1. Introduction
[1.1] "Did you surf Bilibili today?" has become the new greeting of the day among many young Chinese. According to Bilibili's official website, founded in 2009, Bilibili (also known as Bilibili TV) has grown from a niche ACGN (Animation, Comics, Games, Novels) video site to a multicultural online community with fifteen sections and more than 7,000 interest zones. Bilibili has become one of the largest producers of Chinese anime and the largest importer of Japanese anime copyright in mainland China. However, not just any kind of Japanese anime is imported, and not all imported anime is shown as it is. Some Japanese anime are definitely not to be introduced, and even if they are, they are taken down afterward; some anime has to be modified before appearing. Every time the Japanese anime companies release trailers of their upcoming anime series, many Chinese viewers make predictions: which one Bilibili will definitely import, which one will be edited due to censorship, which one Bilibili would never import, and so on. Although there is not a clear guideline, the video platforms and ordinary viewers have acquiesced to the fact that Japanese anime needs to go through a filter called censorship before entering mainland China. We investigate the types of censorship applied to Japanese anime importation and their interplay and provide practical suggestions for each censorship type to facilitate a smoother and culturally sensitive importing process.
[1.2] Chinese academics have not given enough attention to the censorship of Japanese anime importation into mainland China. A few existing studies on imported Japanese anime have briefly touched upon the issue of censorship. Those previous studies, most of which are MA theses, mainly examined imported Japanese anime from three aspects—translation, communication, and ideological and political education. Research in translation studies mostly takes certain Japanese anime as an example and explores the translator's role and translation strategies employed in subtitles (Yin 2014; He 2017; Dou 2019). Studies in communication chiefly discuss the transnational circulation of Japanese anime and its effects from the perspectives of medium and means of communication, aiming to provide informative insight into the export of Chinese anime (Zhang 2013; Xia 2014; Fang 2016). Additionally, studies in ideological and political education primarily investigate the influence of Japanese anime on the thinking of Chinese youth (Yang 2012; Mo 2014; Ma 2016). There are currently no studies dedicated to the censorship of Japanese anime imported into mainland China. However, most of the aforementioned discuss the shortcomings of today's censorship by the government: on the one hand, scholars encourage the government to step up censorship on imported Japanese anime to avoid any adverse effects they could bring to Chinese youth; on the other hand, they call for a consistent and structured rating system for online video content, so that an adult audience can enjoy a wider variety of Japanese anime without influencing children.
[1.3] The measures that the above studies call for—more censorship and a rating system—are both at the government level. This leads us to ask two questions: Is the censorship of importing Japanese anime carried out unilaterally by the government? Is the relationship between the censors and the censored simply divided into active and passive sides? The policies and instructions issued by the government are undoubtedly the most apparent means of censorship. However, it is impossible for the authorities to censor every detail. They cannot decide which anime should be purchased or adjusted and what kind of adjustment should be conducted. Therefore, the government is not the only player. The censored parties, that is, the video sites that buy and distribute Japanese anime and the audience who watch the imported anime, are also involved in the process of introducing Japanese anime to mainland China and are supposed to play some proactive role. It is hard to imagine that they maintain a passive and silent attitude throughout. To explore the functions and the relationship of these agents, no matter the censors or the censored, in section 2 we define three types of censorship in terms of the subjects involved in the process, namely the government, the platform, and the public. In sections 3 to 6 of this study we provide an in-depth exploration of the dynamic relationships among the three types of censorship, employing the Bilibili website as a case study. Building upon this analysis, in section 7 we offer constructive insights for enhancing mainland China's importation process of Japanese anime. The synthesized findings and recommendations aim to facilitate a culturally sensitive and well-informed approach to the import process.
