Anime has become more popular internationally, overseas revenue is up but unfortunately that means overseas markets are having more influence on anime than ever before.

This increasing international influence can be good sometimes, recently English-speaking fans of LOVE-BULLET saved the series from cancellation. However, there’s a darker side to this: the censors of the Chinese Communist Party.

According to Mantan Web, investors and studios are growing increasingly considerate of the “stable” Chinese market. In order to ensure their shows can air in the authoritarian country, producers are completely avoiding anything that could run afoul of their censorship policies.

Most notably, this includes romance and stories of rebellion. While violence and death have always been a difficult sell in China (just look up how World of Warcraft had to censor their undead for China), now literary themes and genres are on the chopping block.

“Stories about overthrowing the government and works depicting middle school romance are now no longer allowed.” said one source to Mantan.

China is notorious for how it integrates media and government propaganda. Businesses in China are required to support the party’s activities and may be compelled to provide data and other resources at the party’s command. Earlier this year the United States declared League of Legends owner Tencent to be a “Chinese Military Company”.