Japanese Series “Ultraman Tiga” Vanishes From Chinese Video Site

China’s broadcasting regulators have urged relevant departments to strengthen the monitoring of children’s content.

By Du Xinyu and Fang Yun                      

Multiple Chinese streaming platforms have taken a popular Japanese show offline, deeming it as “violent.”

On Friday, streaming platforms such as iQiyi and Youku removed the “Ultraman Tiga” series, which along with the eponymous sci-fi hero has been popular in China since it debuted in the late ’90s. Its removal was met with a furor on social media, with the National Radio and Television Administration on the same day urging local authorities to establish special youth channels and the elimination of cartoons containing violent content.

A related hashtag on Tiga’s removal began trending on microblogging platform Weibo on Friday and had been viewed over 1 billion times as of Sunday afternoon.

“Ultraman could be aggressive sometimes but the story is also passionate and people need that passion in life,” Hu Yuheng, a fan, told Sixth Tone. “A rating system would be reasonable but restrictions shouldn’t be tightened so as to completely shut it down.”

Earlier this year, the consumer council in eastern Jiangsu province called for a cartoon rating system to deter children from content that had violent elements. While “Ultraman Tiga” was called out for its fights and explosions, domestic series “Boonie Bears” was also mentioned for its scenes depicting stealing and involving guns.

According to an investigation by the Jiangsu consumer council, they found 21 cartoons featuring 1,465 instances of problematic wording, content, and plots.