2. Censorship: Definition and types
[2.1] Censorship traditionally refers to the "official suppression or prohibition of forms of expression" (Moore 2013, 46), with the emphasis on "official." That is why the studies mentioned above have looked to state authorities to reinforce censorship in Japanese anime by coercive means. However, in the 1970s, Foucault proposed the concept of self-regulation in his treatises Discipline and Punish (1977) and The History of Sexuality (1978), pointing out that different subjects of power, which all have censorship functions, interact and balance with each other. Inspired by Foucault's ideas, from the 1980s onward, the study of censorship has opened up new horizons: censorship is no longer only an official act nor limited to suppression or prohibition. For example, Kuhn (1986) regards censorship as a dynamic process demonstrating complex relationships among powers, which cannot be simplified as actions taken by a certain institution(s). Freshwater (2004) also calls for a redefinition of censorship. She suggests examining the decisions made by various subjects of censorship and focusing on the differences and interactions among the decisions. Put differently, when discussing censorship, we should not consider it as a general, unilateral exercise of action but should specify the different types of censorship and their interrelationships.
[2.2] Some scholars have categorized censorship into various types to study their functions and interactions. Brownlie (2007) discusses the impact of various social domains on the English translation of Nana, namely, public censorship, structural censorship, and self-censorship. She defines public censorship as a measure by a public authority in accordance with explicit laws, structural censorship as a product determined by the structure of the field where the discourse takes place, and self-censorship as an act voluntarily initiated by a cultural agent before the publication of their work to avoid public censorship. Ben-Ari (2012) proposes three types of censorship: formal censorship, embedded in state or religious law; normative censorship, enforced by social norms; and self-censorship, performed by individuals. Cook and Heilmann (2013) further classify self-censorship into public self-censorship and private self-censorship.
[2.3] These scholars base their classifications on the subject who performs the censorship, when considering self-censorship; when considering external censorship, they base their classifications on the sphere in which the censorship is performed, such as structural or normative censorship. This kind of division is unsuitable for our case study. On the video platforms such as Bilibili, users can both watch videos on the platform and upload videos to the platform. Further, they are able to report certain videos to the platform to be taken down. There is an overlap between social-wide censorship and the platform's censorship. If clarifying censorship according to the sphere in which it is performed, we would not be able to pinpoint this overlap. Since the parties participating in censoring imported Japanese anime are identifiable, we chose to classify according to the subjects of censorship.
[2.4] In the process of introducing Japanese anime into mainland China, three parties are readily identifiable, namely, the purchaser (video sites), the viewer (public), and the supervisor (relevant government departments). Each party plays a role of censorship and becomes a subject of censorship. Although the actions of the parties may overlap with each other (e.g., the purchasers and the supervisors also watch the imported Japanese anime and thus act as viewers), their positions during the exercise of censorship power are distinct and thus can provide straightforward classification criteria. These criteria provide a ground for exploring the interrelationship between the three actors who perform the censorship act, that is from the perspectives of government censorship, public censorship, and self-censorship.
[2.5] The study of censorship has expanded beyond just official acts, suppression, or prohibition. Censorship is a constantly evolving process among various powers, highlighting their interactions. Censorship encompasses not only regulations and restrictions but also promotions and encouragement. Specifically, we refer to government censorship as censorship implemented by institutional agents, contextualized in laws and regulations, the reward and punishment mechanism, and the attitude of official media, and so on. Public censorship refers to the attitude of Bilibili website users and the wider society on whether a certain Japanese anime should be imported, expressed in the forms of mass media reports or social media postings (e.g., comments, likes, etc.). Self-censorship refers to the implementation of censorship by the agent who introduces Japanese anime into mainland China. Both employees and users of Bilibili can upload videos. Therefore, both of them serve as the subjects of self-censorship. It should be noted that an overlap exists between self-censorship and public censorship since both employees and users are integral members of society. The attitudes of the two are simultaneously consistent and conflicting.
[2.6] The research materials primarily consist of primary data. Due to the lack of academic attention on the censorship of imported Japanese anime in mainland China, limited secondary literature is available to support the evidence. Our data sources include official websites, news reports, social media posts, and personal experience. Official websites provide information on the laws and policies related to imported videos and website platforms. News reports serve as records of authoritative measures on platforms and public attitudes toward the platforms' behaviors. Social media posts provide more information, but those pages may be removed at any time. To ensure the credibility of those social phenomena, only the ones that we have personally witnessed or could be verified through official websites or news reports are used. If the data sources are not indicated, then the information is based on personal experience. As users of Bilibili, we have observed how videos are uploaded, taken down, reported, reedited, discussed, and so on. We hope our observations can be useful for future research as historical records and secondary literature.
