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China soft-banned all Japanese anime from 2nd April onwards

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Apr 5, 2021 1:45 PM
#1
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(I will keep political comment minimum and simply report the news)

It's a big news in China, but I guess it hasn't quite reach the 'outside'.

China government (The National Radio and Television Administration, more specifically) announced on 2nd April, without any foreshadowing, that all foreign anime (Japanese anime in particular) will have to be reviewed by the Administration before it can be aired on TV or through streaming services.

Foreign films has been under similar system since the founding of PRC. There is a strict quota of the number of foreign films (anime films included) that can be imported into China. They were also under very strict scrutiny, with all potential politically-sensitive or non-family friendly elements censored before screening. As such, every year there are at most 30 foreign, non-Hollywood films (Japanese anime film included) that can be shown in cinema, and their releases in China are often several months to a year behind anywhere else.

Japanese anime, for the first time, will also be placed under such system. There will likely be quota for the number of anime every year. Seasonal anime will probably never be a thing in China every again, as review time by the Administration is expected to be lengthy. As of now, all streaming services in China have not been able to release a single episode of any anime from the Spring season. In the upcoming weeks to months Chinese audiences would probably have to depend solely on piracy if they want to watch any new anime. This might mark a slow death for many major anime streaming services in China.

What does it mean for non-Chinese audience around the world? We do not know how much restriction would also be placed upon Chinese animations, it is possible that they will be affected as well. In addition, for the coming years investment from China on foreign anime could drop to a minimum. As for the past few years licensing fees from streaming services has replaced BD sales as the major income source for animation projects, this could also be a major blow to the Japanese industry as one of their major markets has basically evaporated over-night. They will probably be even more financially dependent on other oversea streaming services.



EDIT:
As comment below has mentioned, I didn't post any source for this news. It is because such news has of course leaded to major uproar in the Chinese online community, hence all relevant news and discussion have been heavily censored in China.

As such, there is NO official source that I can quote at the moment. No official announcement from the Chinese government nor streaming services for which I place a link here. What I have, at best, are discussion from Hong Kong and Taiwan (which are of course unaffected by the censorship) on this topic, as well as screenshots showing the complete absent of Spring season shows on major Chinese anime streaming services, such as Bilibili:

Winter season:
https://imgur.com/a/1G2LZjZ

Spring season:
https://imgur.com/a/rjjJcAI
https://imgur.com/a/XiFZHW5



EDIT 2:
I might as well add that while this have nothing to do with most of us directly, it would have indirect consequences to the anime industry. Anime viewership in China is huge. Popular seasonal anime can easily get more than 100 millions views (all episodes combined) on streaming services such as Bilibili. For example, Jujutsu Kaisen has 530 millions views; Re:0, Kaguya-sama, JOJO and Slime all have more than 200 millions views; Demon Slayer sub and dub versions have 640 millions and 110 millions each on Bilibili. So these streaming services compete with one another and pay A LOT to have exclusive streaming right on their platforms. Now this market might have been gone for the anime industry.
wilfangApr 8, 2021 10:46 AM
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Apr 5, 2021 1:47 PM
#2
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The CCP and Tencent are the worst things that has ever happened in the history of China.

Apr 5, 2021 1:49 PM
#3

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Sucks to be them.They are missing out a lot.
Wait you never posted the source for the news.

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Apr 5, 2021 1:55 PM
#4

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Good read but Idgaf about what China does lol

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Apr 5, 2021 1:56 PM
#5
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I swear anime was always (partially?) banned in China? I remember reading that Attack on Titan, Naruto and a bunch of other anime were illegal there
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Apr 5, 2021 1:56 PM
#6
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So lucky ๐Ÿ˜ฉ๐Ÿ˜ฉ๐Ÿ˜ฉ๐Ÿ˜ฉ๐Ÿ˜ฉ๐Ÿ˜ฉ๐Ÿ˜ฉ
It's Aiko!!!!
Apr 5, 2021 1:56 PM
#7

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Someone else told me about this earlier today. It may hurt the anime industry China is one of their larger if not largest non Japanese markets.
Apr 5, 2021 1:59 PM
#8

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they pirate their anime anyway, I don't think the anime watchers care about this
Apr 5, 2021 2:01 PM
#9
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Ouch. They will miss out on peak fiction




ManWild

Apr 5, 2021 2:02 PM
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Scordolo said:
Sucks to be them.They are missing out a lot.
Wait you never posted the source for the news.


