Month: July 2022

Today’s entry is a continuation of last last week’s, because that week’s entry got way too long lol. I am relieved that that happened though, since splitting it up means it’s easier for me to schedule my posts (and yet, I still missed last week due to not feeling too well…). But here we are now!

Anyway, I hope this list helps introduce you to some new danmei donghua that you’ll end up enjoying~! And without further ado, let’s jump right into it!: 

Jie Yao (Antidote):

I have a soft spot for this one hehe. It’s a bit simple, with the animation looking a tad awkward at times, but it’s nevertheless quite cute!

The story follows Cheng Ke, a rich young man who has officially left his family to pursue his dream of art. He ends up becoming the tenant of the scary-looking Jiang Yuduo, who is a leader of a sort of gang. Despite them getting off on the wrong foot, Cheng Ke and Jiang Yuduo get closer due to various factors—these range from sillier ones such as Cheng Ke’s lack of knowledge of the real world and more serious ones such as the darkness of the pasts they’ve both left behind.

Honestly, as simple as this series is, it has a warm, cozy feeling to it, kind of like a guilty pleasure—although not quite that bad ahaha. I know it’s not much to write home about, but I enjoyed it for tackling some intriguing topics. For example, Cheng Ke wants to do art, but not just any art—he wants to do sand art, which I thought was so interesting! Also, Jiang Yuduo suffers from PTSD and other mental health issues as a result of his past as a child on the streets who was exploited by those around him, and I found it really refreshing that a Chinese series would tackle issues like that. Mental health isn’t discussed as openly in China yet as it is in the west, so I appreciated this series for showing Jiang Yuduo’s struggles and his road to recovery.

While it is obviously censored as a Chinese donghua adaptation of a danmei novel, it’s nontheless got some really sweet, romantic moments in there. Despite its short run-time, you really come to see how much Jiang Yuduo and Cheng Ke end up caring about each other, with the former always protecting the latter, and the latter trying to help the former in his mental health. Cheng Ke even stands up to his family when they judge Jiang Yuduo as dangerous, and part of the reason he is able to do that is because Jiang Yuduo helps him establish limits with his family, who can be rather abusive.

It’s just…a charming, simple donghua with a cute happy ending, and even though it isn’t perfect, I can’t help but recommend it. If you want a feel-good series or want something light (like, I love that many danmei series have deep, rich lore, but sometimes you just want something straightforward, right?) that still explores some interesting topics, then this is the series for you! Plus, it does have a manhua and I believe an audio drama as well as the original novel, and they all seem quite good!

Ling Qi (Spirit Pact aka Soul Contract):

This is one of the earlier donghua that got a sizeable audience outside of China, and as an early danmei donghua, it has some more explicit scenes. It’s also a bit more cheaply made, since donghua series back then were still finding their footing. From what I know, this was a Japanese and Chinese coproduction, so it also got a Japanese dub—and it probably also helped with those explicit scenes, as well as Ling Qi being released when web media was less censored. It actually continues to drive me a little nuts to this day that many fans who discuss it use the characters’ Japanese names, since most anime fans will flock to Japanese dubs for that…well, anime feel, despite the original being Chinese. 

Our main character here is Yang Jinghua, a down-on-his-luck youth who is a descendant from exorcists…who ends up even more down-on-his-luck after he meets Duanmu Xi, who he sees fighting an evil spirit, mostly in the sense that he literally dies. He becomes a spirit shadow of Duanmu Xi, and the two get closer despite their personalities being complete opposites. Yang Jinghua comes to care for the quiet, blunt, and somewhat spoiled Duanmu Xi—the latter of whom has turned out this way due to his past.

Interestingly enough, this donghua improved a lot in quality in its second season, but since it featured actual kiss scenes and was pretty obvious with how close Yang Jinghua and Duanmu Xi are, and considering Haoliners (the studio behind it) hasn’t been doing as many collaborations with its Japanese branch lately, I believe the series ends rather abruptly and it’s unlikely we’ll ever see a season 3. Despite that, it has some intriguing concepts behind it, even though it could get kind of messy at times!

