Donghua – Manga: 10 Anime From China That You Need To Watch

Chinese Anime: Top 10 + Chinese Anime of All Time

Here is the list of top 25 Chinese anime of all time for you, ranked in order by community votes. As the traditional anime is written and drawn in Japan, it turns out there are also some great Chinese animation anime available that are worth checking out too! In this list we cover the best of the best in this genre. In this list you can find the best anime featuring Chinese animation, including new titles that might not be so familiar to you and also some older titles that are more established in this genre. Examples of great shows in this genre are Yaoshenji and Wo De Tian Jie Nuyou. Feel free to add to the list your own favourite Chinese anime, in case you don’t it on the list already.

The term anime is a Japanese word for animation. If we go by the literal meaning of it then every country has its anime. But over the years what I have come to learn is that when the word anime is used it refers to the style of art used in animations in Japan. This art is colorful and vibrant. When we talk about Chinese anime we generally mean the animations which have been created in China or maybe are Chinese adaptation of manga or Manhua (Chinese comics). Before we jump onto the list, you may want to know this that when you transition from Japanese to Chinese anime the voices of the characters will feel weird at first (it did feel strange to many people) but be patient and you will adapt. So, without further adieu let’s jump into the list of top Chinese anime ever made. You can watch several of these chinese anime on Crunchyroll or Netflix.

12. Quanzhi Gaoshou (2017)

Let’s kickstart the list with one of the best Chinese anime out there, ‘Quanzhi Gaoshou’. If you like anime based on multiplayer gaming then this is the stuff for you. It is one of those anime on the list that you should watch first. The plot of the anime revolves around an online multiplayer game, Glory. The protagonist of the anime Ye Xiu is the best player of the game and has devoted 10 years of his life to the game. But then he is forced to retire from the game and leave his team. He finds work at an internet cafe.

When Glory adds the tenth server Ye Xiu decides top get back into the zone. He soon starts catching the attention of other top-level players who don’t know about his identity. But even though Ye Xiu has a lot of experience and skills the game has changed over the years. Having no sponsor to back him up he faces a challenge.

11. Wangpai Yushi (2014)

‘Wangpai Yushi’ is an Original Net Animation which aired in the year 2014. It is a supernatural genre anime. The series is fairly simple when it comes to the plot and characters. So, if you are looking for an anime to just pass some time then go for it. Coming to the plot, the anime deals with two main characters viz. Ye Yan and Xiaoyan Huang. They act as censorates who are top-ranking supervisory agents in China.

The anime is set in a world where night and day have merged. The balance of the yin and yang is no more and monsters and humans have started to live together. But well, harmony is never perfect and often certain untamed monsters love to cause havoc. To protect and safeguard the world our young censorates need to tame these creatures.

10. The King of Fighters: Destiny (2017)

I included ‘The King of Fighters: Destiny’ for people who love to watch CG anime. This anime is adapted from a popular 90s game. I hoped that the creators would have made a modern rendition of the original material, but nope. The story and the characters are generic and cliched. This can be both bad and good depending on your taste. The action scenes are one of the main reasons the anime is on this list. The over-the-top kicks and punches mixed with some badass rock, punk music are the main highlights of the anime. Like the previous entry on this list, ‘The King of Fighters: Destiny’ is also an Original Net Animation.

The series has really short episodes, around 16 minutes (though it is more than three times the shortest anime episodes), and has a total of 24 episodes. The anime revolves around a martial arts tournament named ‘King of Fighters’.

9. Xiyouji Zhi Dasheng Guilai (2015)

Being a sucker for anime movies, it was only evident that I would include anime movies on this list. ‘Xiyouji Zhi Dasheng Guilai’ is a fantasy genre anime movie filled with action. The title of the anime translates to ‘Monkey King: Hero is Back’. The animation of the movie is good and so is the music. The series revolves around Monkey King, a legendary creature who was unrivalled in combat. He was really powerful and freely walked among all the three realms i.e. Heaven, Earth, and Hell. But he ends up breaking certain divine laws. This angers the Gods and he is punished for his actions. He is then imprisoned in an ice pillar and bounded with chains. He remains there for many years.

One day, a boy, who gets lost, finds the cave in which the Monkey King was imprisoned. The boy touches the ice pillar which breaks the curse and releases the imprisoned Monkey King. Thus, an adventure starts in which the Monkey King is pitted against an evil being who wants to sacrifice souls of children to gain eternal life.

8.  Shi Xiong (2014)

The next entry on the list will be interesting for the lovers of the zombie genre. Yes, ‘Shi Xiong’ is a zombie anime. The animation is a bit different from your regular anime. It is more on the comic side of showing things. ‘Shi Xiong’ takes the comedic approach to the zombie apocalypse genre. This approach has become quite popular and there have been some decent productions like ‘Shaun of The Dead’ and ‘Zombieland’. There are lots of anime too which take a funny approach to do a zombie series. The episodes of ‘Shi Xiong’ are really short, lasting about eight minutes on average. The total number of episodes in the anime series is 41.

The plot revolves around a man named Xiao Fei who gets caught amid a zombie invasion. He is a citizen of H city whose water got contaminated with a virus which turns people into zombies. As the city crumbles and people start eating each other Xiao Fei needs to flee from H city and meet with Wei, his girlfriend. Since the entire series is around five and a half hours, I suggest you give it a watch if you enjoy this genre.

