If you think manga and anime are purely Japanese, think again — there's a growing wave across Asian countries, specifically Chinese anime, that is giving their Japanese counterparts a run for their money. There are some great Chinese animation anime, but which are really worth your time? Get ready to discover a whole new realm of storytelling, artistry, and innovation: This list ranks the best anime made in China, including older titles, as well as new Chinese animes that you may not know about. From stunning cartoon visuals to intricate storytelling, these famous Chinese anime series have captured the hearts of audiences with their unique blend of traditional Chinese culture, modern animation techniques, and memorable characters. These awesome animations are not only competing with Japanese studios but also paving the way for a new era of global animation that transcends borders. You'll find plenty of variety on this list, like those with either 2D or 3D animated graphics along with movies and TV shows spanning across many genres including action/adventure, fantasy, drama, comedy, romance, horror, and much more. One example of a great anime with Chinese animation is Quan Zhi Gao Shou, or The King's Avatar. In it, Ye Xiu, an expert at the game "Glory," is determined to make his way back to the top after being unjustly expelled. Another good example of Chinese anime is Da Yu Hai Tang, or Big Fish & Begonia, a recent film telling the coming-of-age and love story between Chun, a girl who lives in the ocean, and Kun, a human boy who saves her and in turn must be saved himself. Chinese studios are making a name for themselves in the competitive world of animation, so get ready to dive into a world of creativity and imagination. What is your pick for the best Chinese anime out there? Vote up your favorites, and further influence the ranking by voting down any entries you found less enthralling. If you may need some stellar recommendations for Chinese anime in the future, bookmark this list so you can easily pick one of these names to watch later!
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All Wang Ling wants is to live an ordinary high school life. Unfortunately, he possesses such incredible spiritual power that he could accidentally destroy the world. To combat this, he uses a suppressive amulet. But the amulet's power is beginning to weaken, and it's not long before it will break entirely. Wang Ling and his father must find another solution - fast.
If you've ever wanted to watch a Chinese take on the isekai genre, Soul Land AKA Douluo Dalu is a great choice. Tang San is a celebrated martial arts practitioner who decides that learning the Tang sect's secrets is much more important than a career in martial arts. Satisfied with his life since he learned the secrets, he opts to end it by throwing himself off of Hell's Peak. This, of course, is not the end. He is reincarnated into the Douluo Continent, where each person is born with a “spirit” that they can train and strengthen. Tang San is now a blacksmith's son with one of the most useless Spirit Types there is - but the strength of his Spirit Power makes up for it. Using the knowledge of his past life and this one, he starts on the path to becoming a spirit master.
Ye Xiu is a top-tier professional gamer, who specializes in a multiplayer game called Glory. When he's forced to retire, he gets a job at an Internet cafe. But when Glory launches a new server, he can't help but want to jump back into the field. This time around, he has no sponsors, no team, and no reputation, since he's going in anonymously. Despite those challenges, he's determined to conquer this new realm.
High Schooler Mo Fan suddenly finds himself in an alternate version of reality where magic takes the place of science. In this world, students at magical schools must learn the art of spell-working in order to deal with a slew of dangerous beasts. Mo Fan dreams of attending one such school - magicians are well-paid and he wants to repay his father for all of his hard work. But that won't be easy - his impoverished background and lack of magic mean that even once he's accepted, he doesn't exactly fit in. But Mo Fan surprises everyone by displaying a penchant for not one but two forms of elemental magic.
As a child, Xiao Yan displayed incredible magical power. But for some reason, his power began to weaken and eventually disappeared all together. When this happens, his fiance, a woman from a powerful and wealthy family named Yan Ran Na Lan decides to leave him. Unwilling to accept her decision, he challenges her to a one-on-one duel, set to take place in three years. If he wins, he gets to decide what happens to their engagement. If she wins, she can go where she pleases. Thus begins his attempts to regain his strength.
All cultivators hope to achieve Xian - a state of immortality and power. But there's a dark, demonic path that some cultivators inadvertently fall into. That's what happens to Wei Wuxian. He soon rises to power and enjoys tyrannical rein until the other cultivators take him down. The one to finish the job is his closest ally. Thirteen years go by, and he's reincarnated. He reunites with a former classmate, Lan Wangji. The two of them get embroiled in the world of spiritual mysteries, which more often than not involves fighting ghosts, demons, and other cultivators. Through their adventures, the two develop an unbreakable bond.