3. Regulations and restrictions conducted by government censorship
[3.1] Relevant state departments manage the introduction of Japanese anime on video platforms through laws and regulations, the most effective and conspicuous measure of censorship. At the beginning of the twenty-first century when video sites began to upload Japanese anime, these popular culture products failed to attract sufficient attention from state authorities. The relevant laws and regulations seem to lag behind and lack specificity. However, with the increasing quantity of Japanese anime being introduced and a wider Chinese viewership, the relevant authorities are gradually increasing legislation and enforcement. To avoid legal punishments, platforms and viewers have begun to practice self-censorship, which has improved over time.
[3.2] The official channel for importing Japanese anime was initially television. On May 11, 1978, CCTV (China Central Television) officially introduced the first overseas anime, 铁臂阿童木 (Astro Boy). The TV stations in mainland China are state-owned institutions with funding from the state treasury. Before the twenty-first century, online platforms had not yet emerged, and there was no such issue as video sites purchasing Japanese anime or social viewers giving feedback on Japanese anime. Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, governmental agencies, led by the National Radio and Television Administration, released regulations to restrict broadcasting overseas anime on television, aiming to boost domestic anime. One example is "关于发展我国影视动画产业的若干意见" (Several opinions on the development of China's film and animation industry) in 2004. Coupled with the establishment of major video sites since 2004, the dissemination medium of Japanese anime gradually shifted from TV to the internet. However, the regulations did not keep up. In 2006, the Chinese government issued regulations on online copyright ("信息网络传播权保护条例" [Regulations on the protection of the right of information network communication]). Yet, governmental attention had not been paid to foreign videos until 2012 with the release of "广电总局关于进一步加强和改进境外影视剧引进和播出管理的通知" (Notice of the national radio and television administration on future strengthening and improving the administration of the introduction and broadcast of overseas film and TV dramas). Apart from lagging legislation, regulators at that time did not strengthen enforcement but entrusted each platform with self-censorship (e.g., "中国网络视听节目服务自律公约" [China online audiovisual program service self-regulation convention] in 2012). Weak legal enforcement on such fronts resulted in a surge of pirated versions of Japanese anime with uneven quality on Chinese online video sites. For example, in its early years of establishment, Bilibili users uploaded a large number of Japanese anime without getting copyright. In the environment at that time, copyright was not a necessary prerequisite for anime to enter the market, and uploaders did not share a strong awareness of copyright. Meanwhile, a great many uploaded Japanese anime contained sexual and violent content.
[3.3] Since 2014, the Chinese government has intensified its control by both releasing more regulations and enhancing corresponding enforcement, aiming to combat piracy and inadequate content. Given this situation, Bilibili purchased its first copyrighted Japanese anime, 每度! 浦安铁筋家族 (Always! Super Radical Gag Family) in 2014 and began to remove all the pirated videos from its video database in 2017. To regulate the content of imported Japanese anime, the Ministry of Culture issued a deny list of thirty-eight Japanese anime in 2015, banning their importation and dissemination. This was the first explicit and concrete governmental investigation into online imported Japanese anime. In 2018, major video sites complied with the Ministry of Culture's requirement by removing over 279,000 videos. Additionally, ministry officials invited senior executives of these video sites for content regulation negotiations. To prevent problems before they happen, parallel with government censorship, Bilibili started to carry out annual self-censorship. For example, from June 9 to 12, 2019, the platform took down nearly three hundred anime for content review (some videos were restored after modifications). Additionally, Bilibili also installed a report function in 2017 to encourage public censorship on top of the website's self-censorship. Web users can report a video that they deem inappropriate. Bilibili reviews their claims and makes the final decision regarding the legitimacy of the reported video.
[3.4] The government's move and the platform's response suggests that when drafting relevant policies and regulations, the government chose to target the platform rather than individual videos on the platform. Instead of explicitly directing which videos should be removed, government authorities encouraged the platform to exercise self-censorship and voluntarily take down content deemed inappropriate. Possible explanations for such indirect censorship might be the government's lack of attention to the online importation of Japanese anime and its lack of understanding of Japanese anime. From Bilibili's side, stimulated by government censorship, the platform gradually incorporates self-censorship as part of its operation mechanism. Its self-censorship is conducted by the staff as well as by the viewers. Furthermore, compared to the requirements and restrictions given by government censorship, the platform's self-censorship exhibits a more extensive scope and higher intensity to avoid potential punishments.
