The difference in the values, behavior, language and concepts of ACG fans like Wei Ying (middle) and those of the three-dimensional world, is known as "the wall." Photo: Cui Meng/GT

 

Wei Ying goes to work in clothes inspired by the Victorian era - a layered lilac dress with a big bow across the front, anklet socks, and pink Mary-Jane shoes. Few would know that Wei is 28 years old and almost four months pregnant.

But people in the "two-dimensional" world will pick up clues simply from the way that Wei is dressed, that she is one of them - a growing group  of Chinese youth who are passionate about the virtual world that is constructed by the anime, comic and games (ACG) culture.

The prosperity of the ACG community, the original works of which used to be in two-dimensional form and attracted only a small group of people, is now a subcultural phenomenon that has become a gold mine for many.

According to the Annual Report on the Development of China's Animation Industry (2014), the animation industry alone reached a gross output of 87 billion yuan ($14 billion) in 2013, and might have reached as much as 100 billion in 2014, chinanews.com reported.

Cashing in on the market

Wei has been enthralled by comics ever since she was a little girl. Now she has the popular manga works and games at her fingertips, and speaks passionately about her favorite character voices.

She said that she won't hesitate to spend money online if she sees any ACG-style clothing that she likes.

Last year, manga website manhuabang.com conducted research on ACG smartphone app users. It found that the old image of the ACG community consisting only of nerdy males, is changing. Female clients, like Wei, account for about 58 percent of users.

Some 62 percent of the market share is made up of post-1990s users, while post-2000s fans account for another 30 percent.

Due to the natural consumer habits of students, young white collar workers are still the main consumers, with those spending more than 2,000 yuan ($322) annually accounting for about 10 percent, the research found. Beijing ranks second after Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, as the cities with the most users.

Dong Zhiling, co-founder of u17.com (a platform for original comics), told Metropolitan that investors are recognizing the fact that the ACG has great growth potential.

"With the first generation of the comic community now grown up, their purchasing power is improving, and so is the potential of the market."

Dong is the producer of One Hundred Thousand Bad Jokes (2014), which is considered one of the most successful youth animation movies. Derived from the comic with the same name, the movie's production costs were less than 10 million yuan, but the movie has grossed 120 million yuan at the box office.

On the other hand, players spend as much as 5 million yuan a day on game credit and recharge cards for the smartphone game based on the movie, said Deng.

"Among all the platforms, it seems it's easiest to make money from smartphone games," said Dong. "Games in the Chinese market usually garner more than just ACG fans, but also regular people."

Entrepreneurs are becoming increasingly aware of the financial potential of the ACG world, and are trying to break into that community. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

 

Investing in the 'other' world

Since the success of the comics, the cartoon series, the movie and the smartphone games of One Hundred Thousand Bad Jokes, Dong has been consulted by a number of investors and other people working in the industry wanting to develop related products.

An enterprise without two-dimensional attributes can hardly expect to do well in the market, said Dong.

"The two-dimensional community is very different from traditional people," he said. "For instance, we would tell the investors in the beginning that any product you develop should be youai (literally meaning 'to have love,' provoking some special feeling inside somebody). But it's hard to explain, and there's no authoritative explanation or analysis for it."

The difference in the values, behavior, language and concepts of ACG fans and that of the three-dimensional world, is known as "the wall."

Despite the growing knowledge about the ACG community, Dong said the wall still exists between the two worlds. "The older the generation, the higher the wall is for them."

Dong pointed out that only by producing good quality products that are easily understood can a piece of work break through the wall and become popular on both sides, but this rarely happens.

"It's a paradox between depth and width," said Dong. "Once the works transcend a bigger audience, it usually lacks in profundity. Those [companies] who chase after width might lose their hardcore clients, who don't like popularized products," he added.

"Based on China's practical situation at the moment, the developers will definitely prioritize width, since the number of in-depth users is still relatively small."

Appealing to all

App engineer Wang Yunlong, 25, becomes very excited when he finds someone in the real world with like-minded preferences for video games ranging from the classic League of Legends, to the latest smartphone version of domestically developed Menghuan Xiyou (fantasy journey to the west).

Wang has been reading comics and manga since middle school, greatly influenced like many others born in the 1980s by the classic Japanese manga series Slam Dunk, which ran from 1990 to 1996 and sold millions of copies around the world.

"After gaokao (national college entrance examinations), I wanted to choose a major in animation and manga. But my parents rejected that idea immediately," Wang recalled. 

"A hobby is just a hobby, and life is life," said Wang. He feels people shouldn't exaggerate the differences between the two worlds. 

But Wang has been withdrawing from inside the wall. He feels the market lacks the right channels to consume the culture, because of a lack of resources supporting the culture in China.

"To be frank, as I grow older, the energy and money that I invest in this is less and less," he said.

Dong said it's more than just about an individual's choices, but also depends on the greater environment.

"If there are still good works for you to read and watch in your 20s and 30s, you'll stay. Otherwise you'll leave. That's exactly why Japan is 'a nation of comics', but China isn't."

ACG content is often too juvenile and lacking in appeal to a wider audience. Improving appeal to a broader spectrum of customers will become the focus in the future, says the Annual Report on Development of China's Animation Industry.

While improving the quality of the products is key to improving its appeal, many other factors also play a role.

"It's a chain of reactions," said Dong in response to Wang's complaint.

"I think it's a shortage of target customers, a lack of purchasing power, and a shortage of good quality products," said Dong.

However, Dong is certain of the industry's potential.

"Now with more and more original works being created, we can see that the whole industry shows signs of prosperity and steady growth," said Dong.

With Wei preparing for motherhood, she said she won't be giving up her subculture.

She's looking forward to enjoying the fun inside of the wall, together with her child.

"I think I will keep my two-dimensional characters for a long time to come," she said.