In the Great Yan Empire, the only way to gain respect is through physical strength. There are four great clans in this world, and one of them, the Lin Clan, is the source of some serious drama. After a member is banished, he starts his own family, and trained in the hopes of one day rejoining his clan. When Lin Dong was a child, he watched his banished father be violently defeated and humiliated by a member of the Lin Clan. This incident spurred him to get revenge on the Lin Clan for what they did to his family. But his ambitions go in an unexpected direction after he finds a mysterious talisman.
Qin Yu Lian was born without the ability to hold power inside of himself. Upset with himself for being unable to meet expectations, he lives in isolation with his father. Hoping to cheer him up, his father buys him a strange bird who he names Xiao Hei. He decides not to give up, and starts training his body in order to fight without internal power. During a break from a training session, he finds a red crystal which unexpectedly fuses with his body and grants him incredible powers. Along with Xiao Hei, he sets off on a journey to prove his strength.
Through hard work and desperation, Nie Li became the the most powerful Demon Spiritist in the world. Sadly, he lost his life while fighting the Sage Emperor and six deity-ranked beasts. But this isn't the end for Nie Li - he's brought back to life as his 13-year-old self. Though his powers are the weakest they could possibly be, the knowledge he gained about the future helps him greatly. He trains with impossible quickness, and helps out those who he knows will be his allies later on, all to protect his city and the people he loves.
Set in a shadowy world where ancient gods and secret organizations lurk beneath a Victorian-inspired society, Lord of Mysteries follows Klein Moretti, an ordinary man who stumbles upon a forbidden ritual that hurls him into a realm of dark magic and unfolding conspiracies. Armed with cryptic powers and a relentless curiosity, Klein navigates a treacherous path between human and supernatural, unraveling occult secrets that could alter the fate of his world. What makes Lord of Mysteries stand out is how effortlessly it blends mystery, horror, and steampunk vibes into a story that keeps you guessing at every turn. With slick animation, a gripping plot, and world-building that rivals some of the biggest anime hits, it’s easily one of the best Chinese anime to come out in years - and a perfect pick for anyone wanting a fresh, edge-of-your-seat fantasy.
Bounty hunter Wu Liuqi might be able to transform into anything he desires and use powerful psychic scissor attacks, but despite his strength he's actually pretty bad at his job - most bounty hunters don't accidentally target the wrong person! Wu isn't in it for the love of the game - he only does it to pay off his debts. His real interests lie in uncovering the secrets of his past, which he doesn't remember due to amnesia.
Xie Lian was once a powerful god, but since few people worship him, he's about to lose his status - in fact, he's already been banished from the Heavens three times. While on a mission to solve a kidnapping, he encounters Hua Cheng, the Ghost King, who helps him and then disappears. Not long after, he meets San Lang, who knows a surprising amount about the Ghost King - and a lot about Xie Lian. San Lang decides to join him on his journey, and the two of them set out to discover long hidden events from the past.
Rakshasa Street is one of many gateways where the living and the deceased collide. Each of these gateways is controlled by a Requiem General, a person who is able to summon the spirits of specific historical figures. Rakshasa Street is patrolled by General Cao Yan Bing and his intern Xia Ling. Together, they work to keep Rakshasa Street from a variety of villainous figures.
At first, You Keika's main concern is working enough to dig himself out of extreme poverty. That changes when he suddenly loses his life and finds himself revived as a spirit. He encounters Tanmoku Ki, the 13th Youmeshi of the Tanmoki - the highest-ranking exorcist family of China. Tanmoku Ki offers to protect You from human exorcists, but in exchange You must become his shadow spirit - that is, his spiritual protector. As the two of them fight evil spirits together, their affection for one another grows. This is a BL series, which means that their affection goes a little bit deeper than simply admiring each other as fellow spirit warriors.