The donghua is adapted from a manhua by Pingzi, which has a pretty art style—though I do think it looks awkward in certain areas, but Pingzi has improved a lot as the series continues! I do remember reading once on Tumblr about how someone was mad at Pingzi because they described the series as “not boys’ love” despite all the amounts of obvious romantic undertones and very very obvious kissing; they even accused Pingzi of queer-baiting, and that statement never sat right with me. Now I know why—because Chinese creators can’t afford to queer-bait, which I’ve discussed in this blog entry here. I assume Pingzi said that simply because they are more than aware of how precarious the status of danmei can be in China, considering censorship, so even if they have every intention of writing danmei, they do have to tread cautiously. It does suck, but I’ve already discussed why China is the way it is when it comes to depictions of gayness in its media (spoilers: a lot of it has to do with the colonization and westernization of China). 

To finish up though, Ling Qi is not a perfect series, but it has its merits, and the more explicit scenes will obviously be a huge draw for many fans. As one of the earlier donghua, it gained some popularity as a result, so while it is kind of past its heyday, you can still find fan works to enjoy from it! The Japanese dub is solid, but I do recommend the Chinese dub as well, if only because it’s rather underrated!

Wo Kai Dongwuyuan Naxie Nian (Those Years I Opened a Zoo):

Here’s another rather simple donghua—it’s in a similar vein to Jie Yao in that regard, so if you found Jie Yao enjoyable enough, I think you’ll like this one too!

Duan Jiaze, our protagonist, has a zoo thrust upon him once he’s graduated university, and now with an app that gives him tasks to build his business from the ground up, he has to restore Ling You Zoo to some form of glory. This is made more complex due to the fact his zoo contains mythical animals, and one such animal is Luya, the last three-legged golden crow in the world. Luya is thus arrogant, blunt, and harsh, which makes him rather hard to get along with, but as the series wears on, Duan Jiaze’s pleasant and caring nature softens Luya.

The donghua isn’t very explicit with the romance, but it has some cute scenes, such as Duan Jiaze cooking for Luya; a character assumes Luya and Duan Jiaze have a romantic relationship during an episode that focuses on photography; Luya having a nightmare yet within it, Duan Jiaze is kind to him while everyone else laughs; and Luya and Duan Jiaze share a lovely moment during a party. I do think it’s even subtler than Jie Yao, but that doesn’t take away the fact that the series is indeed quite soft, and even then, it’s fun overall. The other characters outside of our main pairing are also quite adorable!

I assume this donghua was stuck in a kind of production hell, as I remember a trailer that released which featured very different designs from what we ultimately ended up with. I kind of lament this since I actually enjoyed the trailer designs quite a bit, but the final versions are quite nice too! The animation itself is also simple, but not at all bad quality. This is even fluffier and lighter than Jie Yao, so I totally recommend it for those of you who have a sweet tooth.

I’m not sure if this one will have a second season, but since it’s more slice-of-life despite also being fantastical, it’s not so bad if it only has the one season, as it’s not like it ended with a cliff-hanger or anything. The last episode was enjoyable, working well as a finale, and we got some shippable moments between Duan Jiaze and Luya. If you do want more of it, however, there is a manhua—which I do think has a rather pretty art style!—and an audio drama, along with the original web-novel.

Huangli Shi ([Chinese] Almanac Master aka The Chronologist):

Alright I’m realizing just how many danmei donghua there are out there, which means these next few ones will have to be written very quickly—and shortly! This won’t be too hard for this one though since uh…I haven’t watched or read this one ahaha.

I don’t know a lot about it as a result, but I can gather it features magic, with the main character, Xiao Nanzhu, taking on the role of Fangshi, who can change the solar terms and seasonal solstices, as well as predict people’s fortunes. It’s harder to find much about it online since it’s one of those more underrated donghua, and I’m not sure how obvious the donghua is in its gayness. It was adapted from a danmei novel of the same name though, written by Shitou Yang.