[3.5] However, self-censorship is not always passive. Together with public censorship, the nongovernmental parties show dissatisfaction with government censorship and constantly resist the restrictions. Some Bilibili users try to bypass government censorship by exploiting loopholes in regulations via self-censorship. Their solutions involve altering the titles, adding dark shades or white lights to obscure illicit scenes, post-editing plots deemed unsuitable for public content, changing video covers, and similar measures. Essentially, they reupload inappropriate Japanese anime with a modified appearance to evade government censorship. For example, 暗杀教室 (Assassination Classroom), an anime deny listed in 2015 for frequent scenes of junior high school students using guns or blades, was later reuploaded under edited titles 三年E班 (Class E, Grade 3), 章鱼老师 (Octopus Teacher), and even 哇! 章鱼 (Wow! Octopus). At the same time, public censorship cooperated tacitly by not using the reporting function (this work was still taken down following Bilibili's thorough investigation).
[3.6] Although government censorship has overlooked these covert treatments on a few occasions, it must intervene when public and self-censorship fail. For example, in July 2018, a large number of Bilibili users flooded a Baidu bulletin board called 血小板 (Platelet). They gathered on the Bilibili website by posting and commenting, trying to turn the former users of this bulletin board out and claim the space for their favorite character with the same name in a Japanese anime called 工作细胞 (Cells at Work!). The Platelet bulletin board is a platform for patients with platelet-related diseases to offer mutual support. Such online trolling disrupted the social order of the platform, and Bilibili's attempts to restrain its users were ineffective. CCTV (China Central Television, an official media company) criticized Bilibili for improper comments on its website. In the same month, Bilibili's application was taken down from various app stores for a one-month rectification before being reinstated. Another example of governmental intervention started in 202l. In April 2021, major video sites, including Bilibili, could not synchronize the upload of purchased Japanese anime with the schedules of corresponding Japanese TV stations due to the absence of registration numbers. These numbers are released by the National Radio and Television Administration after reviewing and approving anime content. The introduction of registration numbers likely stems from previous unsuccessful self-censorship attempts by websites, leading to the government's distrust of platform self-censorship.
[3.7] One fraudulent phenomenon that occurs under the cover of public censorship is pseudogovernment censorship. That is, unclaimed sources release made-up rules or deny lists regulating online video content. For example, before the Ministry of Culture released its official deny list in 2015, two deny lists were circulated on the internet, pretending to be official. Video sites such as Bilibili took down the relevant Japanese anime to avoid punishments, causing misunderstandings and dissatisfaction among viewers. The situation only calmed down when the genuine official deny list was released. This incident underscores the importance of government censorship in introducing Japanese anime and the need for an orderly and effective censorship system to maintain social stability.
[3.8] In general, the functions of control and restriction by government censorship are indispensable. The absence or weakness of government censorship can lead to social disorder. The control and restriction by the government forced Bilibili to recognize the importance of censorship and helped Bilibili to establish a mechanism of self-censorship. Meanwhile, the compulsory censorship by the government stimulates the implicit resistance of Bilibili's self-censorship and public censorship. A small flexible zone where the regulations become ambiguous emerges between the government and nongovernment parties. The existence of this zone helps alleviate the pressure and conflicts brought by compulsory government censorship.
4. Guidance and support provided by government censorship
[4.1] Despite government censorship regulating and suppressing Bilibili, it also seeks to steer the website's development through various channels and supports it as an emerging media platform to generate social benefits.
