“TGCF but lesbian?”: the dangai anime TGCF and its transnational fandom

Through examining a case study of Heaven Official’s Blessing, the English translations of Tianguan Cifu (2020), a Chinese dangai anime series produced by Bilibili, and its transnational fans’ creative engagements with this narrative, this article explores how Chinese danmei has been affected by the state’s heavy regulation, and how commercialized danmei is tactfully “de-queered” for a global audience as part of the state’s strategy to promote Chinese culture abroad. This strategy might contribute to the mainstreaming of danmei culture on the global market. However, the “official” interpretation of these narratives has also been subverted by transnational fans, especially queer female fans, who appropriate these narratives to exhibit their queer identities and desires. These fannish discourses demonstrate the multiplicity within transnational danmei fandom and its potential to disrupt the industry’s gatekeeping.