The animation looks pretty good overall! It’s by BC May, the studio behind Mo Dao Zu Shi, which I’ve discussed a lot more in detail in my entry about Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s danmei donghua adaptations. While BC May probably does split the talent and budget depending on how big a donghua seems like it’ll be—so I have no problem believing that Mo Dao Zu Shi is BC May bringing their A-game—the studio itself is overall of good quality, so even if Huangli Shi doesn’t have the amount of time or polish put into it that Mo Dao Zu Shi does, it doesn’t look bad! BC May has also worked on Min Diao Ju Yi Wen Lu (Bureau of Paranormal Investigation) and Yi Nian Yong Heng (A Will Eternal), both of which also have their merits. Although…again, I do lament that BC May struggles with same-face syndrome, but I do enjoy how fluid and distinct their style is! 

I’m sorry I don’t have much more I can say here, but if this piques your interest enough to check Huangli Shi out, I hope you enjoy it! I myself am quite curious about it… Part of this is because I like the character designs (like this guy with the mask just looks really cool), another reason I want to go watch it for myself. So yeah, hopefully we both enjoy it if we do go watch it ahaha.

Di Wang Gong Lue (The Emperor’s Strategy):

I admittedly almost forgot this one because it’s not one I watched, but here’s another early danmei donghua! From what I know—based on Cuchallain’s review before he left the donghua/danmei review fandom—it’s fairly cute with an interesting enough plot, although the animation isn’t very high-budget. It’s based on a novel by Yu Xiao Lanshan—actually the fourth in a series about strategy and the Jianghu, but from what I can gather, it works as a standalone even while featuring cameos from other characters. It also has a completed manhua.

The series focuses on Chu Yuan, who has become the new emperor of the Chu state, which obviously comes with a lot of responsibilities and stresses, as he has to prove himself to the people around him. There are also skirmishes occurring within Yunnan, except…Duan Baiyue, the king of Xinan, ends up handling those, and his influence eventually spreads. This is a cause for concern for Chu Yuan, but there is also the fact that he and Duan Baiyue are childhood best friends… 

While I missed this one when it initially came out, I might check the series and its adaptations out! Hopefully it’s enjoyable~

Wei, Kanjian Erduo La! (Hey, Your Cat Ears Are Showing!):

Quickly adding this one since it has light gay vibes to it. The donghua for this one is another coproduction with Japan, so there is also a Japanese dub! It’s very light and fluffy with a cute, soft art style, and as you can probably guess, it features a man and his cat…except the cat is a cat-boy, so you know, romantic undertones and all that ahaha.

Da Shu is the human and A-Miao is his cat-boy. The former is a manhua artist hard at work at trying to make it in life, and the latter is the more naïve, carefree, playful type. Both of them try to disguise A-Miao so people don’t realize he’s a cat (hence the title’s name), but as it turns out, he’s not the only cat-boy out there!

This is a fairly fun, slice-of-life series, based on a manhua by Telexihu. It was also released earlier on, and I have to say the donghua is quite adorable. If you want something very, very light and fluffy and cute, then this may be the series for you!

Feng Ling Yu Xiu (Spirit Wind Elegance aka Sunflowers aka Soulmate Adventure):

Phew, this one has a lot of English names! And okay, this isn’t danmei—it’s actually baihe, but look, it’s a donghua and it’s gay. Let me include it, okay!?

The story behind this series is actually pretty interesting too. Rather than be adapted from a novel or a manhua, it was originally a music video on Bilibili that became popular enough it was turned into an entire donghua. It updates rather slowly as an independent animated web-series, but it is quite cute, with some fluid action scenes. I will say though that the slow updates means the style does fluctuate somewhat between certain episodes, and since it’s a small team working on it, sometimes it can look a little wonky, but overall it’s quite well-done.  

In the donghua, a mysterious, powerful girl with white hair teams up with the famous thief Feng Ling’er, and while there are questions about which side they stand with, the girls don’t mind. They simply wander together, facing enemies with their friends.

Since this started as a donghua, I doubt it’ll ever get too explicit, but the relationship between the main characters really is adorable, and there are other baihe novels and manhua out there that can be more obvious in the romance (although yes, baihe is a lot more underrated than danmei). It’s a fun series that I think more people should check out!

