10 Best Chinese Anime That Beat the Japanese Ones in Their Own Field
Feel like you've seen all the good Japanese titles? It's time to turn to Chinese ones.
Everyone knows Japanese animation – anime has long become a cultural phenomenon. Not only Japan, but also China has long been a haven for anime and manga fans.
A few years ago, China began actively promoting its product, making its way onto Japanese and Western screens.
1. Big Fish & Begonia, 2016
Released in 2016, the animation tells the story of sixteen-year-old Chun, a magical creature from the depths of the ocean, who tries to bring back to life a fisherman boy she accidentally killed.
The movie amazes with its visual component and the imagination with which the creators approached the depiction of the world of spirits. In the plot, the authors tried to capture the same feeling of a fairy-tale dream that is inherent in many of Hayao Miyazaki 's works.
2. Crystal Skies of Yesterday, 2018
Schoolboy Xiaoyi Tu lives in a small coastal town in China. He spends most of his time playing video games with his friend. But one day, Xiaoyi falls in love with his classmate Zhetian. He decides to change himself for the better in order to win the heart of the girl.
In terms of detail and beauty, the feature-length film can be compared to the work of the master of cloud drawing – Makoto Shinkai, who created such anime masterpieces as Your Name and 5 Centimeters Per Second.
3. To Be Heroine, 2018
The anime follows high school student Huayu Ye, who finds herself in a world where clothes turn into anthropomorphic personifications of warriors.
In 2016, the Chinese animation studio Haoliners Animation League began actively promoting its content to the Japanese market, releasing a number of series with varying degrees of watchability. Among them is To Be Heroine – an excellent choice for fans of surrealism, witty humor, and spectacular battles.
4. The King’s Avatar, 2017-2020
The main character was the captain of a prestigious professional team in the MMORPG Glory, but due to the management decision, he was forced to leave the team and give up his avatar. As a result, Xiu Ye is left without money and banned from competing for a year.
In order to somehow make ends meet, he gets a job as a night manager at an internet cafe, where he begins to create a new avatar from scratch.
This is an excellent dramatic story with an evolving protagonist, spiced with impressive action sequences.
5. The Daily Life of the Immortal King, 2020-…
Since birth, Wang Ling has possessed incredible spiritual power. He has developed his abilities so much that he defeated a powerful demon at the age of six. But everyone is sure that someone else accomplished this feat, because Wang Ling hides his gift. After entering college, he still remains in the shadows, but he will not be able to hide forever.
The fantasy story is based on the Chinese web novel of the same name by Kuxuan. The comedy series is filled with references to Japanese anime, so if you are an experienced anime fan, you will have a lot of fun watching it.
6. The Founder of Diabolism, 2018-2021
In a world similar to medieval China, cultivators live to help people get rid of evil spirits. One of them, Wei Wuxian, realizes that the power can be drawn not only from one's own spiritual power, but also from dark energies such as envy and anger.
His colleagues condemn him for this, and one day, during a battle, the dark magician dies in combat. After 13 years, Mo Xuanyu summons Wei Wuxian into his body. Reborn into a new life, he embarks on a journey to uncover the circumstances of his death.
The exquisitely animated series is based on a web novel by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. It became so popular in 2016 that it was adapted into a comic book, a radio drama, an animated series, and a live-action show.
7. Link Click, 2021-…
Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang work in a Time Photo Studio. They have the unusual ability to go inside photographs and use them as a kind of time machine. Usually, friends are asked to investigate, for example, to find a secret soup recipe.
It is a procedural, which is not the most typical case for Chinese animated series. In short 20-minute episodes, there are philosophical stories about life and death, and lyrical tales about friendship and affection.
8. Scissor Seven, 2018-…
Liuqi lives in a small town and remembers absolutely nothing of his past. His friend assures Liuqi that it is possible to get his memory back, but it will take a lot of money. To make money, the guy decides to become a killer. He already has a weapon: Liuqi is a master of scissors, and to disguise himself, he opens a hairdressing salon.
The animated comedy series with black humor pokes fun at action movie cliches and takes martial arts techniques to the point of absurdity. Despite the violent profession of the main character, this is one of the most lighthearted anime on this list.
9. The Guardian, 2017
The fearless warrior Dahufa embarks on a quest to find the missing prince-heir. A dangerous path leads him to a mysterious village ruled by a false self-proclaimed god and his minions. To save the prince, Dahufa must put an end to the tyranny of the local ruler.
Far from being a children's dystopian animation, the movie will surprise even the most seasoned viewers with its specific visual techniques.
10. Rakshasa Street, 2016-…
Xia Ling receives a message inviting her to a job interview, and while searching for the address, she ends up on a street she has never been to before.Here she is attacked by strange creatures, from which the girl is saved by a man named Cao. He introduces himself as the General of Souls, and the street where they met is the street, which connects the world of spirits and the world of humans.
The mystical series, based on the comic book of the same name, consists of two storylines that alternate, develop and complement each other. A story from the present tells about the cruelty of the ghost world, while stories from the past tell about the harshness of the human world.