This year’s annual ChinaJoy (China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference) took place from August 1 to 4, drawing crowds of anime fans, gaming enthusiasts, and, of course, cosplayers. Unfortunately, a list of banned franchises published by China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism has prompted ChinaJoy to deny entry (or claim to deny entry) to those cosplaying as some of their favorite characters. As reported by RecordChina, the move has caused a stir in Chinese-speaking online spaces following reports from Hong Kong media.
Aside from cosplay, the displaying, selling, and dissemination of works related to the titles on the list were also essentially banned from ChinaJoy. According to the official notice posted at the event, this is to prevent the spread of media that “violates core values and public order and morals.”
While some of the titles on the blacklist do cover sensitive themes, including overturning society (Death Note) and sexual content (Highschool of the Dead), China internet users have pointed out that some titles on the list indirectly uphold the values that the Chinese government holds dear. Parasyte, for instance, touches upon humankind’s relationship with its environment and how the two can better co-exist. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and Devil May Cry both feature main protagonists who go against their demonic nature and fight evil.
ChinaJoy has been criticized for its unusual censorship regulations in the past. According to some, the blacklist featured at this year’s event is a slightly updated version of a list featured almost ten years ago, when cosplayers showing more than two centimeters of cleavage or low-hanging clothing would be fined roughly $800 (source: CNN).
You may notice that several of the franchises on the blacklist started serialization in the 2000s and early 2010s (note the lack of sentence-long titles). While some additions account for more recent events, such as the banning of My Hero Academia due to a character’s name unintentionally referencing Chinese and Korean WWII victims, many are still wondering why some older, unrelated media are still on the blacklist after all these years.