[4.2] To begin, the regulations not only restrict Bilibili's behavior but also protect the platform's legal rights. As Bilibili grew into a mature platform with a self-censorship mechanism, it learned to take advantage of government censorship to defend its legal rights by employing the regulations that once punished it. For example, in July 2020, Bilibili sued Bote Wen (温伯特), the founder of the Dilidili website, for copyright and trademark infringement. Bilibili won the case, and Wen was put in jail for three years and three months, along with a fine of RMB 1 million and a three-year ban from entering the online video website industry. The Dilidili website was established in 2014. Its business pattern can be said to be similar to that of the early Bilibili website: no copyright purchasing and no control over the content of uploaded anime videos, which damaged the interests of other video sites that had followed the copyright laws. Moreover, its name, Dilidili, plagiarized the format of the Bilibili website. Before Bilibili, Dilidili had been sued by other video site companies. Those cases had not attracted the government's attention due to Dilidili's limited size, thus sparing it severe consequences. It was not until 2020 that Bilibili successfully utilized the legal measures it learned from government censorship against its copycat.
[4.3] Next, policy-wise, government censorship has indicated new directions for the development of video sites, such as more investment in domestic anime. Wang (2018) outlines relevant governmental policies as incentives and support for the Chinese animation industry in his book, The Complete Guide to Animation Industry. For example, the animation industry was listed as one of the key cultural industries supported by the National Radio and Television Administration in 2003. In 2004, the same administration issued "关于发展我国影视动画产业的若干意见" (Several opinions on the development of China's film and animation industry). In the following years, the state issued several policy documents for funding, taxation, and other aspects of support for domestic anime. Under this trend, Bilibili started to invest in domestic anime in 2015 (e.g., "那年那兔那些事儿" [Year Hare Affair]) and set up the 国创 (domestic creation) section on the website in 2017. According to Lv (2019), a total number of 104 works were launched in the domestic creation section in 2019, marking the first time the number of domestic anime reached that of its Japanese counterpart on Bilibili. In the same year, the domestic creation section overtook the Japanese anime section in the number of monthly active users, becoming the most popular section across the platform. Lv describes Bilibili as "a platform that connects all parties of the Chinese animation industry." As stated by Lv, Bilibili motivates its content creators, puts effort into the operation and management of the content of the website, and creates opportunities for the re-creation and commercialization of domestic anime. Such a unique position in the Chinese animation industry resulted not only from the long-term vision of Bilibili's management but also from the guidance of government censorship.
[4.4] Furthermore, the official media's guidance of public opinion boosted Bilibili's popularity among the public, contributing to the website's improved social image. In recent years, CCTV channels have covered an increasing number of Japanese anime, from the hits of 你的名字 (Your Name) and 龙珠 (Dragon Ball), to comments on social phenomena in Japan reflected in works like 名侦探柯南 (Case Closed), to the endorsement of themes of friendship and love in 夏目友人帐 (Natsume's Book of Friends) and 紫罗兰永恒花园 (Violet Evergarden). Moreover, on February 13, 2021, 工作细胞 (Cells at Work!) was screened on CCTV-6, which was the first time in fourteen years that the CCTV channel once again broadcasted Japanese anime with Chinese dubbing (the reason for the interval lies in the policies mentioned in section 3, which tried to promote the development of domestic anime by reducing the import of overseas anime).
[4.5] The official media attention to Japanese anime helps Bilibili and other platforms to attract more viewers, which in turn promotes the platforms' further purchase of copyrights of more Japanese anime. Simultaneously, this recognition by the official media makes Japanese anime lovers feel accepted and validated by society, instead of being labeled as minorities or weirdos. According to the surveys conducted by iResearch Consulting, China's ACGN audience exceeded 200 million in 2015 and 400 million in 2020, and the total value of the ACGN market and its derivative markets was RMB 18.9 billion in 2016, growing to RMB 100 billion in 2020 (2015; 2021). However, as the China–Japan relationship is not stable, watching Japanese anime is sometimes associated with being unpatriotic or 精日 (spiritually Japanese) (non-Japanese people who mentally identify with Japanese militarism). In response to such phenomena, the Central Committee of the Communist Young League (CYL) has twice issued articles to support the ACGN audience. On December 17, 2016, CYL reposted an article from the Global Times on Weibo and quoted its text as the following:
[4.6] 真正热爱祖国的年轻人，即便他们是日本动漫游戏的铁杆粉丝，他们也会在大是大非的问题面前维护自己国家的主权和民族尊严。而那些没有脊梁骨、双膝发软的人，即便他们对日本没兴趣，也迟早会跪倒在其他人面前，嘲笑着中国的一切，包括中国的主权和民族的尊严 (Chinese youths who really love their country, including hardcore fans of Japanese anime and games, will defend their country's sovereignty and national dignity in front of cardinal issues of right and wrong. In contrast, those who have no backbone but weak knees, even if they are not interested in Japan, will sooner or later fall to their knees in front of others, sneering at everything about China, including its sovereignty and national dignity.)
