5 List of the Best and Exciting Chinese Anime to Watch

As we know, the world of anime is not only dominated by Japanese anime, but there is also Korean anime (Aeni) and Chinese Anime (Donghua).

Chinese or Donghua anime has stunning visuals, deep stories and great characters.

But of course, this is different from Japanese anime, where Chinese (Donghua) anime has a very unique and more realistic animation style because it is inspired by Chinese culture itself.

Well, there are also several anime that still use animation styles like other anime and are accompanied by exciting stories to follow.

For those of you who are looking for recommendations for Chinese or Donghua anime, in this article you will get the recommendations!

Also read: The Difference Between Anime and Cartoons, Get to Know Don't Get Wrong!

Chinese Anime

According to cbr.com, Donghua is a term used to refer to animation produced in China and created manually or using computer technology.

Animation in China is not something new, its history begins in the 1920s or 20th century, with the first Chinese animated film entitled "Wan-Shan Kun (The Sleeping Beauty)" released in 1922.

Since then, the Chinese (Donghua) anime industry has continued to grow, producing anime every decade.

Then in 1935 he produced "The Camel's Dance" which was a Chinese animation with sound.

Then in 1941, "Princess Iron Fan" was presented, which was long and became one of the most influential animations at that time.

In 1945, “Divine Sea Warriors” broke new ground to spark a new era of Japanese animation.

Then, in the 1950s to 1970s, the golden era of Donghua fell on animated films entitled "Havoc in Heaven" and "Princess Nezha".

Then in the 1980s to 1990s, Chinese anime (Donghua) had a shift in animation style because it was influenced by Japanese and Western anime styles.

Lastly, in the 2000s until now, Donghua's popularity has increased and many people are interested in Donghua because it has a more realistic visual quality.

Chinese anime stories (Donghua) are heavily inspired by Chinese mythology, legends and history, thus providing a bit of in-depth Chinese history in the animation.

Apart from that, it has very diverse genres, such as:

• Xianxia (Ancient Fantasy): A fantasy story set in ancient China with elements of martial arts, the supernatural and mythological creatures. For example: “Mo Dao Zu Shi” and “Heaven Official's Blessing.
• Wuxia (Martial Arts): On average, it tells about warriors and adventurers in the world of martial arts. Examples: “The Legend of Sword and Fairy” and “Battle Through the Heavens”.
• Romance (Romantic): Chinese anime that tells the love story of characters from different backgrounds. Examples: “Scum Villain's Self-Saving System” and “Love Story of an Old Fashioned Painter”.
• Comedy (Comedy): A funny story that really entertains the audience. Examples: “Daily Life of the Immortal King” and “The Daily Life of the Great Sage”.
• Slice of Life: It is an everyday story that is very relatable in our lives. Examples: “New Life of a Slime” and “A Place Further Than the Universe”.

There are several striking differences between Chinese anime (Donghua) and other anime, one of which is an adapted story.

Most Donghua adapt Manhua comics (Chinese comics) which are released physically or published on the web.

This is also often done by Japanese anime which adapts the story from Japanese manga, then makes it into anime.

Apart from that, there are also other differences, namely in the animation style, where Chinese Anime (Donghua) often combines traditional Chinese art styles with modern elements so that it can produce a distinctive, interesting and unique aesthetic.

Currently, many viewers characterize Chinese Anime (Donghua) with 3 main elements, namely Traditional Chinese Clothing, Romance and Culture which often appear in the anime.

For those of you who often watch Chinese anime (Donghua), you will often see several characters wearing traditional Chinese clothing and with typical Chinese hairstyles.

In addition, the romance story is very prominent in terms of character so that this will always be remembered by the audience.

So, this is what makes Donghua have its own characteristics so that the audience can get to know it better, compared to other anime.

Many fans want to find anime references that are good to watch, one of which is watching Chinese anime (Donghua) which is of high quality.

Also read: 11 Best Spring Anime 2024

List of the Best and Exciting Chinese Anime

Chinese anime (Donghua) is an animated film originating from China with an interesting story, good characters and more realistic animation.

Due to its uniqueness, this is an option to become a new show for Wibu or Otaku (Anime fans) which can provide a new experience.

After knowing about the Chinese anime (Donghua) above, in this discussion we will provide recommendations for the best Donghua shows that you can watch!

Link Clink

The first recommendation for a Chinese anime (Donghua) that has an exciting story to follow is Link Click.

Link Click is an original Chinese anime produced by LAN Studio by Li Haoling with a touch of the Science Fiction and Mystery Thriller genres.

There are 2 seasons of Link Click, Season 1 aired on April 30 2021 with a total of 12 episodes on Bilibili and Funimation.

Meanwhile, Season 2 will air on August 17 2022 with a total of 12 episodes also broadcast on iQIYI and Crunchyroll.

Overall, Link Click tells the story of two friends named Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang who run the Time Photo Studio which serves clients to take their photos at the Studio.

