If Japan is where popular anime and manga series are born, China has also had its own anime series in recent years. Chinese anime works are often called Donghua. They can be adapted from Manhuas (similar to Japanese manga), or they can also be adapted from famous web novels. We will look at the Top 50 Best Chinese Anime that have created their own identity.
1. Ne Zha (2019)
Ne Zha is an innovative animated adaptation of a character featured in Chinese culture, which has created a fever at the mainland box office. Although Ne Zha is a cartoon character that is already very familiar to Chinese and Asian audiences, it has been broken in a novel way in this animated film. This film is considered the highest animated work in the history of Chinese cinema.
2. Ori-Princess
Ori-Princess is a Chinese anime series associated with the childhood of many children. This TV anime series follows the main character, Princess Ori, with her close friends. With funny and cute content, the anime series has become an indispensable part of every Asian child’s childhood.
3. Big Fish & Begonia (2016)
Big Fish & Begonia is a very famous Chinese fantasy epic animation project. Possessing a unique plot, deep dialogue, excellent graphics, and beautiful scenes, the film has been a huge success and is widely known.
4. Heaven Official’s Blessing Special
Heaven Official’s Blessing Special was released on Netflix in April 2021 and is continuously among the top most-watched movies. The series Donghua is adapted from a viral web novel of the same name, which has been China’s top boylove story for many years and has a substantial fan base.
5. Grandmaster Of Demonic Cultivation
Grandmaster Of Demonic Cultivation is also one of the famous Donghua series adapted from the novel by the same author as Heaven Official’s Blessing Special. The story’s context is in the spiritual practice world, where four great clans hold important positions. The film’s content talks about growing up after teenagers’ events on the path of spiritual practice. Together they went through difficulties, happiness, resentment, birth and death separation.
6. Tales Of Demons And Gods (2017)
Tales Of Demons And Gods tells the story of the main character Nie Li and his process of reincarnation. Nie Li fights the person who killed him in his previous life to avenge himself and protect his loved ones.
7. Battle Through The Heavens (2017)
Battle Through The Heavens is the Donghua series adapted from the first half novel of the same name, which has also been adapted into a TV series. The film revolves around the journey of the character Xiao Yan. He is a genius, has more energy than people, and is intelligent. The unique plot and character system of Battle Through The Heavens played a vital role in its success.
8. Spiritpact
Spiritpact is a Chinese animated film released in 2017. The Donghua is about the descendant of a noble shaman named Keika You, who his parents mysteriously abandoned. Spiritpact is one of those Donghuas that are worth a look.
9. White Snake (2019)
White Snake is an adaptation of the classic folktale that tells the love story between an immortal snake and a human. White Snake is set in Hangzhou, the capital of the Southern Song court, where a 1000-year-old snake spirit transforms into a beautiful maiden. She then falls in love with a young man, but difficult trials separate their love.
10. The King’s Avatar
The King’s Avatar (Quan Zhi Gao Shou in Chinese) is one of the best anime games available today. The story is about a young man named the god of war in an online game called Glory. The plot follows his decision to go back to playing the game and try to rebuild his reputation with a new character named “Lord Grim.”
11. Thousand Autumns
Thousand Autumns is an animated adaptation of a fantasy novel titled Qian Qiu. This is a high-quality anime with lavish costumes and epic battle scenes. The plot of Thousand Autumns is very close to the original novel, with minor changes to make the characters and their situations easier to understand. However, these changes did not detract from the beauty and complexity of the story.
12. Bloodivores
Bloodivores is set 60 years ago when many people suddenly experienced inexplicable insomnia for about a week straight. The government has created a new drug to deal with these mass insomnia cases, but the drug has the side effect of turning humans into vampires. The story centers on the main character Mi Liu, who is tasked with reconciling the relationship between vampires and humans.
13. Monkey King: Hero Is Back (2015)
Monkey King: Hero Is Back is based on the novel journey to the West but has many new details. Although some critics criticized the content for being too simple, the film still received an enthusiastic response from the public, especially from anime fans.
14. Soul Land
Soul Land is a Chinese anime adaptation of a manga of the same name. The anime is about a world where cultivators develop martial spirits to increase combat power. Soul Land has received many resounding successes. Its appeal is unquestionable.
15. Cheating Craft
Cheating Craft is about a world where education is considered very important, and the value of education governs all areas of life. Because of this, many students in the classroom are willing to do anything to get excellent educational value, like cheating. What’s interesting is that the audience will see cool tricks in this anime.
16. Under One Person
Under One Person tells the story of an ordinary student named Zhang Chulan, who was sent to visit his grandfather’s grave and met a mysterious girl. Soon, they were suddenly attacked by a group of zombies. Zhang Chulan’s encounter with the girl drew him into a battle between people with special powers.
