Anime streaming site Bilibili faces domestic boycott ahead of Hong Kong IPO over Japanese show accused of insulting women
- Bilibili has removed Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation after a backlash over ‘soft pornographic’ content said to be insulting to women
- After the company banned a popular user critical of the show, several domestic brands pulled their advertising from the video streaming platform
Bilibili, the popular Chinese video platform known for its anime offerings, is facing an ongoing boycott from some domestic merchants following criticism of content considered insulting to women in the Japanese show Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation.
After pulling four episodes of the anime and halting the release of the fifth episode, the company said in a statement on Wednesday, “Respect is the cornerstone of the community and the basic guiding principle for operating Bilibili. This includes respect for users, content creators, different genders, various interest groups, cultural circles.”
The statement came after cosmetics brands Ukiss and Spenny, domestic skincare brand Lin Qingxuan, and contact lenses merchant Sigo.cn all announced that they would cease cooperation with the company. Bilibili said it will conduct a one-month “rectification” that will begin during the Lunar New Year to spot and erase problematic content and accounts.
The backlash presents new business risks for Bilibili, which is hoping to raise US$3 billion in a second public offering in Hong Kong in the coming weeks. The company initially went public on the Nasdaq in March 2018. The hot internet platform has seen its stock value rise 14-fold since going public, a testament to its strong appeal built on a niche community of subculture fans, most notably fans of anime, comics and games (ACG).
Many Chinese internet users called Bilibili’s response insincere, saying it lacked an apology. “Very disappointing,” one user commented under Bilibili’s statement on Weibo.