Cheng Xiaoshi only takes photos of clients from locations or backgrounds that have been chosen by the client, which without realizing it takes him on a journey into the past.

On the other hand, Lu Guang has the ability to track events in time and helps Cheng Xiaoshi to become a reliable photographer.

The two of them work only 12 hours, where they travel and find what their clients are looking for from the chosen background or photoshoot location.

Each episode, Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang will help their clients resolve their past problems. And to be able to help their clients, there are several consequences that they both face.

Mo Dao Zu Shi

As a recommendation, the next best Chinese (Donghua) anime is Mo Dao Zu Shi or better known as Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

This Chinese anime (Donghua) is adapted from the novel Boys Love (BL) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, which has the genre Xianxia, Action, Adventure, Mystery, Supernatural Comedy and Shounen Ai.

The first season of Mo Dao Zu Shi aired from 9 July to 6 October 2018 on Tencent Video, Bilibli and Funimation with a total of 15 episodes.

Meanwhile, the second season aired from 3 August to 31 August 2018 with a total of 8 episodes on Netflix, Viki and iQIYI.

Meanwhile, the third season will air from 7 August to 23 October 2021 with a total of 12 episodes on Tencent Video.

Mo Dao Zu Shi centers on Wei Wuxian, a young cultivator who was killed and revived 13 years later in the body of a young man named Mo Xuanyu.

Wei Wuxian, known as Mo Xuanyu, joined the Gusu Lan sect to investigate the cause of his death in the past.

There he met Lan Wangji, a genius cultivator who had feelings for him.

Together with Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian investigates various mysteries and conspiracies from the cultivation sects in their world.

During their journey, the two of them also had to face the enemies they encountered.

Also read: 10 Best Selling and Best Anime of All Time

God Troubles Me

The third Chinese anime recommendation is God Troubles Me, also known as the Hanhua Riji anime, adapted from the Shounen novel by Tan Jinkang.

There are 4 seasons for the Chinese anime God Troubles Me, Season 1 aired from July 21 to September 29 2019.

Then, the second season aired from November 15 2020 to January 24 2021, the third season aired from July 31 to October 9 2022 and the fourth season aired on March 10 2024.

There are 12 episodes in all, which you can watch via iQiyi, Bilibili and YouTube.

God Troubles Me is a Comedy, Fantasy, Shounen and Slice of Life genre which has a different story in each season.

This anime tells the story of Su Moting, who is a girl with the personality of a devil child who is required to be independent by her parents so she meets the god of Tianjin who changes her life into that of a super busy girl.

Meng Qi Shi Shen

The fourth Chinese anime recommendation comes from the title Meng Qi Shi Shen or Cinderella Chef which is adapted from the Eponymous online novel by Ziyi 281.

There are 3 seasons of Meng Qi Shi Shen which will air from 29 December 2018 to 13 September 2022 on Bilibili.

Cinderella Chef has also been made into a Chinese drama series which aired on April 23 2018 with 56 episodes. This drama also stars Hsu Thassapak, Zhong Danni and Zhao Lusi.

This anime tells the story of Ye Jia Yao, a celebrity chef who likes traditional Chinese recipes and often experiments with cooking.

However, every time he cooks something, he always fails because his cooking is not delicious.

Therefore, she went to the past, where she became the daughter of a judge named Ye Jin Xuan.

He was kidnapped to Hei Fang Camp and he met the bandit leader named Xia Chun Yu and he was the King's secret agent at the palace of Jing An Marquis.

They infiltrated the bandit Black Wind Fortress to investigate the King's plans. In the end, they both plan to pretend to be married.

It is a shame that Ye Jia Yao has fallen in love with Xia Chun Yu, who is her fake husband, just to gain the knowledge and cooking techniques that her fake husband has.

The Daily Life of the Immortal King

As a recommendation for Chinese anime, the last one comes from the title The Daily Life of the Immortal King or Xian Wang de Ri Chang Sheng Huo adapted from the novel Xianxia by Kuang Diao.

The Daily Life of the Immortal King Season 1, which aired from January 18 2020 to March 28 2020, consisted of 15 episodes. Then the second season will air from 30 October 2021 to 8 January 2022 with a total of 12 episodes.

The third season, which was released on 30 September 2022 to 11 December 2022, has 12 episodes and the fourth season was released on 17 December 2023 to 25 February 2024, which also has 12 episodes.

All seasons are available on Bilibili, Netflix, Viki, Vidio.com and iQIYI which you can watch at any time.

This anime genre is Comedy, Fantasy, Xianxia, Adventure and Slice of Life which tells the story of Wang Ling.

Wang Ling himself is a young man who was the reincarnation of an Immortal King (the strongest cultivator). Even though he has extraordinary powers, he wants to live his life in peace.

However, because of his strength, he is often involved in various ridiculous incidents. He is accompanied by Sun Rong and Song Yan to adventure in the very dangerous world of cultivation.

Also read: 11 Best Free Anime Watching Websites with HD Resolution

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