China began, but one of the most obvious and significant developments was in December 2011, when TV Tokyo launched "NARUTO", " BLEACH", "Fate/Zero" and other popular anime titles on the Chinese video website Tudou. - BLEACH, and SKET DANCE on the Chinese video site Tudou in December 2011.

In China, it has been difficult to broadcast Japanese anime on TV due to stricter regulations since the mid-00s, but there has been a movement to distribute Japanese anime, not only general-interest works, but also new anime for otaku on video sites.
This was due in part to the fact that the Internet was a new medium, and management was still relatively loose in China at the time, with no small amount of confusion and gray areas in the jurisdiction.

Another interesting move that took place around the same time was the distribution of the first season of "Fate/Zero" on Nico Nico Douga with subtitles in eight languages, including Chinese (both simplified and traditional). The fact that "Fate/Zero," a work that had attracted attention even among Chinese otaku, was officially distributed with Chinese subtitles was a big topic of conversation in China at the time.
However, due to restrictions, it was difficult to view this distribution from mainland China, and although it became a topic of conversation, the number of viewers did not seem to grow that much.

Incidentally, the distribution of "Fate/Zero" was also a big topic of conversation when the second season was distributed by "bilibili" before its commercialization, but this distribution was also abruptly canceled, probably due to local permission issues. ...... However, the last three episodes of "Fate/Zero" were distributed on another video site, LeTV.
Fate/Zero" is a very popular work that created an era in China. At that time, illegal uploading by local fansub groups, known as "subtitle groups," was still at its peak in China, and the official distribution did not seem to have much impact. However, it seems that various trials and errors were being made with regard to distribution, and we can see movements that led to the standard style of official distribution of Japanese anime in China.

In addition, in the case of authorized distribution, local video sites that purchased licenses for distribution began to deal with illegally uploaded videos in China, which led to effective control of the illegal uploading problem in China, which had been difficult to control due to cost and procedural problems. In 2012, the number of illegal uploads of major popular works in China increased from 1,000 to 1,000.

Major popular and talked-about works: "Sword Art Online," "Haiyore! Nyaruko-san, etc.

In this year, anti-Japanese demonstrations and riots in China triggered by the Japanese government's nationalization of the Senkaku Islands affected the activities and businesses of various otaku fields.
The number of otaku-related events in mainland China, which at the time were rapidly increasing due to the established model of "inviting guests from Japan," came under sharp pressure, and the translation and publication of Japanese light novels by the Kadokawa-owned joint venture Guangzhou Tianmun Kadokawa Comic Company, which had been in operation since 2010, was also affected by restrictions. The regulations also affected the translation and publication of Japanese light novels.
As a result, the events in mainland China were severely damaged, and the regular publication of translated versions of light novels, which at the time were developing a market for local otaku, came to a halt.

On the other hand, however, the official distribution of Japanese anime on Chinese online video sites seems to have been on the rise. The number of video sites offering official distribution of Japanese anime increased, and the number of works distributed increased as well. Works that are still popular in China, such as "Sword Art Online," were also distributed that year.
Also, "Cthulhu " was one of the first works to spread the "Cthulhu" theme in China. Nyaruko-san," which was one of the first works to introduce the "Cthulhu" story to China, and other works that had an unexpectedly large impact in addition to their unexpected popularity. Nyaruko-san," which was distributed in China, had a number of erotic scenes that were cut out, making Chinese otaku quite aware of the frustration caused by the official distribution of the work.

2013] Main popular and talked-about works: "Shinkage no Kyojin," "Kuroko no Basket," "Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai," etc.

Around 2013, the distribution environment for Japanese anime was becoming more and more ready, and some of the regular distribution works became explosively popular in China.
In this year, "Shinkage no Kyojin" and"Kuroko no Basket" became very popular in China and were talked about not only in the otaku community but also on a general level. Also, "Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai" (Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai) gained popularity in China, including local development linked to the Japanese market.

However, along with the popularity of "Shinkoku no Kyojin," there was strong criticism and a firestorm due to circumstances unique to China, such as the fact that "the model for the character is Yoshiko Akiyama," and "Yoshiko Akiyama is a very difficult person to deal with in China because he was involved in the Lushun Massacre.
This kind of firestorm about the content of a work is not limited to "The Progressive Titan," but will occur in many other works in the future. One of the reasons for this was the increase in the number of viewers who were more open-minded due to the regular distribution of the video, and the flames that were tolerated only among geeky fans of popular works that attracted a lot of attention began to escalate into a major conflagration.

Also during this period, as competition in the Chinese video site industry intensified and the distribution of content from outside China became more important as a competition card, the price of Japanese anime also rose sharply. Kuroko no Basket," whose original work was extremely popular in China, was also a topic of discussion at the time as to how much the cost of acquiring the program would eventually balloon, but it was eventually settled in the form of joint distribution on multiple sites.

2014] Major popular and talked-about works: "Love Live! Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works]" etc.

Japanese anime distribution continued to be strong this year, with a variety of popular works being released, but the most significant of these was "Love Live! was one of the most significant. The second season of the anime was distributed and its popularity expanded rapidly in mainland China as well. The songs and live performances had a big impact, and the popularity of this new genre and way of enjoying works of art was instilled in China. It had a level of popularity propagation power that led to the term "paganism," a mixture of jokes and awe, in the Chinese otaku community at the time.

In China at that time, the price of programs in general for content outside of China did not stop rising, and the price of Japanese anime continued to rise as well. Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works]," one of the hottest titles of the year, was a popular work that coincided with the peak of the price hike, so the local industry was talking about the price as well as the popularity.

Also that year, bilibili, which had acquired one of the largest otaku communities in China centering on fansubs with Nico Nico Douga-like barrage of comments and subtitles, entered the anime distribution market and subsequently became a major player in the Chinese otaku industry and business in the so-called two-dimensional field.

At this time, however, moves to tighten control of foreign content began to emerge from various quarters in China, and the momentum in the Chinese video site community began to look dubious. In particular, after the government issued a notice in September regarding stricter screening of foreign content starting in April of the following year (2015), there was a sense of uneasiness about the distribution of Japanese animation.
In hindsight, some people think that this year may have been one of the pinnacles of the Japanese anime distribution boom in China. ......