When Yingxiong Ma actually steals a bit of Muzi Li's cultivation power, she plans to either eliminate him or have him join her as a cultivator - one seeking immortality. It turns out that he's a lot more powerful than he could have anticipated. This would be great, except for one problem: their powers attract the interest of an old sage who plans to steal them for himself.
As he's heading toward his grandfather's grave, Zhang Chulan is unexpectedly attacked by a horde of zombies. He survives thanks to a mysterious girl who fights the zombies off with kitchen knives. He runs into this girl again while at college. Through her, he meets other people who fight supernatural creatures, and ends up getting dragged into a dangerous world.
The emperor of the Shang dynasty, Zi Zhou, has decided that he is no longer going to obey what he sees as the tyrannical rule of the gods. Naturally, the gods aren't happy about this. Wu Jifa, the emperor of a neighboring land, sends his forces to fight against them. Just when the Shang army seems to be on the brink of destruction, Zhou joins the fight himself. But when he gets close to Wu Jifa, a god falls out of the sky. Can Zhou possibly continue his crusade when the forces of Heaven stand before him?
Twin brothers Sun Xiaotu and Sun Xiaohu are a highly successful unit of paranormal investigators. Most of the time, they're able to keep their work and their private lives separate, but that becomes impossible when they themselves are targeted by a haunting. As they become more and more entangled in the world of ghosts, they must answer difficult questions about what the ghosts want from them, and what secrets they might be hiding.
The Fox Spirit Matchmaker has a fascinating job - bringing reincarnated humans into contact with the immortal yokai they fell in love with during their past lives. Tushan Susu is a fox spirit hoping to qualify for this lofty position. She hopes to start with Prince Fan Yun Fei and his reincarnated lover, Li Xueyang. A human Taoist named Bai Yuechu gets dragged into her mission when she falls through his roof. Unfortunately for Susu, Li Xueyang doesn't want to be reunited with her supernatural lover. As Susu and Yuechu try to figure out this case, they learn more about themselves - and about who they may have been in their own past lives.
Hua Jiu is an energetic 19-year-old exorcist who somehow manages to force the 'evil spirit' Seven Lord to be her servant. As the two of them work on cleansing spirits, an old enemy of Hua Jiu's is secretly plotting their revenge. Will Hua Jiu and Seven Lord be able to take them on?
Nangong "Prince Wang Jin" Liuyun is a cruel and emotionless prince. Few would expect him to get attached to a woman - especially not one like Luo Su, who everyone sees as stupid and useless. But when she becomes his fourth wife, he can't stand to let her out of his sight for one minute. Why is he so enamored with her? It might be her beauty - but it might also be the fact that she used to be an assassin.
Being at the center of a harem is every boy's dream, right? Wrong. For Jiang Hao Yi, it's kind of a nightmare. He doesn't understand why all of these girls who he doesn't even know are obsessed with him, and it's freaking him out. Can he find something to enjoy about the situation, or will it just remain horrible?
The Devil Ring is a lesson in why you shouldn't put on random jewelry without doing your research first. After Zhou Xiaoan puts on a ring of unknown origin, a devil ends up leaping out of his mouth. He soon learns about a dangerous supernatural world he had no idea existed - one populated by heart-eating zombies, demon kings, and Taoist priests who work to keep them all under control.
While attempting to either defend himself or escape from an attack, Chang Tian accidentally summons an ancient, living artifact named Xiao Bai. This leads him to a world of other people who can summon artifacts - as well as to the enemies they're intended to face.
In the world of Monster List, monsters disguise themselves as humans and live amongst them. When Feng Xi discovers that his girlfriend Su Jiuer is actually a wolf monster, he doesn't know what to think. But Su Jiuer has memories he lacks about their life together in the past, and she wants to protect him from other, more nefarious monsters who seek to harm him while he regains the strength he once possessed.
If you love romantic drama, this one's for you. Lu Jin Nian and Qiao An Hao have recently gotten married, but their marriage isn't exactly ideal. They're keeping their marriage a secret from the world, and Lu Jin Nian is absolutely not allowed to touch Qiao An Hao under any circumstances. Why is it like that? Well, that's complicated - but one of the most noteworthy factors is that Qiao An Hao's sister is also in love with Lu Jin Nian. Can this marriage possibly work out, or is it doomed from the start?
