CATDOLL: Japanese media comments on Chinese-style barrage: a good place for otakus to gather and vent their anger

Danmu, this word is really familiar to people who often visit video websites. Danmu can satisfy people's various complaints, vent their inner dissatisfaction and love, and make friends with the same views and opinions. Strictly speaking, Chinese Danmu websites learned from Japan's NICONICO. So what is the charm of Danmu for Chinese anime fans? Recently, a Japanese media conducted a special report on this topic.

Nowadays, a mode similar to NICONICO animation is very popular in the Chinese otaku world, that is, you can see the comments of netizens while the video is being broadcast. In China, websites similar to NICONICO animation are collectively referred to as "bullet screen animation websites", and bullet screen websites such as "acfun" and "bilibili" have gained good popularity.

Especially in recent years, the development of bilibili has attracted more attention. Since last year, the website has participated in the broadcast of Japanese animation, and with various powerful measures, bilibili has become a very influential presence in the Chinese otaku world. Many Japanese otaku may think that the format of NICONICO can only work in China, so why does it cause so many topics in China? For this reason, we need to look at this phenomenon from the unique situation in China.

Chinese people are used to subtitles

Since China is a country with many dialects, even ordinary TV programs often have subtitles. For this reason, Chinese otakus have long been accustomed to watching videos while watching subtitles, so they don’t have a strong resistance to barrages appearing on videos.

Of course, it is better to turn off this kind of barrage...

Chinese characters are very suitable for subtitles, for example, they can contain a lot of information and are easy for people to recognize with the naked eye. In Japanese animation, various exclusive terms, special terms, and professional terms often appear frequently and continuously. Compared with Roman letters, Chinese characters make it easier for people to understand the meaning of these terms. Even if you have never seen a word before, you can roughly imagine the content through Chinese characters.

Commenting with everyone can create a sense of resonance

Through barrage comments, people can experience a virtual experience of synchronization and resonance with other netizens. This is one of the reasons why NICONICO animation is so popular in Japan. However, it seems that the phenomenon of "generating a sense of resonance through virtual synchronous experience" is more popular in China. In today's China, computers and smartphones have become the center of entertainment, so there are many indoor parties who stay at home and don't go anywhere, and many people stay in front of the computer for a long time. Due to this environment, it is difficult for people to find opportunities to have fun together in real society. Video websites like NICONICO animation can resonate with others by watching videos, thus realizing communication between like-minded otakus, so more and more people think that "since you watch videos, it is best to have barrages. In this way, barrage animation websites are the best choice." Many people even said: "Once you try this form of communication once, you can never quit it again."

Comments can be used as a source of knowledge and information

Due to various limitations, Chinese users have not formed the habit of obtaining information on the Internet or using Wikipedia to find information. And there are also various obstacles in other aspects. This is also the case in the otaku world. When Chinese otaku want to obtain NETA information on otaku knowledge and works, it is often more time-consuming and laborious than Japanese otaku.

In this state, the barrage comments that appear in the video can play a role in accumulating knowledge about the work, so it is also a valuable source of information for otaku. From the content of the animation and the various NETAs that appear in the work, to the way to enjoy the work and cultural knowledge, we can easily obtain it by watching videos with barrages. Therefore, the barrage attached to the video also has a very important value in terms of information. By the way, when some animations with heavy otaku elements are distributed through video websites such as bilibili, they can more easily trigger topics than other websites, thereby promoting popularity. This is also one of the reasons why barrages are so popular.

The Chinese people’s mentality of following the crowd

Finally, there is one more point, which can be said to be a phenomenon unique to China. Chinese people are very accustomed to the feeling of "being with many other people" and "being in the crowd". Some people will use this mentality to accomplish various things keenly. Perhaps this habit also helps the form of Nico Nico Douga animation to be accepted by everyone?

Young people in China today are often accustomed to the identity of "the masses". For example, there is a distinction between student leaders and ordinary students. In addition, at sports events, athletes and cheerleaders are often separated to enter the venue. By observing Chinese otakus, I found that although everyone does not like to be forced to have any opinions, if this idea is agreed by many people, there will be no resistance. And even enjoy such ideas, so the barrage has such an effect. Therefore, the mode of NICONICO animation can allow many otakus to enjoy the fun of having the same ideas as everyone else.

In other words, even if the ideas of Chinese otakus are influenced by the majority of "others", as long as they feel lively after participating in it, everything is OK. The enthusiasm in this regard has exceeded the atmosphere of the Japanese Internet. Many works that have caused countless topics in China have become popular overnight because of this relationship. Regardless of whether this influence is good or bad, this is also the only way for a work to gain popularity among Chinese otakus, right?