Japanese anime has propelled the world of animation into a whole new realm of popularity and diversity, and the medium has remained the most popular style of animation since its explosion into mainstream popularity.
However, there's also donghua -- a style of Chinese animation that can often be overshadowed by its more popular Japanese counterpart. Of course, that doesn’t mean there aren’t great donghua series with captivating stories. Below are some of the very best of them.
The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: A Story of Angst, Injustice and Trust
The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation is a supernatural mystery cultivation story based on a web novel of the same name written by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. It follows Wei Wuxian, a demonic cultivator who once deviated from the proper path of cultivation and was ultimately killed by his closest ally. When he finds himself reincarnated in the body of a lunatic one day, he decides to embark on a journey to unravel the mysteries of the past that threaten to overturn the peace of the present. Along the way, he reunites with Lan Wangji, an old classmate who he once believed to have hated him.
This story is wonderfully paced, with all the seemingly unrelated events interwoven in an invisible web of mysteries beneath the surface. The characters themselves are very well built with clear reasons behind their actions. Each character plays a role in the overall plot and progression of the story, even characters that seem minor when they are first introduced.
Heaven Official’s Blessing: A Tale of Sacrifice and Devotion
Heaven Official’s Blessing is another series based on a web novel of the same name by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. Xie Lian was once a beloved and respected martial god 800 years ago, but after a series of events catapulted him out of the Heavens, he became the laughingstock of the Three Realms. He ascends to the Heavens for the third time, but now as a pitiful scrap-collecting god with no followers. On his first mission in the mortal realm to pay back his debts, he runs into a red-clothed youth who he later discovers is The Crimson Rain Sought Flower Hua Cheng, a ghost king feared by gods and ghosts alike.
Scumbag System: A Goodie Bag of Misunderstandings and Comedy
What happens when Shen Yuan, an annoyed reader of the xianxia novel Proud Immortal Demon Way, transmigrates into the very novel he was cursing about before his death? He gets paired with a scumbag system and is forced to play out the role of the scumbag master Shen Qingqiu, who meets a tragic end after bullying his disciple, the protagonist of the original story, Luo Binghe.
The entire story is centered around Shen Yuan trying to avoid his tragic end. His internal monologue as he bickers with the scumbag system he’s been bound to is one of the highlights of this series, which melds a cohesive mix of comedy and tragedy.
Link Click: Time Travel Is Serious Business
A picture can say a thousand words and hold a multitude of secrets. Chen Xiaoshi and Lu Guang are two people who know this fact very well. They help their clients resolve issues and regrets, and their ability to jump into photographs and relive the events of the time through the eyes of the photographer gives them great power. However, there's one catch: they cannot change the past. One wrong move could create a ripple effect of changes. Will they be able to put aside personal feelings and resist the urge to change the past?
Time travel can often be a difficult concept to tackle in anime due to all the intricacies and paradoxes. Nonetheless, like the vastly popular Steins;Gate, Link Click has managed to produce a riveting supernatural mystery story that remains sound in both logic and flow.
The King’s Avatar: The Reality of the World of Pro Gamers
The King’s Avatar follows Ye Xiu, a well-regarded professional player in the multiplayer game Glory, through his fall from fame when he is forced to retire from his company. He rejoins the game once more at the release of the tenth server, this time using a new character named “Lord Grim.”
Thousand Autumns: Will Someone Stay True to Their Beliefs Even After Betrayals?
Mount Xundu’s lead disciple Shen Qiao is saved by the cunning Cleansing Moon sect leader Yan Wushi when he nearly dies from his injuries after being defeated by the leader of the Beimu Clan. Yan Wushi hatches a devious plot: turn the kind Shen Qiao into a demonic cultivator who can be his rival. When Shen Qiao is thrust into this world of deception and betrayal so far apart from the tranquility of his mountain home, will he still stay true to his beliefs when everyone he trusted has betrayed him?
The moral values and beliefs of two completely opposite characters come to a head in this series. By challenging the beliefs of both characters as they interact with each other, it blurs the lines between good and evil.
