Source: @Tencent Comics, World Style Feature

All comic fans who wander around the Internet have basically seen such a sentence: "After receiving the notice of the superiors/relevant departments, from now on, a certain TV series/animation will be prohibited from being broadcast somewhere (the following omits the modification of the restriction and the interpretation of a few words)." ”

What are the "superiors" and "related"? Don't ask me, I don't know a lot of the time. Because of the limited number of times that the editor has watched, when each video station receives a notice, the original words are often written as "superior department" and "relevant department"; As a first-class good citizen of the party and a few people, the editor does not dare to speculate. As for what the jurisdiction of these departments is, how many people there are, how many people are adjudicating the law, and how many departments are under the jurisdiction of the same thing...... Can you do it!? Do you want to watch the column "World Wind" in the future!?

Rather than these things that we can't handle, how about talking about the content that is within reach and that comrades are also concerned about? The biggest question is no more than two points: First, what kind of content can be "unimpeded"? Second, only China has the saying of "trial and nuclear", and other countries do not have it?

If you are interested in these two questions, today's topic may be able to give you a rough answer.

Animation and manga review kernels that go the same way

First of all, I have to make one thing clear: the audit of animation and manga was not a department at all before 2013.

Comics belong to the Out Edition, and the review of comics has always been within the purview of the General Administration of News; Animation is different, and the submission of animation for review is under the management of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (hereinafter referred to as "State Administration of Radio, Film and Television"). The two departments were integrated in 2013 to become the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. Although on the surface, the two have been merged into one department, but I firmly believe that when it comes to the specific audit work, they still have their own work. Just like the same penguin, the editor sits here late at night to knock on the topic, and there is no internal test number to experience "Monster Hunter OL".

Well, what about two different departments? It doesn't make a difference, right?

There are certainly similarities, but some subtle differences are also quite interesting.

Long wide and short severe

The difference between the two is more obvious in the external approval. In my humble opinion, the scale of cultural derivatives in China is probably like this: novels> film and television dramas> comics > animation. As for the specific part we care about, that is manga > animation.

The first two are three-dimensional, and the latter two are two-dimensional, and the scale of the General Administration of Radio, Film and Television will be subtly looser than that of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. The novel of "Phoenix Dominates the World" can be published in a version, do you try to make a film and television drama faithfully to the original? The novel of "Notes on Tomb Robbery" can sell well, do you faithfully take a monkey's head burn in the original book? As for the comics... Although there have been reports similar to "no more than three drops of blood", judging from the results, aren't the genuine versions of "Gintama", "Governess", and the three major comics all come in?

Although the General Administration can be called "the master of the people" in this regard, the long approval process for imported works is simply breaking the knees of comic fans. Feng Wei, who flipped through the anime, said in an interview, "Chinese mainland only opens a total of 4-5 comics a year, and when we wanted to release 1-20 volumes of One Piece, the entire time for approval, revision, and communication took about half a year. ”

Half a year? It's just too fast in comparison! Not to mention "Demon Dad", which has been engaged in for more than a year, the introduction of "Hunter" has been shouting for two years since the news was released after getting the authorization letter, right? Fu Jian should really save character, just stop the publication, the introduction of his own works is so difficult, at this speed, the mahjong competition can be held twice.

Compared with the General Administration, although radio and television is strict, the approval speed for imported works from abroad is much faster. By that standard, we'll probably just be able to catch up on Conan's 15th installment, 15 Minutes of Silence, this year – although I don't think anyone will be watching it by this point.

Make subordinate units stricter

Although the approval of foreign works shows such a difference, it is not unreasonable for fans to bombard them in one for a long time. The two basically use a policy for local cultural products -- self-examination first, and then come to me.

Actually, I did a special topic about the comic review in 2012.,It mentioned the general process of domestic editions.,That is:Let each out of the edition first.,Out of the version of the agency thinks it's OK.,Basically won't take everything to the review.。 It's the same with animation (especially online animation), the TV station and the producer will judge for themselves whether the animation is good, whether it can be filmed, and whether it will be settled after the autumn. If every program and every book were to be sent for review, I firmly believe that "Eight Hearts and Eight Diamonds only sell 998" on TV, "Messi's increase in height depends on XX products" and infertility advertisements in various magazines and newspapers will never be accepted.

Such an approach may certainly "support the bold and starve the cowardly", but more often than not, I think it will make the subordinate units treat these "semi-finished products" more strictly. The reason is very simple, you will pass the test with a full score of 60, will you really prepare according to the score of 60 within the scope of your ability? I'm afraid that the number of people who do this is very small, right?

So, what is a strict law? Animation and comics have a strict balance between the two, and let's answer the first question raised at the beginning of the feature, for animation - what kind of work can be unhindered?

A subtle no-go for animated works

In order to answer everyone's question, the editor went to an in-depth study of the relevant documents of the relevant departments. I'm sure you don't have much interest in the original text, so I'll give you a rough list of obvious forbidden areas and general requirements.

