Controversial collaboration between Japanese animation ‘Detective Conan’ and manga ‘My Hero Academia’ [글로벌타임스 캡처. 재판매 및 DB금지]
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kwon Sook-hee = It has been reported that the sale of cosplay and goods related to the famous Japanese animation ‘Detective Conan’ has been banned at Comic Con (comic content fair) held throughout China.
As tensions between China and Japan continue, boycotts due to collaboration with the Japanese cartoon ‘My Hero Academia’, which raised the ‘Maruta’ controversy, appear to be spreading.
According to the Global Times, a Chinese state-run English-language media outlet, on the 9th, various Comic Con organizers in China have recently begun to introduce various bans on ‘Detective Conan’ and ‘My Hero Academia’.
‘Detective Conan’ recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, and in 2020, it received strong criticism from Chinese netizens for its collaboration with ‘My Hero Academia’, which was controversial for featuring a villainous doctor who performed human experiments under the name ‘Shiga Maruta’ (志賀丸太).
Maruta, meaning ‘log’, is the name given to biological experiment subjects by Unit 731, a research and development unit for various infectious diseases of the former Japanese military stationed in China. There was also suspicion that ‘Shiga’ was named after Kiyoshi Shiga, a Japanese bacteriologist.
The organizers of ‘iJoy Comic Con’ in Beijing, the Chinese capital, told the Global Times that they decided to completely ban cosplay related to the two works, as well as the exhibition and sale of goods.
The organizers advised Comic Con participants to comply with the regulations, respect history, and protect the dignity of the nation.
The Global Times reported through a message from a visitor that no ‘Detective Conan’-related cosplay was actually observed at the event venue.
The organizers of the ‘SSCA Animation & Game Expo’ in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, northeastern China, announced a special notice with similar content through the social media Weibo account.
The organizers asked people to refrain from entering the event wearing cosplay related to Detective Conan or other controversial animation works.
At the same time, he pointed out that ‘My Hero Academia’ contains content related to historical trauma and national emotions.
The organizers of the ‘ACC Animation Expo’ in Xi’an, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, also announced on Weibo that they were aware that works such as ‘Detective Conan’, ‘My Hero Academia’, and ‘Chairman Maid Sama’ were raising serious social concerns with content that contradicted historical facts.
‘Chairman, Maid-sama’ became the subject of a boycott as suspicions spread that the author had posted a post that could be interpreted as ‘advocating Taiwan’s independence.’
ACC Animation Expo emphasized that all exhibition content will be strictly reviewed and that measures such as cancellation of participation will be taken if any violations of regulations are confirmed.
This measure is limited to some Japanese animation works and is a restriction issued by the Chinese private sector, but it is expected to have a growing impact in conjunction with the Chinese government’s countermeasures following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks suggesting ‘intervention in Taiwan in case of emergency’.
Chinese diplomatic authorities are maintaining the policy of refraining from visiting Japan for its citizens issued in November last year, and have also canceled official exchange events between China and Japan.
With Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party winning a landslide victory in the House of Representatives election (general election), the Chinese government is expected to further raise its voice against the spread of militarism in Japanese cultural content, amid expectations that Japan’s right-wing shift will accelerate.
At the end of last month, a notice about an event being held at Yasukuni Shrine was posted on the website of the popular Japanese animation and game character ‘Pokemon’, but was deleted due to strong backlash from Chinese netizens.
The official WeChat account of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Newspaper Dissemination Center said in a post the previous day that recent events remind us that Japanese militarism has not disappeared from the fields of culture and sports.
This account argued that Japan’s right-wing forces are taking advantage of the fact that historical memories are fading as generations change and are instilling distorted history into teenagers through sports, idols, animation, and games that they encounter on a daily basis.
At the same time, he emphasized that all peace-loving people must remain vigilant against the infiltration of Japanese militarism.
suki@yna.co.kr
▶ Report via KakaoTalk okjebo
date: 2026-02-09 02:40:00
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