[4.7] This quote has become a symbol of recognition and self-affirmation within the Chinese fan community of Japanese anime. Whenever Chinese anime fans face accusations of unpatriotism due to their interests in Japanese anime, attending Comic-Con, or purchasing anime goods, they often refer to this quote as a response. On March 10, 2018, the CYL reiterated its stance on Weibo, stating, "Is liking anime 'spiritually Japanese'? Of course not!" This statement aimed to dispel misconceptions about anime fans and their connection to Japanese culture.
5. Participation of government censorship on the platform
[5.1] In addition to external guidance and support, the Chinese government also joined Bilibili as a user so that it could implicitly guide Bilibili's self-censorship and the viewers' public censorship from within. For example, in 2017, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China opened an account on Bilibili and uploaded videos such as "Online Courses for Youth" and "The History of the Chinese Communist Party for the Youth," actively interacting with other users. By January 2, 2023, the number of its fans had exceeded ten million, and its videos had more than 2.1 billion views. Zhizhuwang (2017) comments that the Communist Youth League of China has embarked on the Bilibili platform in an attempt to "talk to netizens with diversified interests" and "promote political discourse in a creative way," aiming to provide subtle guidance for Chinese youths. As Feng (2019) points out, the presence of the Communist Youth League on Bilibili not only facilitates the government's timely responses to major news online but also effectively promotes patriotism among young people and other users, improving young people's political literacy and awareness.
[5.2] By and large, government censorship on Bilibili is not limited to restrictive enforcement by laws and regulations. It also offers incentives to encourage the development of the website, guiding it to serve the interest of the nation and to contribute to society. Government censorship is implemented not only by measures from the outside, such as policies or influencing public opinions. It could also be realized from the inside by being a member of the Bilibili community. This twofold guidance is significant in three ways: (1) it helps guide Bilibili's development according to national policies; (2) it could influence the ideologies of the website users and the general public; (3) it could alleviate the public's dissatisfaction toward government censorship that is caused by governmental control and restriction of imported Japanese anime.
6. Conflict and agreement between public and self-censorship
[6.1] Public censorship and Bilibili's self-censorship seem to be on the same side of being controlled and guided by the government. However, there are also conflicts between the two subjects. One issue pertains to the company's profitability. For example, Bilibili's pursuit of profitability may clash with viewers' preferences, particularly those who desire an ad-free viewing experience. At the same time, the company's financial objectives may conflict with its social responsibility. The other cause is the competing interests within public censorship that lead to Bilibili's inability to satisfy all users.
[6.2] Starting as a small fan community with a relaxed and free atmosphere, Bilibili has a group of users who have been using it for a long time and are loyal to the site. They mostly think that Bilibili should stay as it was at the early stage: no ads and no membership fees. In 2016, Bilibili made an informal promise that it would not allow ads to interrupt the user experience. The same year, Bilibili purchased anime broadcast rights from Japan's TV Tokyo. In 2018, however, TV Tokyo added terms requiring Bilibili to charge its users for TV Tokyo's anime and to add a one-minute commercial to all purchased videos. To maintain the partnership with TV Tokyo, Bilibili issued a notice of a trial model, which charges its users fees and adds ads to related programs. The notice was flooded with angry responses from users, many of whom claimed that this model shook Bilibili's founding principles. Under such pressure from public censorship, Bilibili took down TV Tokyo's thirty-seven anime on January 12, 2018, rejecting TV Tokyo's additional terms. The demands of the public were fulfilled, while Bilibili's financial profit suffered a setback.