17. Cupid’s Chocolate
Cupid’s Chocolate is a Chinese animated film about the love adventures of a high school student named Jiang Hao. Jiang is the one who accidentally ate a love cake belonging to the Cupids’ love angel, resulting in him being hunted down by all the students in the school.
18. The Legend of Hei (2019)
The Legend of Hei is an animated film released in 2009. The film took more than five years to produce and succeed because of its beautiful animations and compelling storytelling. The story is a fantasy adventure about the soul of the cat Luo-Xiao Hei that begins a journey of self-discovery after humans clear their habitat.
19. White Snake 2: The Tribulation of the Green Snake (2021)
White Snake 2 (also known as Green Snake) is a Donghua series that stirred up the Chinese box office in 2021. After only two days of release, the film was critically acclaimed and earned 190 million yuan with much praise. White Snake 2 is highly appreciated for its smooth motion, beautiful visuals, attractive scenes, and thrilling movie beats.
20. Lan Mo’s Flower
Lan Mo’s Flower is an anime about a schoolgirl Lan Mo who accidentally buys a magical flower. She suddenly transforms into an extremely beautiful girl when she puts it on her hair. Under two different identities, she has opened a magical journey that is both sweet and difficult
21. Lotus Lantern (1999)
Lotus Lantern is an animated film based on a Chinese folk tale. The content of Lotus Lantern tells about the goddess San Sheng Mu who came to earth, married an ordinary person, and bore him a son. She then has to deal with her brother, the god Erlang when he threatens her to return Lotus Lantern by kidnapping her son.
22. New Gods: Yang Jian
Located in the mythical animated film universe of Light Chaser Animation Studios, New Gods: Yang Jian is considered to have great visual effects and is the animation with the best visual effects in China. When it was released, the movie grossed 368 million yuan and attracted many viewers to enjoy the photo party.
23. New Gods: Nezha Reborn
New Gods: Nezha Reborn takes place 3000 years after the Battle of the Gods. Ne Zha transforms into the form of a young man named Li Yunxiang. With a fascinating novel plot between the past and the modern, the film has become a blockbuster at the Chinese box office during the Lunar New Year 2021.
24. Epic of Divinity Light (2021)
Epic of Divinity Light is a Chinese animation combining ancient wind, god ghosts, fantasy, and fighting. This anime is set in the late Han dynasty when the spiritual energy of heaven and earth disappeared for no reason, and the exorcism department at its peak also collapsed. The main character Chen Xing worked hard to find a way to restore the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to fight against the resurrection of the devil.
25. Martial Master
Martial Master tells the story of the most legendary Tian Yu, Qin Chen, his close friend betrayed, so he suddenly fell into the Martial domain. Three hundred years later, he was reborn in a royal palace and subjected to bullying. But taking advantage of the qualifications from his previous life, he practiced and rose strongly. From here, he stepped up a terrifying journey to the mainland.
26. My Cultivator Girlfriend
Thanks to the accumulative effect from the manhua series of the same name, My Cultivator Girlfriend was released in 2017. Not only excellent in terms of content, but My Cultivator Girlfriend is also highly appreciated for its visuals and graphics. Many characters are very good and beautiful, like stepping out of fairy tales.
27. Legend of Exorcism
Legend of Exorcism is the Donghua series adapted from the boy love novel and released in season 1 in 2020. The film tells the story of a teenager Hong Jun, who is assigned to go to Chang An to fight the demon. This is one of the top 3D Chinese animated series.
28. The Legend of Qin (2007)
The Legend of Qin is a martial arts animated series with 100 episodes. This series is produced by Sparkly Key Animation, one of today’s most famous Chinese animation studios. Since its premiere, The Legend of Qin has become the standard animated feature of 3D animation in China.
29. Martial Universe (2019)
Martial Universe is an animated fantasy, adventure, and romance TV series directed by Zhang Li. Similar to Battle Through The Heavens, Martial Universe is a cultivation-style Chinese animation. The series is considered to have a good plot, and character development is increasingly progressive.
30. White Snake: The Origin (2019)
White Snake: The Origin is the first part of the Chinese animated film Green Snake. With its captivating visuals, visually stunning graphics, good soundtrack, and lively storytelling, White Snake is a must-see, worthy of being in the top 3D Chinese animated movies.
31. Throne of Elves (2016)
Throne of Elves is one of the few Chinese 3D animation movies that leave a deep impression on the audience. This movie is considered the most anticipated 3D animated film project in 2016. The film is designed with meticulous graphics, and experts highly appreciate the content of the film. Many viewers did not regret giving winged compliments to the Throne of Elves.
