Translator: Legge Editor: Legge
The next day.
An explosive piece of news was announced.
Martial King, Murder of Angels, and many other Japanese comics had signed an authorization agreement with Chinese video hosting sites and would be legally broadcast in China. At that time, the comic versions, Chinese dubbed animations, and licensed merchandise would gradually make their appearance in the Chinese mainland market. Furthermore, several Chinese companies had signed long-term deals with Japan’s Shōnen Publishing, POO Studios, and several other major comics magazine publishers. With Martial King and a few other comic series leading the way, there would be even more Japanese cartoons making their way into China later on.
This news set off alarm bells in the industry!
This was the first time that Japanese cartoons were getting distributed legally in China. In the past, Japanese cartoons had always been provided free of charge illegally by various translation teams. But this time, the act of legalizing them had such an extraordinary significance that it was enough to shake up the entire Asian comics industry. This cooperation would likely help Japanese cartoons further expand their market share in the Asian region as well. Predictably, it would also signal the impending decline of their Chinese cartoons!
…
Japan.
Shōnen Publishing.
“This deal carries great significance.”
“That’s right, this is officially the first time we’re making inroads into the Chinese market.”
“Although we don’t have a killer weapon like One Piece, Martial King has had pretty good results all this time. In a market like China where the comics industry is almost dead, there are no series out there that can compare with Martial King.”
“It’s also thanks to Zhang Ye that the market has opened up for us.”
“After the loss of One Piece, we can finally claw back.”
…
POO Studios.
“If we still had Naruto, that would be our best weapon.”
“Murder of Angels is as good a choice too. Those seven cartoons of Zhang Ye’s have completely opened up the Chinese market for us. That place is full of buzz, so we can dominate with whatever works we bring over.”
“Right, this is a money-grabbing opportunity!”
“Yeah, it’s only a matter of who can grab the fastest. Hopefully, there won’t be any unexpected incidents again.”
“Haha, what could possibly happen?”
…
Korea.
“The Chinese market is done for.”
“Yeah, they’ve opened their doors and let the wolf in.”
“By allowing Japanese cartoons to get distributed officially in their market, China’s comics industry will end up a barren land soon.”
“Yeah, no one can stand in their way!”
…
China.
At an animation company.
“The wolves are here!”
“Dammit! This is becoming even worse than we thought!”
“What should we do? How should we handle this?”
“What else can we do? Fight back, of course! We should all join hands and rebuff the Japanese comics from eroding our share of the market! If that happens, the domestic comics industry is done for!”
“But what do we fight back with?”
“Surely we can’t do nothing and wait for our deaths, right?”
…
The media was fighting to get their first reports out.
“Japanese cartoons enter the Chinese market!”
“What does the future hold for the Chinese comics industry?”
“The wolves have descended. Who can stand up to them?”
“The Chinese comics industry might be dealt a devastating blow!”
“Who can save the domestic comics industry?”
For a moment, the comics industry was in chaos!
The Japanese comics and animation world was exhilarated!
The Korean comics and animation world was quietly observing the winds of change!
The Chinese comics and animation world was in a state of mourning!
This news had come at a really bad time. The Chinese comics industry had already been hurt badly and was on the verge of death. It couldn’t endure this setback.
The Chinese citizens started discussing this matter.
“Wow, they’re finally allowing the official versions to enter the market.”
“We’ll have all those cartoons to watch again.”
“What do you know? This isn’t a good thing!”
“Yeah, our domestic cartoons don’t stand a chance anymore.”
“Hai, when has our domestic comics industry ever been able to stand alone?”
“Stand alone? That’s no longer possible. The capital has already been redirected to the entertainment circle. Movies, TV dramas, web dramas, all of those are the favored choices of the sponsors. As for our domestic cartoons? The sponsors abandoned them long ago. It was actually our own fault since we couldn’t come up with any good productions. But with the incoming invasion of Japanese cartoons, that’s adding insult to injury. I’m getting less and less optimistic of our domestic comics industry’s future. It’s beginning to look like a dead end.”
“That might not necessarily be so. Sometimes, one can only find hope in the most desperate of circumstances. I believe that in a life or death situation like this, there will definitely be someone who will step forward!”
The people argued on end.
Meanwhile, the Chinese comics industry had gathered to discuss matters of utmost importance.
The experts gave their views on the matter one by one.
Media reports were being published one after another.
And it was at this time that a piece of news blew up again!
China’s Miracle Animation Studios suddenly made a sound. They announced that they would be partnering with Zhang Ye to create an unprecedented Chinese animation to stand up to the foreign competitors!
The industry was shocked!
The public was stunned!
“What?”
“Miracle Animation? I’ve heard of them!”
“Damn, they actually managed to get Zhang Ye to work with them?”
“What? Zhang Ye?”
“Why is he everywhere?”
“That fellow is going to make a domestic cartoon?”
