Despite the strained political relationship between Japan and China, Chinese people are happy to consume Japanese products, from food and electronics to Japanese dramas, manga, anime, movies and pop music. Japanese manga characters such as Hello Kitty, Pokemon, Totoro or Doraemon can be found on everything from school bags, towels, mugs, T-Shirts, shoes, greeting cards to underwear and jewellery. Attempts by the government to limit the number of Japanese films and TV shows shown in China have little effect on their popularity, since almost anything can be watched or bought online or as pirated copies/imitations on the street. Some anime and manga series have been banned as well. Chinese fans are also avid cosplayers and many young people are inspired to learn Japanese to understand their favourite manga and anime. The huge market has been discovered by companies like Alibaba and Tencent who invest heavily in online streaming services and setting up domestic art studios. The goal is to develop Chinese animation that one day might be able to compete with the Japanese products. Japanese anime that are popular in China include One Piece, Sailor Moon, Slam Dunk, Doraemon, Dragon Ball, Naruto, Detective Conan and the films by Studio Ghibli such as Spirited Away or My Neighbour Totoro.
