China's unique image of "Elf of Japanese works" and China's 2024 winter anime situation that seems to end without energy [Anime Situation of Chinese Otaku].

2024 winter anime that seems to end with a lack of energy

As mentioned in the previous article, the timing of the distribution of winter 2024 anime tends to coincide with the end of the Chinese school term and the long vacation of Chinese New Year, making it difficult for topics related to new anime to gain momentum. This year, the situation was less energetic than in previous years due to the addition of regulations and a cooling economy in China.

This situation did not seem to change much even after the Chinese New Year vacation was over and the country began to move forward, and although there were a few new animated films that began distribution after the Chinese New Year, the situation in general seems to have remained unexciting.

Among such works, " Dungeon Mei" and " Sougou no Freiren ", which began distribution somewhat late in the October season and is currently in its second season, are said to be relatively popular and highly rated. As for "Dungeon Rice," an otaku in China said

Dungeon Life has a strong fan base for the original manga, so there is a lot of discussion going on. There are many fans who have bought the original manga, and although the release date has not yet been decided, information regarding the publication of the final volume of the original in simplified Chinese for the domestic market has been released, so there is a sense of security regarding the work.

There is a sense of security about the work," he said.

In addition, although there has been a delay in the start of airing in Japan, the second season of " MASHLE" and " Blue Exorcist Shimane Keimei Yusha-hen " have also begun distribution.

Regarding the recent distribution of new anime, some Chinese otaku have commented

Considering that several years ago, there were about 20 to 30 new anime titles distributed during the winter season of 2024, I feel a sense of loneliness. In China today, it is difficult to predict trends in regulations and the risk of flare-ups, and the damage tends to be significant, so it is inevitable that the policy will be to go on the defensive and strengthen self-regulation at the corporate level. The old Chinese approach of 'just get attention for whatever you do and you win, and if a problem arises or you are offended, just stop' is no longer safe.

In the current environment, there is a strong awareness of the difficulties of the Chinese Internet. There is even an atmosphere that old media such as movies and books are more stable and easier to handle, even if their speed is slower, because the people involved have a lot of experience and there are many past cases that can be used as material for judgment.

We also hear such comments as "The current situation in China is not good or bad.

It is a bit ironic that in China today, for better or worse, the old media such as movies and books, for which a system of screening and censorship has been established and data and experience have been accumulated, seem to be more stable.

The image of elves in Japanese works, and the works and characters that seem to have influenced them, as they are formed independently in China.

In China, too, elves and other so-called fantasy races seem to have become a kind of basic knowledge in the field of otaku-related entertainment. In addition to Western works, China has also accumulated its own unique image of fantasy races that "appear in Japanese works.

In particular, with regard to elves, the prominence of elf characters in recent anime works that have become popular in China, such as "Sougou no Furen" and "Dungeon Rice," has once again triggered a debate about the standard settings and images of "elves in Japanese works.

According to what I was told by Chinese otaku, the biggest influence on the image of elves in China is the Diedrit of " Chronicles of Rhodes". The knowledge and image of not only elves but also so-called Japanese fantasy was planted in the minds of young Chinese through OVAs and translated novels from around the 1990s, well before the Chinese otaku demographic began to form in the mid-2000s.

Some Chinese geeks have commented on this.

The Chronicles of Rhodes is one of the original sources of fantasy in China, depending on how you look at it. Of course, "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Lord of the Rings" had a great influence on it, but it was not until the live-action "The Lord of the Rings" that elements related to "The Lord of the Rings" were fully recognized in China, so I think the influence of "The Lord of the Rings" was more noticeable than that of "The Lord's Island Chronicles".

He also said, "I think it was after 'The Lord of the Rings' that the film made a noticeable impact.

The next most influential Japanese work and character related to elves that entered China was Tiffania from " Zero no Tsukaima " ( The Messenger of Zero ). It is said that "Zero no Tsukaima" had a great influence on the online novel, which is a major genre of entertainment content in China today, and is said to be one of the works that led to the establishment of the "perusing" genre of other-worldly transference.

Incidentally, there is a theory that the image of "elves in Japanese fantasy works" began to diverge from that of Japan around this time. When I spoke with Chinese otaku people in the past, they said

The elf heroines in Japanese novels such as "Zero no Tsukaima" that came to China, as well as in anime and manga works based on them, were rich in illustrations and other service scenes, and also had sexy elements. Many of the elven characters were portrayed as voluptuous, and the impression of elves in Japanese works as a 'sexy race with large breasts' seemed to have grown stronger.

In addition, there are other opinions such as, "The elves in Japanese works are very sexy and have large breasts.

In addition, it is said that in China today, there is an image that "elves in Japanese works are vegetarians," and in a slightly different aspect, "male elves in Japanese works are villainous characters and not on the side of the main character.

According to a geek in China, this is not the case.

According to a Chinese otaku, "There are not many memorable male elves in Japanese works that have spread to China, so the image of male elves in Japanese works seems to have overlapped with the image of elf-like villains in popular works, such as Obeyron in " Sword Art Online ".

He said.

According to the setting of "Sword Art Online," Obeyron is a game avatar and a race of elves with long ears, so it is unlikely that they would be treated as elves in Japan, but in China they are sometimes treated as a category of elves broadly speaking.

This tendency to treat people as elves if they have long ears seems to be influenced by the confusion caused by the current translation of the word "elf" in China, with some Chinese geeks commenting, "The Chinese word for 'elf' is 'elf.

One Chinese otaku told us, "In Chinese, the word 'elf' has always been used in different translations, such as 'spirit' and 'little fairy,' so the distinction between the races tends to be confusing. In China, unless you are a fan of a particular setting or are familiar with the fantasy world, the race is not clearly defined, and you may think that the pointy-eared, human-sized characters in fantasy works are generally elves.

Perhaps because the Chinese word for elves in "The Lord of the Rings" is translated as "spirits," elves in Japanese works are now often translated as "spirits. However, there is still some confusion regarding the translation of terms mixed with foreign words used in Japanese fantasy works, such as 'spirit,' 'faerie,' and 'elemental.

And so on.

Compared to Japanese otaku, Chinese otaku tend to be more particular about the "correct definition and usage" of terms and concepts, for better or worse, and in the fantasy genre, discussions about the "correct image of elves" seem to occur regularly.

However, with regard to elves, in addition to works with fantasy elements produced in China, there are also classic fantasy works such as "Lord of the Rings" and the Japanese "Chronicles of Lodoss Island," as well as recent Japanese fantasy works, the recently popular "Dungeons & Dragons," which is gaining recognition in China and knowledge is spreading, and Western fantasy works such as "The Last Airbender," which is gaining recognition in China, and "The Last Airbender. & Dragons" and Western fantasy works, which have recently become well-known and widely known in China, and other works that reference a wide variety of works.

As a result of the accumulation of these various factors, the Chinese otaku community has developed its own image and a kind of obsession regarding the definition of the fantasy race of "elves. Perhaps the image of "elves" and "elves in Japanese works" will be formed in China in the future.