I would love to, but you see, such news has of course leaded to major uproar in the Chinese online community, so all relevant news and discussion have been fully censored since Sunday. Until any foreign news outlet cover this story I won't be able to post any 'source' for the news.

However, I can show you the screenshots of the now emptied program timetable for one of the major streaming services in China (Bilibili). You can see, other than ongoing anime, there is no new show.

This is what it is like for Winter season:
https://imgur.com/a/1G2LZjZ

This is what it is like for Spring season:
https://imgur.com/a/rjjJcAI
https://imgur.com/a/XiFZHW5
Apr 5, 2021 2:03 PM

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I love how the start date is the 2nd of April just to state this isn't an April Fools joke
Stuff in the streets, Stuff with drip in the sheets
Apr 5, 2021 2:04 PM
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MinorTatu said:
I swear anime was always (partially?) banned in China? I remember reading that Attack on Titan, Naruto and a bunch of other anime were illegal there

A lot of foreign media is censored or banned in China due to their strict content laws, which happened to include certain anime. It was never directly targeting anime, just all foreign media in general, until now as far as I understand.
Apr 5, 2021 2:08 PM
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kinda seems like china is turning into the next north korea...
Apr 5, 2021 2:10 PM
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MinorTatu said:
I swear anime was always (partially?) banned in China? I remember reading that Attack on Titan, Naruto and a bunch of other anime were illegal there


Yes, but that's because there is no age-restriction system in China, at all. So theoretically all shows in China have to be family-friendly. These shows were banned in China for their 'adult elements' (of course with a very, very strict and some-what arbitrary standard). So what all anime are facing now is something new: fixed quota and delayed airing even for the most 'appropriate' shows.
Apr 5, 2021 2:10 PM
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wilfang said:
Scordolo said:
Sucks to be them.They are missing out a lot.
Wait you never posted the source for the news.


I would love to, but you see, such news has of course leaded to major uproar in the Chinese online community, so all relevant news and discussion have been fully censored since Sunday. Until any foreign news outlet cover this story I won't be able to post any 'source' for the news.

However, I can show you the screenshots of the now emptied program timetable for one of the major streaming services in China (Bilibili). You can see, other than ongoing anime, there is no new show.

This is what it is like for Winter season:
https://imgur.com/a/1G2LZjZ

This is what it is like for Spring season:
https://imgur.com/a/rjjJcAI
https://imgur.com/a/XiFZHW5


How did 7 deadly sins pass the review system? The show is not family-friendly at all. It has gore and boobs.
Apr 5, 2021 2:13 PM
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paranoid_soul said:
wilfang said:


I would love to, but you see, such news has of course leaded to major uproar in the Chinese online community, so all relevant news and discussion have been fully censored since Sunday. Until any foreign news outlet cover this story I won't be able to post any 'source' for the news.

However, I can show you the screenshots of the now emptied program timetable for one of the major streaming services in China (Bilibili). You can see, other than ongoing anime, there is no new show.

This is what it is like for Winter season:
https://imgur.com/a/1G2LZjZ

This is what it is like for Spring season:
https://imgur.com/a/rjjJcAI
https://imgur.com/a/XiFZHW5


How did 7 deadly sins pass the review system? The show is not family-friendly at all. It has gore and boobs.


