A popular Japanese detective animation series was among cartoons criticized by a Beijing television station for their "violent" content.

Beijing Television (BTV) has called Detective Conan a "blatant criminal textbook," which has sparked lively discussions online.

Detective Conan, also known as Case Closed, is an extremely popular TV animation based on a Japanese detective manga series that features a high school boy who works with the police to solve murder cases.

In a Sunday program, BTV also criticized several other animation series, including domestically made Zombie Brothers and Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf, calling them "violent" and "bloody."

The program also warned of the potential hazard to children's mental health by interviewing a therapist who said that such animations could encourage violence, including self-inflicted harm. It called for the removal of such animations from websites and the establishment of an animation rating system.

The program became an immediate hit on video streaming websites with hundreds of thousands of views.

The program cited a 9-year-old boy in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province in 2013, who imitated an episode of the Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf by tying two younger boys in his village to a tree and set them ablaze. The two boys suffered severe burns.

But some said the "criminal textbook" comment went too far and questioned whether the recent feud between the two countries had played a part. They defended the animation, saying "I grew up watching Detective Conan and I turned out fine."

The Ministry of Culture previously demanded that violent animations be removed from video streaming websites. However, Liu Jing, a public relations officer from online video firm Youku Tudou Inc, told the Global Times Thursday that Detective Conan was not on the list.

Analysts have in general supported the rating system, calling it "imperative" and a common international practice. "Chinese parents were never exposed to the rating system. Media rating is not something that can be achieved by the government alone. It is a habit that needs to be taught over time," said Ding Haixiang, a professor at Zhejiang University.