7. Da Yu Hai Tang (2016)

Up next is another anime movie. ‘Da Yu Hain Tang’ is a supernatural genre anime movie which is filled with adventure and drama. The movie was released in the year 2016. It is one of the best looking Chinese animations that I have ever seen. Though the list is not ranked I would suggest you give this movie a watch before you move onto the others. It is only 1 hour and 40 minutes long. The movie is set in a world where mythical spiritual beings exist. It tells the story of one such spiritual creature, a girl named Chun. She has become old enough to undergo the rites of passage which is a must for all such beings.

The rites include living in and experiencing the human world. Chun is quite excited and she enters the world of humans as a dolphin. One day she ends up getting caught in a fishing net. Chun is unable to free herself. A boy then comes to her rescue and frees her. But unfortunately, the boy ends up drowning. Chun is overwhelmed with guilt and wants to revive the boy at the cost of half of her lifespan. But should one interfere with the natural order of things?

6. Zhen Hun Jie (2016)

‘Zhen Hun Jie’ is a supernatural genre action anime which aired in the year 2016. It is an Original Net Animation like other Chinese anime. The title of the series translates to ‘Rakshasa Street’. It is based on a Chinese Manhua (comics). If you like badass fight sequences among powerful spirits and humans then you will enjoy ‘Zhen Hun Jie’. But if you are one of those people who like intense drama and a long, evenly spaced out anime, you might need to consider some other option on this list. Every episode of the anime is around 14 minutes long and there is a total of 24 episodes in the series.

The plot of the anime revolves around Rakshasa street. This street is a place where humans and spirits coexist. But not everyone can enter this place. Xia Ling is the protagonist of this anime who ends up entering the Rakshasa street. This will change her entire life.

5. Lan Mo De Hua (2017)

If you were looking for some romance genre anime then you don’t have to wait anymore. ‘Lan Mo De Hua’ is a romance genre anime. It also has magic as a theme. The show ran for a month from July to August in the year 2017. I have no idea why but the episodes of Chinese anime are much shorter than their Japanese counterparts. You would expect a  school romantic anime drama to be lengthy but nope. Each episode of the series is about 13 minutes long and there are around 9 episodes (how did they manage to air 2 hours of content for one month? Are people that patient in China?).

The main characters of the anime are Lan Mo and Lui Yi Feng. Lan Mo wants Lui to fall in love with her but he only sees her as a friend. Lan then finds a magical hairpin which enables her to change her appearance. She decides to use this to make Lui fall in love with her. But what she wants is for Lui to love her for who she is without the hairpin.

4. Doupo Cangqiong (2017)

Let’s jump back into the world of CG anime. ‘Doupo Cangqiong’ translates to ‘Fight Through The Sky’.  The total running time of the anime is 4 hours which has been spaced out evenly among 12 episodes with each episode being 20 minutes in length. The protagonist of the anime series is Xiao Yan. His mother, Gu Wenxin, was killed when he was just nine. His father, Xiao Zhan, never really discussed his mother’s death with him. To improve his fighting skills, Xiao Yan started practising martial arts but ended up making no progress at all. The reason for this was his mother’s ring which absorbed all his progress. This continued for six years until he was fifteen.

Then one day when Xiao Yan made contact with the ring he encountered an old man named Yao Chen. Yao Chen became his master and soon Xiao Yan started making huge advances in his martial arts skill. He also learns about the people behind his mother’s murder. Now, he is all set for revenge.

3. Aishen Qiaokeli-ing… (2015)

The next entry on this list is for harem anime lovers. ‘Aishen Qiaokeli-ing…’ is a harem anime and like most other harem anime it is set in a school. It is a short anime series having a total of 15 episodes with each episode being around 13 minutes in length. The protagonist of the anime is Jiang Hao Yi. He is just an ordinary school going boy who tries his best to stay out of trouble. But one day his life changes completely. He suddenly finds himself becoming the harem king of his school as various beautiful girls start confessing their love for him. But what is stranger, is the fact that Jiang Hao Yi knows none of the girls. What the hell is happening?

Lan Mo De Hua (Lan Mo’s Flower)

With general themes of romance and magic, Lan Mo De Hua is a light watch that’ll leave viewers’ hearts fluttering. The donghua follows the stories of Lan Mo, who finds a magical hairpin that helps her change her appearance.

2. Shuangsheng Lingtan (2016)

‘Shuangsheng Lingtan’ is a psychological mystery drama set in the backdrop of supernatural happenings. The show is decent and will keep you engaged over its short lifespan. The show has a total of 20 episodes. Each episode is around 14 minutes in length. The anime is adapted from a Manhua of the same name. The plot has a few holes but nothing too irksome. The protagonists of the anime are twin brothers Xiaotu and Xiaohu. They are quite intelligent and work as detectives. They specialize in cases of supernatural nature using their expertise to solve them. But one case becomes quite troublesome for them. Every step they take towards solving it is filled with danger. Will they be able to solve this dangerous mystery?

1. Ling Qi (2016)

‘Ling Qi’ is a supernatural genre anime. The series has been adapted from a Chinese Manhua of the same name. The Manhua is pretty decent and has a wonderful plot. But as is akin with many anime adaptations of Chinese comics the original plot was changed. This might stick out like a sore thumb for many people who liked the manga and wanted to watch the anime adaptation of it. Since I didn’t read the comics I kind of enjoyed the series but I have to say that there’s a huge room for improvement. For example, the voice acting wasn’t up to par and also the art should have been a bit better. The protagonist of the series is Yang Jinghua. He is really poor.

One day he gets involved in an accident. When he wakes up he finds himself 10 years younger. He feels that he has been reborn and thinks about starting his life afresh. But then he encounters a white-haired man who tells him that he is dead. He then asks Yang Jinghua if he would want to join him for the rest of his spirit life.

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