The Cultural Penetration and Sociocultural Impact of Anime Among Chinese Young People
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22452/IJEAS.vol15no1.5Abstract
Anime has penetrated into the daily life of Chinese young people in a form of cross-cultural communication. The existing research is insufficient in systematically exploring the cultural penetration and influence of anime on Chinese youth. There are problems such as a single perspective and method limitations. In order to explore the multi-dimensional effect of anime among Chinese youth, this study analyses the impact of anime on Chinese youth in terms of cultural identity, values, personal development, and social behaviour by integrating and reviewing literature research. The study found that its impact shows significant duality. On the one hand, it can promote cross-cultural understanding and individual identity expression, and on the other hand, it may cause risks such as conflict of values and violent behaviour, bringing new challenges to the education and guidance of Chinese young people. At the same time, this study also points out the limitations of previous research in terms of theoretical depth and sample representativeness, and hopes that future research can be improved in terms of research methods and design.
Downloads
References
Bao, A. L. [鲍安玲](2022). Analysis of recent development trends in Japanese shonen anime [浅析日本近期热血动画发展趋势]. Masterpieces Review, 2022(21), 179–181.
Cai, H. Y.[蔡宏宇], & Kou, S. T.[寇淑婷] (2022). Cultural strategies of the anime Inuyasha and its Chinese influence [日本动漫《犬夜叉》的文化策略及其中国影响]. Foreign Language and Literature Series, 2022(2), 225–232.
Chen, H.[陈慧] (2013). A study on the influence of anime culture on high school students and countermeasures [动漫文化对高中生的影响及对策研究] (Master's thesis), Central China Normal University.https://d.wanfangdata.com.cn/thesis/Y2556838
Chen, Y. X. (2025). A psychological study on social media use related to anime, comic, and game among adolescents. Social Science and Management, 2(1), 21–24. https://doi.org/10.54216/ssm.020103
Duff, P. A. (2002). The discursive co-construction of knowledge, identity, and difference: An ethnography of communication in the high school mainstream. Applied Linguistics, 23(3), 289-322. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/23.3.289
Guo, M. E. [郭铭恩](2018). A study on the strategies of integrating animation into high school class management: Taking Guangzhou as an example [动漫融入高中班级管理的策略研究——以广州为例] (Master's thesis), Guangxi Normal University. https://doi.org/10.7666/d.D01508176
Ikegami, Y. (1985). Introduction to semiotics (X. Zhang, Trans.). International Cultural Publishing Company.
Jiang, Q., Ma, L., & Yue, M. (2022). Animation narrative on stress relief and psychological cognitive development in adolescents. Occupational Therapy International, 2022, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/1111488
Liu, X. F.[刘小菲] (2023). A study on the phenomenon of idol chasing among high school students in the new media era and its guidance [新媒体时代高中生追星现象及其引导研究] (Master's thesis), Guangzhou University. https://link.cnki.net/doi/10.27040/d.cnki.ggzdu.2023.000616
Niu, L. [牛力](2021). A study on Chinese teenagers' reception of Hayao Miyazaki's anime films [我国青少年对宫崎骏动漫电影接受研究] (Master's thesis), Shanxi University. https://doi.org/10.27284/d.cnki.gsxiu.2020.001125
Sun, Q. Q.[孙芊芊] (2019). Cultural cognition and selective acceptance in the cross-cultural communication perspective: A case study of Japanese passionate anime [跨文化传播视角下的文化认知与选择性接受——以日本热血动漫为例]. Journal of Yunnan Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), 51(6), 94–103.
Sun, Z. J.[孙子冀] (2022). A study on the influence of anime culture on the values of Chinese youth [动漫文化对我国青少年价值观的影响研究] (Master's thesis). Northeast Normal University.https://doi.org/10.27011/d.cnki.gdbsu.2021.001197
Tang, J. Q. (2020). The influence of animation on Japanese course selection for teenagers. In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Literature, Art and Human Development (ICLAHD 2020) (pp. 60–64). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.201215.394
The Association of Japanese Animations. (2025). Animation industry report 2025.[アニメ産業レポート2025]. https://aja.gr.jp/
Wang, S. S.[王珊珊] (2022). A study on the influence of Japanese animation culture dissemination on the values of contemporary post-00 college students [日本动漫文化传播对当代00后大学生价值观的影响研究]. Times Figure, 2022(29), 32–34.
Wang, Y. Y.[王迎迎], & Yan, H. L.[严辉龙] (2025). The realistic challenges and educational guidance of Dark Transformation anime on the moral values of Chinese youth ["黑化"类日本动漫对我国青少年道德价值观的现实挑战与教育引导研究]. Animation Research, 2025(2), 62–69.
Wei, L. Y.[魏兰蕴], Yuan, F. Z.[袁方舟], & Fu, L. P.[傅丽萍] (2014). An investigation on personality traits of anime fans among senior high school students [高中生日本动漫迷人格特质的调查研究]. Modern Primary and Secondary Education, 30(6), 62–66. https://link.cnki.net/doi/10.16165/j.cnki.22-1096/g4.2014.06.002
Weng, T.-S. (2024). Animation and manga on improvement in students’ problem-solving capabilities: Comparison of two psychometric models. Education Sciences, 14(8), 808. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14080808
Wu, Y. Q. (2021). Can pop culture allay resentment? Japan's influence in China today. Media and Communication, 9(3), 112–122. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v9i3.4117
Xia, R. T., & Cui, Y. M. (2024). Impact of violence in Japanese anime on the psychological development of Chinese adolescents. In Advances in social science, education and humanities research (pp. 71–77). Atlantis Press SARL. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-271-2_11
Yan, G. W. [颜刚威](2020). A study on the influence of sports anime works on teenagers: Taking Japanese sports anime as an example [体育类动漫作品对青少年的影响研究——以日本体育类动漫为例]. Journal of Harbin University, 41(1), 143–144.
Yang, Y. (2022). The art worlds of gender performance: Cosplay, embodiment, and the collective accomplishment of gender. Journal of Chinese Sociology, 9(1), 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40711-022-00168-z
Zhang, Q.[张茜], & Ding, W. X.[丁万星] (2020). A study on the influence of Japanese anime on Chinese university student fans [日本动漫对中国大学生粉丝的影响研究]. Journal of Liaoning Institute of Science and Technology, 22(1), 71–74.
Zhou, L. [周亮](2021). The impact of anime culture on the ideological concepts of Chinese adolescents and countermeasures [日本动漫文化对中国青少年思想观念的影响及对策研究] (Master's thesis), Jiangxi University of Science and Technology. https://link.cnki.net/doi/10.27176/d.cnki.gnfyc.2021.000392
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 WILAYAH: The International Journal of East Asian Studies
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright
Submission of a manuscript to the WILAYAH implies that the submitted work has not been published before (except as part of a thesis or report or abstract), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; that all co-authors have approved its publication. The WILAYAH : International Journal of East Asian Studies adopts CC BY license. As such, we would be grateful if an acknowledgement accompanies the republication that the work was originally published in WILAYAH. The editors will ensure digital preservation of access to the journal content by the Journal depository section.
Disclaimer
Although the Department of East Asian Studies is the publisher of the WILAYAH : International Journal of East Asian Studies, the views presented in the WILAYAH are entirely those of the contributors and do not reflect the official stand of the Department of East Asian Studies. The Department does not hold itself responsible for the accuracy of any article published. Publisher and co-publishers assume no responsibility, nor by the editors for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a result of any actual or alleged libellous statements, infringement of intellectual property or privacy rights, or products liability, whether resulting from negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any ideas, instructions, procedures, products or methods contained in the material therein.