It didn't necessary pass the review system. It is simply because it is an ongoing show (and not a new show from the Spring season) so it need not to be sent to the Administration for an immediate review. It is possible that it will need to be sent for a review later, and it could fail afterward.
Apr 5, 2021 2:15 PM
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I just hope that producers won't let the China bans effect too much on the quality of anime. It would suck if every big anime release would be done in a way that it will get accepted into Chinese market.
Apr 5, 2021 2:22 PM

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can you send us a link that confirms your claim? i wouldnt want to be spreading misinformation around
Apr 5, 2021 2:24 PM

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13900
I have a few questions:
Will anime producers start making their shows more CCP friendly to get approved easily?
What is considered acceptable in china? Pro-socialism message? China good USA bad? No Taiwan? No porn?
MEA·MENTVLA·INGENS·EST
Apr 5, 2021 2:26 PM
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Crow_Black said:
The CCP and Tencent are the worst things that has ever happened in the history of China.


lol Tencent is still better than the CCP, why?

They are carrying China's economy more than the government
Apr 5, 2021 2:27 PM
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ArtoriaEvergarde said:
Crow_Black said:
The CCP and Tencent are the worst things that has ever happened in the history of China.


lol Tencent is still better than the CCP, why?

They are carrying China's economy more than the government


There isn't anything good about the ccp or tencent at all and i can do an entire essay on why they are just so beyond immoral.

Apr 5, 2021 2:29 PM
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561790
Looks like they are salty their Chinese anime weren't doing well.
Apr 5, 2021 2:30 PM
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Crow_Black said:
ArtoriaEvergarde said:


lol Tencent is still better than the CCP, why?

They are carrying China's economy more than the government


There isn't anything good about the ccp or tencent at all and i can do an entire essay on why they are just so beyond immoral.


bruh at least tencent founded all the mobile games
Apr 5, 2021 2:31 PM
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ArtoriaEvergarde said:
Crow_Black said:


There isn't anything good about the ccp or tencent at all and i can do an entire essay on why they are just so beyond immoral.


bruh at least tencent founded all the mobile games


Not every mobile game was made by tencent.

Apr 5, 2021 2:32 PM
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Crow_Black said:
ArtoriaEvergarde said:


bruh at least tencent founded all the mobile games


Not every mobile game was made by tencent.


I was talking bout games like pubg m, damn those game were as popular as the current genshin impact
Apr 5, 2021 2:35 PM
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ArtoriaEvergarde said:
Crow_Black said:


Not every mobile game was made by tencent.


I was talking bout games like pubg m, damn those game were as popular as the current genshin impact


You said all mobile games meaning as in all mobile games were made by tencent.

Apr 5, 2021 2:38 PM

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Apr 2017
590
If this is actually true...
Can we PLEASE use this as a basis to boot all Chinese anime from the MAL database?

(The only thing I heard is the outrage over Mushoku Tensei, no mention of Redo of Healer or any other anime but I don't speak Chinese and stay off Weibo)

Don't support the ccp

Apr 5, 2021 2:44 PM

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China was never a big market for anime. They already banned big anime like
Attack on Titan
Death Note
Sword art online and many more.
There are some kid anime like Doreamon which is very popular in China but most of the mainstream animes are banned in China.
This is not the first time since China banned something. I don't hate Chinese people but their government is full of assholes.....
Apr 5, 2021 2:46 PM

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Theo1899 said:
I have a few questions:
Will anime producers start making their shows more CCP friendly to get approved easily?
What is considered acceptable in china? Pro-socialism message? China good USA bad? No Taiwan? No porn?

This is part of the Chinese response towards countries complaining about genocide against Uighurs, Japan was one. Yep thats how you sellout in the 21st century, One China... they might be bad but so was slavery and British selling opium 200 years ago type of thing.
But I doubt it, considering the aversion most Japanese have to communism and their strong ties to Taiwan.

Apr 5, 2021 2:54 PM

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Looks like Japan dodged a huge bullet, due to China's own censorship, but the next adversary is the west, which is harder to get rid of their influence.


Apr 5, 2021 2:59 PM
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Crow_Black said:
ArtoriaEvergarde said:


I was talking bout games like pubg m, damn those game were as popular as the current genshin impact


You said all mobile games meaning as in all mobile games were made by tencent.



nah I was referring to all the popular mobile games back then, around 2-3 yrs ago

still cant forget the Indian kids screaming in the hallway for winning and moving onto the next tier XD
Apr 5, 2021 3:01 PM
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Theo1899 said:
I have a few questions:
Will anime producers start making their shows more CCP friendly to get approved easily?
What is considered acceptable in china? Pro-socialism message? China good USA bad? No Taiwan? No porn?