Xiao Lü he Xiao Lan (Beryl and Sapphire):

Last but not least, here’s Beryl and Sapphire, which remains one of my favourite donghua after all this time!

And okay, it’s not exactly danmei, but it can be, and…well, it’s kind of complicated. Let me explain quickly ahaha. Basically, this donghua is based on a manhua of the same name by Ocarina, where the characters are stick figures and can get into any situation—so essentially, it’s like having multiple different AUs be canon while any genre is possible, which of course includes some not-so-straight plots. So that’s why I’m including it here—but also, hey, for a simpler explanation, this is my list and I can do what I want! As shown by the donghua’s super cute OP, it’s kind of like Beryl and Sapphire are actors who can enter any role. 

Of course, they maintain basic personalities—Beryl is mild-mannered and Sapphire is less so, but their traits can fluctuate depending on what the story is about. For example, sometimes Beryl is the more playful one, like in the Demon King storyline where he is—you guessed it—the aforementioned Demon King and Sapphire is the righteous knight who comes to slay him until he discovers he isn’t such a big threat. Most of the time, however, Beryl is the more level-headed one. Meanwhile, Sapphire’s personality can range from clueless and peppy to brash and so on.

And I cannot emphasize enough how there’s some…really gay storylines in the series, although again, it’s not always gay. I’d argue, however, that despite Beryl and Sapphire not always being romantically involved with one another, there’s a general gay undertone to the series as a whole, which means yeah, Beryl and Sapphire are very shippable. And of course, even though not every story is gay, many of them are!

My favourite storyline has always been the Robo-Beryl one, where easily embarrassed and shy Sapphire creates a robot in the likeness of his crush, Beryl. Of course, this goes pretty awkwardly for him once Beryl finds out, but the adorable, naïve robot does bring the two of them closer together. The donghua will break longer plots up with episodes in between that feature other scenarios, so for the bigger stories, you build them up as the episodes go on, and the Robo-Beryl arc’s growth was just quite strong, in my opinion. It was actually strong enough that its conclusion ended up being the series finale!

This is one of the explicitly gay storylines, and I should explain a little about just how gay Beryl and Sapphire could get. As another donghua that was released fairly early on, it got away with more since censorship was more lax, but this is also a Haoliners production like Ling Qi, and from what I can gather, occasionally making some of the content in Japan helped some donghua skirt censorship.

One trick Beryl and Sapphire often pulled is having a survivor’s cut and a director’s cut—the former would be censored while the latter would not be, so the latter featured stuff such as kissing and confessions between our titular main characters. There were some subtler gay scenes that were allowed in the donghua though without needing this split in cuts, such as this very cute confession scenario that was one of many different relationships and worlds Beryl and Sapphire could share. Another one featured an actual kiss, in a heart-wrenching story where Sapphire befriends Beryl despite knowing that he will forget their time together. 

That’s the thing about Beryl and Sapphire… It draws you in with the cute, silly plots, and it really does have some good comedy, but God it can hit you where it hurts with some of its more serious plots. Almost every fan I know of the donghua has expressed how they never expected the show to make them so emotional!

I can’t even begin to discuss all the scenarios the donghua (and manhua) covers here, although I’m already thinking about some of the my favourite and some of the more iconic ones. I might have to cover it as its own blog entry one day, but for now, all I can really do is heavily encourage you to check this series out! It’s so cute and animated well enough, and it can really get you in the feels sometimes. It’s also quite underrated, and I would love it if more fans could join me!

Conclusion:

Okay, I think that almost does it for our danmei-focused blog entries (there’s just one more)! Man, I sure have been discussing gay Chinese media a lot lately…but then again, what else is new? 😆

Oh, and wait, I have to make note of this fact, because it’s too funny not to! My piece on Jie Yao originally featured the line: “Ah, here we have our first non 3D-animated donghua—and first modern donghua—for this list!” because it was the first of those two in the last entry, but when I moved all these more underrated danmei donghua into this list, I realized I had to get rid of that line because all of these donghua are 2D-animated! In contrast, in the last list, all of the series were 3D-animated! How crazy is that? Idk, I just thought that was kind of amusingly interesting lol.