32. Dragon Nest: Warriors’ Dawn (2014)
Dragon Nest: Warriors’ Dawn is the first installment of the Throne of Elves. The film tells the adventure of a group of knights who want to destroy the demon lord Black Dragon in order to bring peace to the world. With the familiar context and the familiar character classes of the Dragon Nest game, the film has given the audience a new experience when following the journey of the characters they were familiar with.
33. Scissor Seven
Scissor Seven is a funny animation. The film is about a hairdresser and an assassin. While trying to regain his memories, he accidentally gets entangled in a power struggle between vicious gangs.
34. Little Door Gods (2015)
Little Door Gods tells the story of two gods (Door Gods in Chinese folklore) who try to rebuild people’s faith in their ancestors before being sent to paradise because of unemployment.
35. Link Click
Link Click is a two-season Chinese animated series released in 2021. The content of the series revolves around the two male leads doing their jobs at a small photography shop set in a modern city.
36. Kuiba
The story of Kuiba takes place in Lingshan, where a group of desperate earthlings gathers. They are ruthless and abandoned by society. The main character led the Lingshan army to sweep across the border countries, becoming the first king.
37. Flavors of Youth (2018)
Flavors of Youth is an anime collaboration between China and Japan. The film is divided into three parts, revolving around topics in daily life with three stories of different people. With its unique storytelling and meaningful content, the series soon became one of the most loved animated series on Netflix.
38. Honkai Impact 3rd
Honkai Impact 3rd is an anime film adaptation of the popular game Hack & Slash. The film series is invested carefully and carefully from quality images, sound, and soundtrack.
39. Purple River (2020-2021)
Purple River (Zi Chuan) is a 42-episode animated series adapted from a novel of the same name. This series is about the legendary bloody Xichuan mainland.
40. Psychic Princess
Psychic Princess tells the story of the young lady Quan Yun Xi of the Prime Minister’s office. From a young age, she has possessed a unique ability. At 16, she had to replace her younger sister Quan Yu Shang and marry into the Ye family.
41. Piercing I (2010)
Piercing I is a Chinese animated film in the genre of drama and crime directed by Liu Jian. The anime is set during the 2008 financial crisis, which forced many factories in China to close. The main character Zhang Xiaojun lost his job and had difficult days for him.
42. Memory of Chang’an
The content of Memory of Chang’an revolves around the fact that Princess Ming Yue and the emperor’s 9th prince (Li Qiang) are forced to marry to keep their kingdom’s peace. After that, Ming Yue has to fend off the plots stalking her and the royal family.
43. Perfect World (2021)
Perfect World is adapted from the novel of the same name and begins airing in 2021. Donghua tells the story of the growth process of the male lead Shi Hao, who is said to have unique qualities. Perfect World is also a series that is carefully invested in images, sounds, and an attractive plot that is not inferior to the previous super products.
44. The Wind Guardians (2018)
The Wind Guardians is a movie about a blind boy named Lang Ming. His mother, wanting to restore his eyesight, entered a terrible deal with monsters. To rescue his mother, Ming must find and break the spell.
45. Legend Of Deification (2020)
Legend Of Deification is about the Kunlun disciple Jiang Ziya. Jiang led the people to help defeat the fox demon and win the excellent deity war. Unfortunately, he was banished to earth and lost his powers. Throughout the film is Jiang’s journey back to Kunlun to regain his original position.
46. Nine Songs of Moving Heavens (2016)
Nine Songs of Moving Heavens is a 26-episode Chinese animated series broadcast in 2016. It is a special feature-length series of The Legend of Qin. The film is set in a historical context before the events in The Legend of Qin happened when Qin Shi Huang had not yet unified the seven vassal states.
47. Great King Of The Grave (2016)
Great King Of The Grave is an animated film in the genre of martial arts, swordplay, and romance. This is an animation with a similar theme to The Legend of Qin. Great King Of The Grave is also interesting and watched by many young Asians.
48. The Westward (2018)
Journey to the West is a masterpiece Chinese work, so many anime sets were also adapted from this novel, including The Westward. The anime series is set after Tripitaka, and three of his disciples requested Buddhist scriptures from Xi Tian.
49. Fox Spirit Matchmaker (2015)
Fox Spirit Matchmaker is a movie about the love between people and souls. This painting film revolves around the main character, a fox who can help souls remember the favors of their past lives. And then, the plot is followed by a series of interesting and mysterious stories.
50. I Am What I Am (2021)
I Am What I Am is a humorous animated film released in 2021. The film is the story of the life of an abandoned teenager with his friends. Together they trained in the lion dance to participate in the lion dance competition. After training, they have become true professional lion dancers.