Can't answer the first question.
About the second question, I can tell there was a Hollywood-China controversy some times ago. Hollywood basically self-censored their works to let them be accepted in China.

Among the other censorship Hollywood made:
- Avoid touchy geopolitical issues, such as China’s human rights abuses
- Removing black characters (I remember there was a whitewashing controversy pretty huge on Twitter about the Chinese version of a movie which I sadly don't remember the title)
- No LGBT characters

And probably others which I don't remember but you can find online I guess
AliouneApr 5, 2021 3:07 PM
Apr 5, 2021 3:17 PM
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Theo1899 said:
I have a few questions:
Will anime producers start making their shows more CCP friendly to get approved easily?
What is considered acceptable in china? Pro-socialism message? China good USA bad? No Taiwan? No porn?


Not sure, but as it stands, China already banned a lot of animes/mangas already, and the producers of these shows don't seem to care. Eg: AoT. The Western market is growing too, which might supplant Chinese consumers. This brings its own trouble to the industry, though.

CCP-friendly would be anything non-religious, non-political, and as virtuous as possible (so no hentai, no bullying depiction, no violence). Even if you have an anti-bullying message, if it features bullying, it might not pass CCP's review.
Apr 5, 2021 3:17 PM

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AnimeAnima said:
But I doubt it, considering the aversion most Japanese have to communism and their strong ties to Taiwan.

Yeah I've noticed that in this region full of bitterness, the relationship between Japan and Taiwan is unusually strong. Cool I guess, Taiwan seems like a nice place.
Alioune said:
Removing black characters (I remember there was a whitewashing controversy pretty huge on Twitter about the Chinese version of a movie which I sadly don't remember the title)

I've heard of the popular examples that have been going around the internet like making the boyega guy from the new star wars films smaller on the chinese posters or casting that actress with the hard irish name on doctor strange because they hate tibetans.
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Apr 5, 2021 3:21 PM

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lol i think china will raise a broken generation, with a lot of traumas and regrets. and ofc forbidding entertainment by watching animes such as attack on titan and death note which i'm sure chinese youth would like.
but hey, i live on the other side of the planet where there are people drinking almost legally since they're 16 years old!
ใ‚ญใƒฉ โฅ ๐—‚'๐–ฝ ๐—…๐—‚๐—„๐–พ ๐—๐—ˆ ๐–ฟ๐—…๐—’, ๐–ป๐—Ž๐— ๐—†๐—’ ๐—๐—‚๐—‡๐—€๐—Œ ๐—๐–บ๐—๐–พ ๐–ป๐–พ๐–พ๐—‡ ๐—Œ๐—ˆ ๐–ฝ๐–พ๐—‡๐—‚๐–พ๐–ฝ
โœฉ
Apr 5, 2021 3:31 PM

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now, that is an interesting thread.
Apr 5, 2021 3:42 PM

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Time to bow and bend for the daddy China.
Apr 5, 2021 3:47 PM

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don't chinese viewers pirate anyways? AOT is banned yet is one of the most popular shows in China.
โ•ญโ‹Ÿโ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ•ฎ
"All problems come from the
human mind. In the mind, one's
consciousness is just the tip of
the iceberg. What lies beneath
the surface... the subconscious...
is far more vast."

- Shun Aonuma

โ•ฐโ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ‹žโ•ฏ


Apr 5, 2021 4:45 PM

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MinorTatu said:
I swear anime was always (partially?) banned in China? I remember reading that Attack on Titan, Naruto and a bunch of other anime were illegal there


It was. Attack on Titan, Tokyo Ghoul and quite a few other shows were banned already. It sucks that they are basically Japan's largest audience outside of Japan, but I guess North America will be the second largest.
I sometimes forget to finish my sentences.
Apr 5, 2021 5:29 PM

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haayloft said:
lol i think china will raise a broken generation, with a lot of traumas and regrets. and ofc forbidding entertainment by watching animes such as attack on titan and death note which i'm sure chinese youth would like.
but hey, i live on the other side of the planet where there are people drinking almost legally since they're 16 years old!