This part of the list of danmei adaptations was mostly written for myself, since a lot of these series are—as the title clearly claims—lesser-known in the danmei fandoms, and it makes me a bit sad, since a lot of these have their own charm to them. Sure, not all of them are masterpieces, but I promise you there’s some hidden gems in there, even in the series that don’t seem as high quality!

And hey, if you like danmei…then the more the merrier, am I right!?

Wow, that list got long again! And yet it’s not even the end of the parts yet… I’ll see all of you next week for the last part of this series, which covers all the danmei donghua that aren’t out yet!

Oops, had another one week break in between entries due to travelling despite this being planned as a weekly blog… Maybe at this rate I should just let it officially be every two weeks, but that probably isn’t a smart way to run a blog haha. Ah well, guess we’ll see now that I’m settled back at home. But yes, my graduation convocation has officially passed, and it was really nice having it at long last! Hearing my name called, walking across the stage, taking pictures, seeing my campus one last time (especially after doing my fourth year of undergrad completely at home online in quarantine), wearing a cute dress, seeing my friends, celebrating with family… It was really lovely! 

I also got to meet some of my friends who lived around the area, including online friends I actually got to see in real life for the first time ever, so that was another huge plus! And despite it being tiring, travelling is always fun~ Although I have been absolutely exhausted since getting home, and I’ve been sleeping a lot but barely eating as a result. Hopefully that gets fixed soon ahaha.

But yes, let’s continue with the topic for today! This is actually a continuation of the last blog entry, which was about danmei donghua (specifically the Mo Xiang Tong Xiu adaptations). This week, we’re discussing some of the donghua adaptations outside of her works!

Shanhe Jian Xin aka Qian Qiu (Thousand Autumns):

Let’s begin with this one, because it was just announced a few days ago that Seven Seas has officially picked up this series, written by Meng Xishi, for an official English translation! This is awesome news, obviously, but wow I am seriously mind-blown about how good my timing always is for these entries and the news about the series I’m writing about haha.

First thing to note is that while I was making this heading, I realized that while in Chinese the donghua has a different name from the novel, in English it’s just called Thousand Autumns either way, which is its novel name. The Chinese title for the donghua (Shanhe Jian Xin) literally means something like “Mountains and Rivers (representing the world); Heart of the Sword.” I won’t pretend to be a good enough translator to be able to explain all the nuances behind the title, but I did think it was something worthy of mentioning!

Now to discuss the donghua itself, this is another one that has only completed its first season so far. It’s also another one that just so happens to be done in 3D CGI, although it arguably has a higher budget than Chuan Shu Zijiu Zhinan (Scumbag System). Shanhe Jian Xin is also actually quite popular for a donghua, and it has a modest but active fanbase if you guys want to join! It also has some of the arguably best promotional art for donghua. I mean, just look at this! Isn’t it gorgeous!?

As to why you should be a fan: it really is a pretty donghua! There are a few times some of the movement looks a bit awkward, but for the most part, the 3D animation is done really well, and characters feel both solid and look quite nice. Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi, our main characters—and main couple—both look amazing, and it isn’t a secret that many people are drawn to the series due to Yan Wushi’s…assets. What? He’s just got a more powerful, stronger build than most donghua men designed to appeal to female fans, and it has worked to be indeed appealing to fans! 😆

The story of Shanhe Jian Xin can be rather confusing at first due to it opening with some very fast exposition about the series’ politics and lore, but it does get easier to understand as the donghua goes on. And when it is confusing (for example, I remember mixing up some background characters every now and then), a few rewatches or a reading of the novel or a checking of online info will help clear that up. Essentially, Shen Qiao is set to become the sect leader of Mount Xuandu, gets poisoned while fighting against someone of Tujue (Beimu in the donghua), and it causes him to fall off a cliff, become blinded, and get amnesia. He is saved by Yan Wushi, leader of Huanyue Sect (one of the major demonic sects), who decides it would be fun to try and turn him evil. He begins by acting as his shizun, although this doesn’t last very long in the donghua. There’s even more politics besides just this; for example, Shen Qiao worries over the decisions of his martial brother, Yu Ai, who has become the new sect leader. The other sects also work together to sabotage Yan Wushi, and there’s the whole thing with Tujue/Beimu that Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi have to contend with. 

