Chinese Anime/Donghua Recs
Anime
Best of the best (ongoing). I mostly watch wuxia/xianxia or historical shows so will be biased towards those genres.
To be frank, the bar in terms of good writing for donghua is very low, because most of the novels that have good writing are adapted for the much more profitable live-action drama industry. The target age demographic for donghua is also generally younger, which unfortunately often means simpler plots and pacing issues.
Even though I casually enjoy some "slop," this list only consists of titles that would be on par with the much more mature JP animation industry standards of character & plot writing, visuals, etc. I consider writing quality as slightly more important than visuals, so shows that have subpar animation but excellent writing will still make it onto this list.
To be frank, the bar in terms of good writing for donghua is very low, because most of the novels that have good writing are adapted for the much more profitable live-action drama industry. The target age demographic for donghua is also generally younger, which unfortunately often means simpler plots and pacing issues.
Even though I casually enjoy some "slop," this list only consists of titles that would be on par with the much more mature JP animation industry standards of character & plot writing, visuals, etc. I consider writing quality as slightly more important than visuals, so shows that have subpar animation but excellent writing will still make it onto this list.
ONA, 2024,
16 eps
Me:-
Author:8
From the same author of the much acclaimed live action drama Joy of Life, which is probably why this has such high budget animation.
ONA, 2024,
26 eps
Me:-
Author:7
Same studio as Zhu Xian, which means excellent fight scenes.
Caveat: The donghua condenses the much longer webnovel, which leads to some pacing issues and glossed over plot points. There was a similar issue with Zhu Xian S1 vs S2, so hopefully the pacing gets fixed in later seasons like with Zhu Xian.
Caveat: The donghua condenses the much longer webnovel, which leads to some pacing issues and glossed over plot points. There was a similar issue with Zhu Xian S1 vs S2, so hopefully the pacing gets fixed in later seasons like with Zhu Xian.
ONA, 2022,
24 eps
Me:-
Author:7
Same author as Blood of Youth/Shaonian Ge Xing, but the studio producing this donghua did a much better job with pacing in this adaptation. Shonen-esque wuxia, which is the author's forte.
ONA, 2024,
24 eps
Me:-
Author:7
Great first half, last few episodes have a few too many eyebrow-raising plot twists that stretch your suspension of disbelief.
ONA, 2018,
26 eps
Me:-
Author:6
Only adding this series to this list because the live action drama is exceptional, and I highly recommend watching it over the donghua. I consider the live action drama an 8/10. Very good shonen-esque wuxia.
ONA, 2025,
16 eps
Me:-
Author:6
Interesting spin on the transmigration genre where the MC is an "NPC" and the supporting character/love interest is the transmigrator. Mostly on this list because there is a lot of potential for the plot should it get more seasons.
