Fans of anime in China have a long list of anime series that they can no longer watched as the country plans on blacklisting many popular titles, including Attack On Titan, from being viewed in the country.
In addition to Attack On Titan, other popular series banned from China include Death Note, Black Butler, Sakura Diaries and a host of other titles.
The Chinese Ministry of Culture announced the blacklisted titles yesterday. These titles not only include anime, but manga, as well and cover anything in distribution, print, online and in other media.
"The list is the result of evaluations by investigators, reviews by the ministry and the opinions of experts," says Senior Chinese Ministry official Liu Qiang. "It aims to guide websites in the proper review and importation of comics and animations."
China's laws about such materials are very strict. Anime and manga with violence (which actually includes much of anime and manga) isn't allowed, as well as media with "pornography, terrorism and crimes against public morality."
Many websites hosting anime and manga are now under investigation by Chinese authorities, who, apparently are experts in actually what "crimes against public morality" really are.
This new list is in addition to a list of 62 manga titles blacklisted back in April, including Sailor Moon and Naruto.
There is also a crackdown on websites hosting online content and so far, 29 Chinese websites have received warnings, as well as fines, for airing anime and content that "encourage juvenile delinquency, glorify violence and include sexual content." The country has also shut down eight websites for the same thing.
China has a long history of banning anime. Back in 2005, it banned anime from airing on primetime television. Even child-friendly series like Pokemon wasn't safe.
The country also once banned video game consoles (although now that consoles are available there, experts expect sales to exceed those in North America).
The country even wants to ban certain words on the Internet.
Photo Credit: Funimation
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