The animation overall flows quite well, and there’s some rather smooth fighting scenes in it. I also enjoy the character designs a lot! The romance between the two leads is subtle yet still there, and it really is fun seeing how Yan Wushi annoys Shen Qiao, always following him and asking him why he is so kind. The romantic tones of their relationship is expanded even further in the Mini Theatre, a bonus series that features chibi art of Yan Wushi and Shen Qiao. It’s very minimally animated, but the style is nonetheless adorable (the art is by gundudugun, who you can find on Twitter. They draw all the official—and some non-official!—chibis for Shanhe Jian Xin). I assume since it’s a bonus series, it can get away with being a lot more obvious in the nature of Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi’s relationship. It adapts some details from the novel and is just in general a lot of fun, with some quite cute jokes. I actually translated some of the Mini Theatre here, mostly because I love how shameless Yan Wushi is in it haha. Since then, other, more skilled translators have picked it up so I haven’t tried translating more, and you can find theirs here!

Part of what makes the Mini Theatre and the main series itself so good is the power of the voice actors, who are all incredibly skilled. I already shouted about Wu Lei, the voice actor for Yan Wushi, in my entry on Chuan Shu since he also voices Shen Qingqiu there, but let’s say a few more things about him! He’s just got such a good range, and his voice as Yan Wushi is admittedly very addicting—it’s so smooth and deep and suave! Shen Qiao’s voice actor, Xia Lei, also has a beautifully gentle voice that is very befitting of the character’s kind nature. I’m a huge fan of how perfect their voices are for ASMR, and I constantly wish we could get ASMR episodes featuring them. Because hey, the Mo Dao Zu Shi audio drama did it, so why can’t Qian Qiu!? 

And speaking of audio dramas… Yes, there is one for Qian Qiu, and yes, Wu Lei and Xia Lei play Yan Wushi and Shen Qiao there as well! That’s how you know their voices are perfect for their characters haha. So if you want a more uncensored version—that also happens to have gotten further in the plot—you should totally check out the audio drama!

This will vaguely enter spoilers territory, but it’s only for a moment: I just wanted to mention another example of Wu Lei’s amazing range, because in the audio drama, you get to hear him play as Xie Ling and A-Yan, which are Yan Wushi’s younger selves, and oh my God… The way his voice gets so cute and high for Xie Ling seriously melts my heart! Shen Qingqiu and Yan Wushi are already such different characters, and Wu Lei even sounds different when voicing Shen Jiu (the original Shen Qingqiu before Shen Yuan took over his body), and then he comes out swinging as an even more different role in Xie Ling.

Also, I’d be remiss to mention that Genshin Impact has officially hired Wu Lei to play the role of Dottore, and I’m really excited to hear more of him—and to have more people discover him! Chinese voice actors are very skilled yet remain quite underrated internationally, so it’s always exciting learning about the growth of the industry.

And okay, I think that’s most of what I wanted to discuss about Shanhe Jian Xin! I know it was a lot, but hey, that just goes to show how good the donghua (and series as a whole) is~ I totally recommend checking it out, especially if you love opposites attract, questions about good and evil, grey morality in protagonists, rich and interesting lore, and more!

Tianbao Fuyao Lu (Legend of Exorcism):

Here we have our first donghua adapted from a danmei made by an actual gay man! Tianbao is originally by Fei Tian Ye Xiang, who has written a number of danmei (there’s actually a prequel to this one that also got a donghua adaptation, and I will discuss it below). His trademark is focusing on friendships along with the romance(s), and from what I’ve been able to glean, these groups of friends tend to all be quite gay haha.