Nope you are wrong, people in China love CCP. They have never been so confident and fulfilled. They are at the peak of nationalism right now.
They recently boycotted H&M and a lot of clothing brands just because they stop using cotton from uighurs as they were made by force labored uighurian in 'Re-education camp'.
On internet and sometime even irl people from China harass people from Taiwan and Hong Kong who just don't want to be ruled by CCP.
Apr 5, 2021 5:47 PM

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hohofish said:
haayloft said:
lol i think china will raise a broken generation, with a lot of traumas and regrets. and ofc forbidding entertainment by watching animes such as attack on titan and death note which i'm sure chinese youth would like.
but hey, i live on the other side of the planet where there are people drinking almost legally since they're 16 years old!

Nope you are wrong, people in China love CCP. They have never been so confident and fulfilled. They are at the peak of nationalism right now.


Epic recent movies that deal with China's economic rise such as -Dead Souls- show what it took for China to be where it is right now. Those that had to actually WORK the mind numbing crappy labor for decades to achieve the plateau that young Chinese are enjoying are not happy at all.

Apr 5, 2021 5:59 PM

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I really hope it will not affect the creativity of the animators with restrictions and strict rules for some anime to be sure to be broadcast in china and not lose this part of the market
Apr 5, 2021 6:00 PM

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StealthBlack said:
hohofish said:

Nope you are wrong, people in China love CCP. They have never been so confident and fulfilled. They are at the peak of nationalism right now.


Epic recent movies that deal with China's economic rise such as -Dead Souls- show what it took for China to be where it is right now. Those that had to actually WORK the mind numbing crappy labor for decades to achieve the plateau that young Chinese are enjoying are not happy at all.


You don't understand China/nationalism at all. They are happy to work and live like a slave. As long as the country, the CCP is strong they are happy. To them there is greater threat out there (US, Europe and the free world).
Apr 5, 2021 6:08 PM
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The CCP is just a really shitty thing all around. Also, I see piracy skyrocketing in China.

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Apr 5, 2021 6:20 PM
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hohofish said:
haayloft said:
lol i think china will raise a broken generation, with a lot of traumas and regrets. and ofc forbidding entertainment by watching animes such as attack on titan and death note which i'm sure chinese youth would like.
but hey, i live on the other side of the planet where there are people drinking almost legally since they're 16 years old!

Nope you are wrong, people in China love CCP. They have never been so confident and fulfilled. They are at the peak of nationalism right now.
They recently boycotted H&M and a lot of clothing brands just because they stop using cotton from uighurs as they were made by force labored uighurian in 'Re-education camp'.
On internet and sometime even irl people from China harass people from Taiwan and Hong Kong who just don't want to be ruled by CCP.


Have you ever been to China? It seems like you haven't even been there and have fallen victim to fear mongers or propagandists.
I like dub more than sub because I am not a weeb.
Apr 5, 2021 6:20 PM
Data Livestock

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The only good authoritarians are dead ones

i'll put this down, just because fuck the CCP/PRC:


Apr 5, 2021 6:21 PM

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Good for China. Keeping degenerate trash out of their society.
Apr 5, 2021 6:22 PM
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China is literally this generation's Nazi Germany...
Apr 5, 2021 6:23 PM

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This sounds really wierd.

As I'm a huge fan of the Chines Anime side.

So far it's rare to see ecchi/rape that we got last season with Redo Healer.

But when it comes to normal action shows I would say a lot of them are more brutal then the Japanese verison.
The biggest different for me between this shows is that Chine once can have advertising in the middle of the ep's.

Well, china is china, as a famous idol in China got a Anime removed from a streaming site with helps of his fans.
China is corrupt with how the system works and how one people can control miljons of people into doing something he thinks is right. That destoryes for everyone else.

This is just me, but I thought Korea/China and Japan worked together when it comes to Anime ? I'm wrong here.

Apr 5, 2021 6:24 PM

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Honestly doesnt surprise me with how shit their government is
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