China got its first taste of Japanese cartoons around
the New Year in 1981, when China Central Television screened a dubbed version of
the anime classic "Astro Boy".
Twenty six years later and Japanese pop culture is all the rage in China,
especially among the younger generation.
"Astro Boy" is the first Japanese
cartoon introduced to the Chinese mainland.
Our reporter Peng Ran asked two very different people how Japanese pop
culture has affected Chinese youth.
Li Qiang is a young guy in his twenties
who's a huge fan of Japanese cartoons, or anime.
And Doctor Li Wen is a senior scholar from the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences. He published the award-winning book "Japanese Culture in China
(1972-2002)" in 2004. It provides a comprehensive and systematic look into the
cultural interactions between both countries.
From "Astro Boy" to "Doraemon", "Saint Seiya" to "Slam Dunk", Chinese youth
born in the 80s and later have grown up with Japanese cartoons and comic books.