Tianbao Fuyao Lu’s main couple is Li Jinglong and Kong Hongjun, the latter of which is a half-yao prince, whose father was a yao king and who has since passed. Having been raised by his father’s sworn brothers, one of them gives Kong Hongjun three tasks: to eliminate the yao that have infiltrated Chang’an, find his father’s killer, and send the Heart Lamp to a descendant of the Chen family. The last of these tasks immediately go wrong when the Heart Lamp is actually absorbed into the body of general Li Jinglong during a skirmish. This binds their fates together, but even more so when Li Jinglong is made leader of the Court of Exorcism, which Kong Hongjun becomes a part of in his attempts to fight other yao. He tries to figure things with the Heart Lamp out while hiding the fact he himself has yao heritage, and he and Li Jinglong grow closer…along with everyone else in the Court of Exorcism.

The donghua is animated by Sparkly Key Animation Studio, who are well-known for a variety of 3D CGI animated donghua, including the incredibly popular Duolu Dalu (Soul Land). The designs for the Tianbao Fuyao Lu donghua really show how it’s Sparkly Key’s handiwork: they’re intricate and beautiful, with a clear xianxia (fantasy that is deeply inspired by traditional Chinese culture) influence. These designs do feel more fantastical than other Tianbao adaptations, including the manhua and audio drama.

The animation itself is quite good as well! Sometimes some of the movement can look slightly awkward, but Sparkly Key demonstrates both their experience and skill in their work, with fast-paced action scenes and fun comedic moments where the characters get to really express themselves, despite them being designed in a more realistic style. I do find some of the action hard to read sometimes, but the emotional and funny moments are all done quite well, and some of the action is also really cool. The romance is fairly obvious, albeit more subdued than say, Tian Guan Ci Fu or Jie Yao, and the dynamics between the characters all feel natural and real. Li Jinglong and Kong Hongjun form a really cute relationship, and season 2 has that same sweetness developing nicely between Mo Rigen and Lu Xu.

The donghua is set up in a sort of monster of the week nature, with the Court of Exorcism handling various cases of yaoguai each episode, with an overarching plot that builds steadily as the seasons go on. I found season 2 especially intriguing, considering the smooth progression towards a climax with the ghost army. 

The voice actors for the donghua also play the same roles for the audio drama, which I have heard is amazing, and comes with some very lovely artwork. The voice actor for Li Jinglong is actually Bian Jiang, who also plays Lan Wangji in the Mo Dao Zu Shi donghua!

Additionally, there is a manhua which the fans love a lot, with a very cute art style. Unfortunately…I believe the manhua has been put to an end, as the artist had health issues. I’m glad they put the artist first, but a discontinuation of something fans love will always be a little sad. Still, there is quite a bit of food to enjoy if you are a Tianbao fan!

The lore behind Tianbao has plenty to offer, and I know the characters are all quite popular. This would be another great one to check out if you enjoy well-developed characters, found family, and an expansive world!

Dinghai Fusheng Lu (Epic of Divinity Light) aka Dinghai Fusheng Records:

Okay, these titles are really throwing me for a loop. First Shanhe Jian Xin whose Chinese name differs from the original title of Qian Qiu despite the English remaining the same for both, and now we have Dinghai Fusheng Lu where the Chinese names stay the same for the donghua and the novel, yet the donghua’s English name is completely new. I hope it isn’t too confusing haha.

I actually don’t have much to say about Dinghai right now due to me not being too familiar with it, although I hope to check it out when I get the chance! It’s the prequel to Tianbao, and is also written by Fei Tian Ye Xiang, and it has a manhua and audio drama adaptation as well. You don’t have to check out both since Dinghai is set hundreds of years before Tianbao, but there are some connections to probably enjoy if you do! Dinghai follows Chen Xing, the last exorcist, who’s trying to bring spiritual qi back, along with his protector, Xiang Shu. Unfortunately, he only has four more years to live, and of course roadblocks fill the journey.

The donghua adaptation blew up slightly for a mouth-to-mouth scene between the male leads, which is certainly noteworthy considering the growing popularity of danmei has resulted in stricter regulations on web media, so we haven’t really had animated gay kisses featured on-screen since Beryl and Sapphire and Spirit Pact (which I suppose I should discuss as well!). The animation itself seems okay—a tad awkward and unnatural at times, with some textures lacking, but it nevertheless looks decent!

