The Chinese government has blacklisted 38 Japanese anime titles, including the mega popular Attack on Titan, from appearing online, the government-controlled media reported Monday. This comes amid a recent crackdown on the Internet by the controlling Communist party. According to the website Japanese Times, 29 Chinese websites have received warnings or fines for carrying shows that "encourage juvenile delinquency, glorify violence and sexual content" according to state run Xinhua News Agency.
As well as the above warnings, there have been eight sites that have been closed down completely. According to an official government release, via Xinhua News Agency, the crackdowns are to "protect the healthy development of the Chinese youth."
Rumors of a Chinese blacklist began earlier this year with speculation that the list included such popular titles as One Piece and Naruto. As for Attack on Titan, the manga is extremely popular in China and has sold tens of millions of copies worldwide. A discussion group hosted on a Chinese website had over 21 million posts by the afternoon.
Included on the blacklist is the popular Death Note. According to Japan Times web site, these cartoons are the latest productions from Japan to fall victim to the Communist government's push to purify the internet. A more intense push to purify the internet has come under current President Xi Jinping.
"Most websites and publications have a pretty good idea of what they can get away with," Prof Karl Gerth, a specialist in Chinese studies at the University California, told the BBC.
"And, for the past few years, they have internalised the more restrictive preferences of the new Xi Jinping regime. For this to break out in the open suggests the leeway to publish online or in print 'controversial' material of all sorts continues to narrow."
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