[6.3] Bilibili's pursuit of profit also reflects an avoidance of social responsibility. On February 3, 2020, in episode 259 of a Japanese manga named 我的英雄学院 (My Hero Academia) appeared a new character, 志賀丸太, whose name was annotated as しがまるた (Shiga Maruta). This character is a doctor who conducts unethical human experiments. "Maruta" is the universal name given to all the victims used as human test subjects by Japan's Unit 731 during the Japanese invasion of China. After the release of episode 259, Chinese media and netizens unanimously denounced the author and publisher. From February 3 to 5, the rating of My Hero Academia on Bilibili dropped from 9+ to nearly 2. On Febrary 5, Bilibili took down both the manga and all four seasons of the anime. At this point, Bilibili's self-censorship was in line with the public censorship of society, putting the interests of the country and the nation at the top.
[6.4] However, that is not the end of the story. According to Muyu (2020), a user named GustaveNavy posted a thread on the NGA website (ngabbs.com), analyzing how Bilibili continued to operate a mobile game based on the IP of My Hero Academia through its alternative agency Xiaomeng Technology Company. Discussions by iqeqicq and Moegirlpedia confirmed that Xiaomeng Technology Company was a subsidiary of Bilibili. Profit-oriented, Bilibili chose to operate the game on a separate server, deceiving viewers. Such a decision shows Bilibili prioritized monetary gain instead of social responsibility.
[6.5] On the other hand, public censorship, because of its broad scope and complex composition, is internally inconsistent in most cases. Frequently, it is not the opinion of the public majority but the minority opinions that impact Bilibili's self-censorship. For example, Japanese anime 安达与岛村 (Adachi and Shimamura) was released in October 2020. The anime tells a story about the same-sex relationship between two girls. Bilibili purchased its copyright and renamed it 樱与抱月 (Sakura and Hougetsu) (Bilibili did not give a reason for the title change. Some people guessed that it was to reduce the risk of being reported). Nevertheless, on November 27, this anime was taken off the website for self-censorship. In view of the fact that there were no violent or pornographic scenes in this anime, the most likely reason for the sudden suspension was some report from particular user(s). For users who had paid for or tipped the anime to show their support, the removal of Adachi and Shimamura caused them financial losses. Bilibili, who had purchased the copyright, also suffered a financial loss. Despite the losses, Bilibili still took this anime down. Many users pointed out in their comments that the people who reported this anime were the "one rotten apple spoiling the barrel." In most cases, to avoid trouble, Bilibili gives priority to objections from public censorship, which are mainly expressed through the website's reporting and commenting functions.
[6.6] As can be seen, the conflicts between Bilibili's self-censorship and the viewer's public censorship primarily manifest as tensions between the company and consumers and the wider society. Addressing these conflicts requires reconciling the discord between profit-making and consumption, as well as between profit and nonprofit objectives. Consumers and society cannot expect profit-seeking companies to act financially selflessly, as it would be akin to "killing the goose that lays the golden eggs." Instead, society should foster an environment where companies can increase revenue to optimize services and fulfill their social responsibilities effectively. The two sides are not playing a zero-sum game. Instead, it is wiser to form a mutually beneficial and win-win relationship. On the other hand, divergent opinions within the audience groups lead to inconsistency about public censorship. Self-censorship of the platform mostly adopts negative opinions from the audience to quell issues, which may, in turn, displease viewers with different perspectives. How to balance the diverse needs of viewers remains a task for the platform to play its mediating role and for the authorities to exert the guiding function.
7. Conclusion
[7.1] By categorizing censorship according to the subjects who perform the act of censoring, we have examined the dynamic relationship between the three power subjects—the authority, the video platform, and the general public—in the process of introducing Japanese anime to mainland China. The case study of the Bilibili website reveals that censorship is not a unilateral act of government pressure and passive viewers or platforms. On the contrary, the censored parties also participate in the censoring process. Government, public, and self-censorship exist simultaneously and are all indispensable. Chronologically speaking, government censorship has directly led to the emergence of public and self-censorship.