I haven’t seen much of it yet myself, but I’m excited to visit more of Fei Tian Ye Xiang’s world, and the donghua could definitely surprise me. I’m not picky hehe. I hope you enjoy it if you check it out as well!

Can Ci Pin (The Defective):

Ah, here we have our first Priest adaptation on our list! Priest is a very popular and prolific danmei writer, whose works have been turned into donghua and cdramas alike. Can Ci Pin is another 3D-animated series, but the animation really does look stellar (does that count as a pun? Hehe). This one is also our first non-xianxia yet also non-modern series on the list! That’s because Can Ci Pin is actually scifi—it features a dystopia run by mind-link technology called Eden. Those who cannot connect to Eden are labelled as “defectives,” and our protagonists, Lin Jinheng and Lu Bixing, come together to fight back against this unfair system. Lin Jinheng is the ex-commander of the universe’s top space fleet, and can be rather cold and stoic. In contrast, Lu Bixing is a sweeter character, who also happens to be a scientist and the headmaster of the Starry Sea Academy.

I myself have yet to be too familiar with Priest’s works despite them often blowing up online and I have enjoyed adaptations of her works in the past (Word of Honour and Guardian come to mind!) as well as me having friends who enjoy quite a few novels of hers. I hope to check out more of her work soon!

This does mean I don’t have a lot to say about Can Ci Pin yet, but I’ve heard good things about both the novel and the donghua, and there’s also a manhua and audio drama. The donghua looks quite intriguing and well-made from what I have seen, and you can hardly go wrong with the opposites attract trope!

Lie Huo Jiao Chou (Drowning Sorrows in Raging Fire):

Another Priest work! This one is sort of xianxia but with a modern twist, as it is set in the world today. Here people may have special abilities, which are managed by a special office. Xuan Ji is one such person, who becomes acquainted with the tyrant Qi Zheng Emperor Sheng Lingyuan after he has slumbered for a thousand years. They seem to have shared a connection in the past, which is explored along with a bigger threat to the world. 

This one is one of those fun 3D-animated donghua in the sense that it is more stylistic, and I always enjoy that since a lot of 3D-animated donghua—as I mentioned in the Mo Xiang Tong Xiu donghua adaptations entry—feature a more realistic style. Series such as Lie Huo or You Yao (Are You Okay) and Liang Bu Yi (No Doubt in Us) capture my attention due to their more unique designs. Lie Huo itself certainly looks quite stylish, with slick, sleek character looks and a pretty colour palette that often evokes sunsets—which feels fitting, considering the darker design of Sheng Lingyuan and the more fiery design of Xuan Ji.

The donghua itself features some really cool action and an intriguing story, and while I remain quite new to this world (as in I haven’t seen all of it yet and I haven’t read the novel or the manhua or listened to the audio drama—the latter two of which I believe are still ongoing), I already recommend it!

Bonus: it helps that the donghua has an absolutely killer soundtrack, which you can listen to on Netease or QQ Music. I listen to the full version of the theme song on repeat constantly!

Conclusion:

Alright, I think that’s all I’m going to—that I can—cover for today. All this typing and researching has tired me out, and it’s already late into the night (or really early in the morning?), despite me starting this entry a little while before the clock struck 12:00 am. 

Of course this is barely scratching the surface of China’s danmei series, especially since if I had included queer-coded ships, this list would’ve been even longer ahaha. I touched on those a bit in this entry on queer-coding versus queer-baiting in Chinese media, but I might talk about some of my favourites in more detail in the future! For now though, I tried to cover as many donghua adaptations of danmei as I could! Hopefully this served as a helpful listicle to some of you. I know danmei is exploding in popularity more than ever before, but donghua can still be rather underrated sometimes, so I try to be helpful with my lists and writings to welcome new fans. 

Speaking of…this list got way too long, so I’ve broken it up. That means you’ll get a part 3 next week, which covers some more underrated danmei donghua, and then part 4 next, next week, which covers upcoming danmei donghua!

Good night everyone, and see you all next time!