Anti-constitutional, anti-national, anti-people, anti-national unity, eating too much, having nothing to do, leaking state secrets, questioning the relationship between Wan Niang and Wang Yao... This kind of work must all die, such nonsense will not be mentioned for the time being. For an animated work that imagines infinity, there are several subtle lines that are very easy to step on and thus GAMEOVER.

It is forbidden to promote superstition - the end of religious works

"Propagating cults and superstitions" -- this is clearly listed by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television as "not allowed" in the creation of domestic cartoon content.

Originally, for ordinary people, the division between a slightly niche religion and a cult seems to be more blurred, so in order not to cause trouble, all the rules and regulations are basically equivalent to all the content of the cult will be killed in the animation. As for "superstition"... In layman's terms, this is equivalent to "a supernatural event has occurred" in the animation! In the end, it was done by man" - this may be possible; "There's a supernatural event! Finally a ghost pops up" - you're finished.

Darkness cannot win, nor can it be strong

The "must not" or "should avoid" aspects of the dark side are much more detailed. For example, it should not contain "gambling, violence, or advocating crimes", it should not contain "dangerous national excellent cultural traditions", it should avoid "generalizing from partiality, and the good does not suppress evil", it should avoid "words that hurt national feelings", and it should avoid "showing the rampant evil forces"... And so on and so forth. It can be said that only you can't think of it, and no one hasn't written about it.

What's more, none of these things can be quantified (cultural products are basically impossible to quantify precisely in terms of content). Given that everyone's scale is different, it can be said that "if you say you can't do it, you can't do it, and you can't do it". According to this standard, it is natural that a pamphlet "Notes on Death" that dominates the world is banned, and "Gambling Apocalypse" and the like have no future just by looking at the name.

Endless positive energy

That's just the tip of the iceberg, but I think it's very easy to understand. A qiē negative information burst or alarmist things will never pass the guò review の core, want to pass the guò review の core must have a clear intention and endless positive energy. That's why the animations broadcast on local TV stations are full of preaching, because such works will definitely be able to pass! This is why the scale of the fifth episode of "Corpse Brother" has been tightened, and Bai Xiaofei has become a chatterbox, knowing that his plug-in has not yet arrived, he keeps saying that he wants to save people...... Hey? I seem to have spoiled something.

In all fairness, I don't think the original intention of the authorities was to create a bunch of didactic animations that I didn't like to watch and that kids didn't like to watch. But as mentioned above, "self-review first, and then submit for review", in case the scale is enlarged and submitted for review is not passed or broadcast without authorization and is settled after the autumn, whether it is modified or remade, it is all white money, okay? Instead of this, it is better to be conservative and definitely be able to get through, and everyone will save trouble. This is the reason why such a process will make the subordinate units more strict.

This approach is completely unreasonable, and I personally feel that it is not fair enough. Not to mention anything else, if netizens become parents one day, are they willing to let their children see works like "Chilling Cicada" on TV when they are in elementary school? So for a long time, most netizens blamed the problem on the lack of a grading system.

Grading this thing, I have been shouting for many years, and how do I think that the classification of such a niche product as animation has to be in the back row of film and television dramas. If you don't believe in film and television dramas, let's not think about it for now. But having said that, we are not the only ones in dire straits, and the matter of trial and verification is really not our specialty.

Japan-U.S. Easing and Grading: The Result of a Game of Interests

When it comes to the strictness of China's animation review, many comic fans like to mention Japan. Actually, I personally think that no matter how relaxed my country's review of animation is, whether it is in the past or in the future, I am afraid it will be difficult to "lenient" Japan.

In Japan, erotic karma is legal, what else do you say?

What about the legitimacy of erotic karma? This means that there will be considerable interests around this great scale, and where there are interests, there will be compromises, where there are compromises, there will be loopholes, and over time new habits will be formed. It can be said that the current scale and grading of Japanese animation are the result of compromise. For example, since Lifan can be broadcast on TV (some paid channels), there is no problem with naked-naked dotted light appearing in the late night slot; Since there is no problem selling meat, it seems that there is no problem with the occasional similar scene in the hot blood work to be broadcast during the day. That's how the scale is widened.

This kind of easing is indeed enviable, but ah, is there really no negative impact from it?

In fact, the Japanese have struggled for a while, and this process of struggle is highlighted by the rise and fall of the "Film Ethics Committee".

The Rise and Fall of the Film Ethics Committee

In fact, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television is not the only auditing agency for animation and film and television in Japan, and they have many non-governmental organizations and public welfare organizations, among which the most famous and longest-standing is the "Film Ethics Committee".

After World War II, the defeated Japanese people felt deeply empty and lonely, and the so-called troubled times were the day of cultural prosperity, and the Japanese film industry ushered in an unprecedented period of freedom. Freedom is all-encompassing, and imports are also free, and television and overseas imported films have hit the local Japanese film and television industry (is it familiar).