[7.2] As a whole, the three types of censorship have a dynamic relationship of opposition, coordination, and unity, holding each other in check and balance. Government censorship influences the decisions of self-censorship of the platform and public censorship of the society with the restrictions by laws, the support by policies and official opinions, and the interaction by participating in the platform activities. Bilibili's self-censorship is inevitably subject to both government censorship and public censorship. The intensity of its self-censorship tends to be more significant than that required by the government or public censorship, in order to avoid the potential risk of being censored and punished again. When faced with government censorship, public censorship often aligns with the platform's self-censorship, collaborating to identify and exploit loopholes in government censorship. As a result, they use self-censorship as a veneer to rebel against government censorship in secret. This small gray zone helps alleviate the tension between government and nongovernment groups. Nevertheless, there is not always agreement between public and self-censorship. Additionally, conflicts arise within public censorship from time to time. In cases where both public and self-censorship prove ineffective, intervention from government censorship becomes essential to swiftly resolve disputes and uphold social order.
[7.3] From the perspective of government censorship, it needs to step up in terms of regulation and guidance, especially the latter role. As Post (1998, 2) argues, censorship should transmute from an external repressive force to a "positive exercise of power." Bilibili has become a popular online community for Chinese ACGN lovers, a group that has long been marginalized and neglected. With the rapid growth of the internet, this group has grown stronger and craves recognition and acknowledgment from society and governmental authority. Government censorship should seize this opportunity to acknowledge the social value of this group and guide them.
[7.4] At the level of regulation, it is necessary for the government to give more attention to online platforms and to develop a more professional censoring system with people who are familiar with Japanese anime and online media. Otherwise, problems could occur. For example, the deny list released in 2015 contains incorrect classification and inconsistent censorship standards, which signifies a lack of understanding of Japanese anime at the institutional level. These defects damaged the credibility of government censorship and made it difficult to gain support from the public and the video platform. Consequently, government censorship elicited dissatisfaction and resistance from both nongovernment subjects.
[7.5] From the perspective of the platform, Bilibili should enhance its sense of social responsibility beyond just pursuing profit. Nonetheless, if the government and the public wish a company to take more social responsibility, they should in turn create a favorable environment for the financial growth of the business. Otherwise, it is difficult for the company to survive. Despite Bilibili's successful transformation into a multicultural space, obstacles to its growth persist, such as some users' objection to advertisements, copyrighted anime being taken down, and so on. If Bilibili has to find its own way, the company is likely to lay less emphasis on its social responsibility.
[7.6] Public censorship is performed by many diverse people, making it difficult to reach an internal consensus. Given the heterogeneous nature of public censorship, Bilibili's reporting system calls for further improvement. Currently, users have the right to report a video or comment, and reviewers of the claims prioritize requests from the informers; thus the final outcome could not always—or seldom—be reflective of the major voice of the public.
[7.7] Moreover, since Bilibili has transformed from a marginalized space for fans of Japanese anime into a multicultural online community for all age groups, the public audience should accordingly view this platform from a new standpoint and adjust censoring standards. Users who oppose advertisements and censorship wish Bilibili could stay niche and free from censorship by the government and the public. Many users have proposed a rating system that would enable adults to access adult-oriented Japanese anime on Bilibili (such as those banned by the 2015 deny list). While a rating system may be a future consideration, addressing current concerns remains essential. As the popularity of the internet increases, more young people and teenagers (such as the post-2000s and post-2010s generation) have been exposed to the internet and have become major users of Bilibili. Teenagers, considered to be the future and hope of the country, receive significant attention from the government in terms of education. Therefore, Bilibili cannot and should not avoid government censorship but should actively cooperate and respond to government censorship. Users who call for a rating system may temporarily treat Bilibili as a platform for adolescents, cooperating to maintain a healthy online environment by posting, watching, or distributing no illegal videos or inappropriate comments. After all, adult users can always turn to other channels to satisfy their tastes and needs.
[7.8] In summary, taking the Bilibili platform as an example, we have shown the different types of censorship on Japanese anime imported into mainland China and their interactions. By dividing the specific types according to the censoring subjects, we have clarified the ambiguous and confusing contradictions during the censoring process: in addition to the already notable conflicts between the censoring authority and the censored platform, there also exist contradictions between the platforms and the viewers and among the viewers. Their relationships are not solely oppositional but also involve coordination and unity. By putting forward specific suggestions for each subject, we hope to alleviate the conflicts between the subjects and help further rationalize, systematize, and standardize the censorship process of Japanese anime in mainland China.