“After dropping One Piece and Naruto, that fellow has come to meddle in our domestic animation productions?”
“Fuck, didn’t you say that you didn’t have time? Why am I not convinced no matter how I see it!”
On Weibo.
Right afterwards, a written call to arms appeared out of nowhere!
It was by Zhang Ye. He had written a very impassioned and vehement piece. “Someone told me that the market had no place for our domestic cartoons and that no one likes to watch them—but I don’t believe that. Someone told me that China cannot produce a domestic comic that has its own unique traits and that only Japan can do it—but I don’t believe that. Someone told me that the world belongs to Japanese cartoons now and that our domestic cartoons have no chance of survival—but I don’t believe that. I’ve never had my beliefs shaken before. If it’s something that others can achieve, then I believe that we can achieve it as well. Moreover, we can do it even better than them! Right now, the domestic cartoon industry has arrived at a life-and-death moment. Trouble is brewing within, and the enemy has infiltrated our market. There isn’t a more difficult time than now, there isn’t a more hopeless situation than this, yet this makes my blood race faster than ever. This is the time when we as Chinese citizens must defend our honor and dignity. This is the time when we as the champions of communism must take action! Who wants to stand up to the foreign enemies together with us?”
Zhang Ye’s words were fantastic at stirring the people’s emotions!
Instantly, quite a few netizens were pumped up as they rushed forward in response!
“Me!”
“And me too!”
“Count me in!”
“Who says we can’t do it?”
“That’s right, we can also do a very good job!”
“Right, let’s stand united against the foreign enemies!”
“Support our domestic cartoons!”
“Support our domestic cartoons!”
“Defend our honor!”
“Boycott Japanese cartoons!”
It didn’t take long before everyone suddenly came around and realized something!
Eh!
This doesn’t seem right!
This doesn’t seem right at all!
It was you who went to draw Japanese cartoons in the first place!
It was you who started all of it!
Japanese cartoons were also very popular in the past. But upon giving it some detailed thought, it was absolutely not comparable to the current situation. Be it Martial King or some of the other popular Japanese cartoons in China, they did not really create any sort of sensation even though they were popular. This wave of pro-Japanese cartoons that was sweeping the world should have started with One Piece, followed by Naruto, Doraemon, and so on and so forth. If it weren’t for those seven national cartoons, the domestic comics industry in China would not have fallen into the tragic situation it was in today. This pro-Japanese cartoons trend was mainly happening only because of you! It was obviously you who opened up the market for others! And you still have the cheek to call for a boycott against Japanese cartoons? You still have the face to stand up to foreign enemies?
Oh my god!
Thinking of this, the people puked blood!
“Pfft!”
“Zhang Ye, your sister!”
“We nearly got fooled by you!”
“Stop listening to his bullshit! This fellow is too good at talking big!”
“You’re the fucking biggest foreign enemy here!”
“Lord Zhang, don’t you feel embarrassed?”
“This fellow is making me so angry that I want to laugh!”
“If it weren’t for you, the domestic comics industry would never have descended into such a miserable state! If you didn’t go and start trouble, our domestic comics industry would still be doing quite well!”
“This fellow is too freaking shameless!”
“Hmph! When has Teacher Zhang ever cared about his face!”
“I really have to give it to him for being so thick-skinned!”
“This problem clearly started because of him, yet he’s here talking big about defending our honor and dignity in such an awe-inspiring manner? And claiming to be some champion of communism? Get lost! Fuck off!”
“Hahahaha!”
“This fellow can really turn his words around. In any case, he can always back his words up with his reasoning. There’s really no one else like him!”
The people started flaming him for it!
…
Meanwhile.
At the studio.
The atmosphere was a little awkward.
Ha Qiqi and the others were here, and so were Sun Xiaobei and company.
After Sun Xiaobei had announced the news that they would be teaming up with Zhang Ye to produce a Chinese animation, Zhang Ye volunteered to work on the publicity for it. After preparing for a long time, he had confidently posted that written call to arms. In it, he vowed to fight to the bitter end with the Japanese cartoon industry and stand up with the Chinese people against foreign enemies. As a result, once the essay was posted, it got criticized badly by the people.
Sun Xiaobei covered her mouth and coughed.
Ha Qiqi rolled her eyes.
Only Zhang Ye pretended to calmly clear his throat. “Look, look at this, the publicity is such a success!”
Such a success?
Which of your eyes is telling you that it was such a success!
Everyone was speechless.
Little Wang said without batting an eye, “But it looks like they’re all scolding you?”
Zhang Ye smacked his lips and said, “That is what you don’t understand. This is exactly what I wanted to achieve. Look, it’s trending, right? Everyone knows that we’re going to make a domestic animation now, right? So isn’t that a success?”
Well, alright.
If you say it’s successful, then it’s successful.
You’re always right anyway.