If you are unkind, I will be unjust, and if you have a lower limit, I will have a lower limit than you. In order to combat the invasion of overseas markets, horror has become popular, and while saving the box office, sexual-violence, sex-crime, and violent crime have also risen. It can't go on like this! In order to protect minors, Yinglun stood up and carried the banner of trial (is it familiar again).

Since its independence in 1957, Yinglun has recruited people from outside the film industry to participate in the review of films, and the main task is to review film scripts, films, animations, documentaries, newsreels, commercials... and advocated "examining films from an objective and fair perspective outside the film industry". Because of this, Yinglun is composed of freelance practitioners, academics, and other civil society figures.

After the 80s of the 20th century, the market for videotape, DVD and the Internet rose successively, and Yinglun went into decline. In the face of many emerging markets, the Japanese government has amended the Radio and Television Law so that private companies can shoot adult videos and only be subject to simplified review, but at the relative cost of covering them with a mosaic at three points.

That seems reasonable.

But not long after, the AV industry started lobbying and tug-of-war with Yinglun on the grounds that it couldn't be sold; The end result is what you're seeing so far, and the third point is mosaic.

From the above process, we can clearly see the whole process of Yinglun from rise to decline to compromise (to be honest, there is no difference between some mosaics and not). This process closely revolves around the word "profit". Although the scale of Japan seems to be enviable, in the context of the legitimacy of erotic karma, the significance for reference is really limited.

What the? Mosaic? There are obviously non-mosaic works!

Well, it's all exported, and it's not allowed to be broadcast or sold in Japan. Frankly speaking, I suddenly felt inspired when I wrote here, and we can also produce large-scale mature works output, and the domestic card is tighter!

Japan's grading system

The grading system we are currently seeing is the result of this tug-of-war. Japan's grading system is based on age, as follows:

Ordinary (all ages): Films that can be watched by all ages, although there may be slight sexual and violent scenes in the film according to the plot, but it needs to be controlled within a limited range as much as possible.

PG-12 (Protective Grade): Sexual, violent, cruel, drug-related, etc., children under the age of 12 are not allowed to watch alone. You may need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Restricted (R-15): Minors under the age of 15 are prohibited from entering or viewing (depicted as abusive).

Prohibited (R-18): Anyone under the age of 18 is prohibited from entering or viewing (strong sexual, violent, anti-social behavior; or depictions of drug use).

However, this Japanese rating system is not their original creation, and those who are familiar with the film classification system like to refer to this classification method in Japan as the "American classification method of Japanese animation", and yes, their classification system is deeply influenced by the United States.

Motion Picture Association of America - Parents' Committee

The American Film Rating System is a committee of parents organized by the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) to evaluate movies based on their theme, language, violence, nudity, scenes, and drug use scenes, etc., representing the views that most parents may give. The aim is to provide parents with information about the movies in advance to help them determine which movies are appropriate for their children of a certain age. Ratings have no correlation with the quality of the movie's content.

The Classification and Rating Administration (CARA) is composed of parents of children, and the parent members of the committee must have been engaged in an industry that is not primarily related to the film industry before they are employed, and the association is financed mainly by a certain percentage of the asking price given to film distributors for a particular film.

It is worth mentioning that the classification of films in the United States is not a mandatory system, and it is the independent choice of the film producer to decide whether or not to be classified. But basically all film producers choose to submit film ratings, and all MPAA members agree to rate all the films they want to release.

In addition, movie trailers, posters, online advertisements, etc. also need to be reviewed by CARR.

The grading system in the United States

The grading system in the U.S. will be more detailed than in Japan, roughly as follows:

G-Rating: Mass-rated, anyone can watch it. Such as "Toy Story" and "The Lion King".

PG level: tutoring level, built yì post-school children to watch. Such as "Shrek" and "Kung Fu Panda".

PG-13 level: Special tutoring level, built yì for children after the age of 13 to watch. Such as "Spider-Man", "Tomb Raider"

R Grade: Restricted grade, built yì to watch after the age of 17. Such as "Van Helsing", "Gladiator".

Class NC-17: Viewing is prohibited for those under 17 years of age (inclusive). Such as "Lust and Caution", "Texas Chainsaw Massacre".

Special Ratings: Includes M/X/P (films that are prohibited from being shown in theaters) and NR/U (films that are not specified).

It is worth mentioning that the United States' "outer leniency and internal strictness" are even more excessive than Japan's. There is no problem with the American animation spoofing Putin, and Russian TV has even abridged the animation; But if you think that American animation is very large, you are wrong. When the United States introduced the TV version of "One Piece", he even replaced the cigarette in Sanji's hand with a lollipop.

epilogue

It's hard to say whether the classification system of Japan and the United States is suitable for us or not. However, the large-scale films are open to the external output, and the internal cards are tighter; It is a good way to not only make primary school students healthy and happy, but also to let the almighty online search party promote the prestige of our country, which is a good way to get the best of both worlds. Comrades who uploaded "Corpse Brother" to the turtle, you have indeed understood this essence.