The highly anticipated martial arts animation “Zhen Dao Ge” Season 2 recently premiered, and as an work that has already released two seasons plus a movie, its influence has been preliminarily established. The story of “Zhen Dao Ge” is solid, with superb fighting scenes, and combined with the fact that animation itself can surpass human physical limits, it even outshines live-action martial arts dramas in expression. Many viewers are looking forward to this animation being adapted into live-action to enhance the quality of live-action martial arts dramas.
In fact, live-action martial arts dramas have indeed been facing a creative stagnation in recent years. The works of older generation authors such as Jin Yong and Gu Long have been repeatedly adapted and can no longer satisfy the audience's appetite. This year, there are some signs of recovery in the martial arts market, with adaptations of new martial arts novels like “The Ingenious One” and the addition of suspense elements in “Mysterious Lotus Casebook” bringing surprises to the audience.
In comparison, martial arts animations are producing excellent works one after another, and they even serve as the source for live-action adaptations, creating a batch of well-received and quality martial arts drama adaptations. So, has the responsibility of saving live-action martial arts dramas shifted to martial arts animations? In fact, not only martial arts animations, but also top video platforms in China have turned their attention to animation IPs in order to enhance their competitiveness in genre dramas. Major platforms are using them as the source for adaptations and are actively promoting the process of adapting animation IPs into live-action, making drama adaptations of animations the new favorite.
1- The Rise of Chinese Animation
When it comes to martial arts, there is an embarrassing situation that cannot be ignored, that is, there are only a few high-quality live-action martial arts dramas each year, while martial arts animations are producing excellent works one after another. Of course, with the evolving interests of the audience, martial arts animations often incorporate other genres such as fantasy.
Take this year's new martial arts animations as an example. Youku released the first season of “Sanshiliu Qi”, which is set against the backdrop of Ban Chao's mission to the Western Regions, incorporating a rich martial arts style with a historical tone. This work pays attention to details in the plot and follows the principle of “not exaggerating important matters nor neglecting trivial matters”, giving it a feeling similar to the Han Dynasty version of “The Legend of Qin”.
Tencent Video released “Heroine”, directed by Xue Jinsheng, who is also the director of “Zhen Dao Ge”. This animation maintains the director's consistent high standard of martial arts choreography, and what's even more commendable is the bold use of a dual female protagonist configuration in the martial arts animation genre, which adds depth to the story.
iQiyi also released a self-produced animation “The Grand Lord”, adapted from the novel of the same name by online writer “Tian Can Tu Dou”, and even brought the original author on board as the content supervisor, adding an extra layer of assurance to this work. Overall, it belongs to a fantasy animation with martial arts elements.
These animations are very diverse in their attempts, no longer limited to traditional martial arts elements. It can be foreseen that if these new animations that have received rave reviews this year, there will definitely be plans for live-action adaptations. Generally speaking, these animation adaptations either directly originate from the animation itself or take a two-step approach: starting with a novel, followed by an animation, and finally adapted into a TV series.
Tencent Video
At the beginning of this month, Tencent Video aired “Battle Through the Heaven”. The adaptation of “Doupo Cangqiong” can be described as a leap in two steps, starting from the online novel by “Tian Can Tu Dou”, then the four-season animation, multiple side stories, and finally the live-action version.
Tencent Video chose this adaptation path based on the success of “Douluo Continent”. As a well-known online novel IP, “Douluo Continent” first underwent an animated adaptation and released “Douluo Continent Season 1” in 2018, which continued to be updated and expanded the audience of the original work. In 2021, it naturally launched “Douluo Continent” starring Xiao Zhan and Wu Xuanyi. On its first day of release, it had a high viewership of 160 million and achieved good feedback, with a current Douban rating of 6.4.
Youku
Youku takes a long-term layout and series development approach, with the most notable anime IP being “Shao Nian Ge Xing”. Based on the original novel, an animated adaptation was released in 2018, followed by “Shao Nian Ge Xing: Feng Hua Xue Yue Pian Part 2” in 2021, and “The Young Brewmaster's Adventure” in 2022. This year, not only did they release “Shaonian Ge Xing: Haiwai Xianshan Pian” but also “Anhe Zhuan”, fully exploring the “Shao Nian Ge Xing” in the field of animation.
The live-action version of “The Song of Youth” released in 2022 is directly adapted from the novel. This work holds special significance for Youku, as it did not blindly pursue a star-studded cast, but instead chose young actors who are well-suited for their roles. The production successfully restored the iconic scenes from the original work, earning recognition from fans for investing in the essence. When it was first rated on Douban, it had a score of 7.3, and it has gradually increased to 8.3, demonstrating its quality and reputation.
In addition to martial arts, Youku also has projects of other genres. For example, “I Am Nobody” in 2021, which was a sensational success, is an adaptation of the popular anime “The Outcast” previously released on Tencent Video. With the support of the four-season animation, it gained popularity. They also released “The Hope” as a drama adaptation of a manga. It is unique as it does not originate from Chinese anime but is based on the Japanese anime “Dragon Zakura”, belonging to the category of hot-blooded manga.
iQiyi
iQiyi has relatively few outstanding projects in the field of drama adaptations, with most of their recent works focused on development. A successful example is “Hikaru no Go” in 2020, which is an adaptation of a Japanese anime. This drama adaptation was initially not highly regarded but gained recognition for its excellent quality, achieving a Douban rating of 8.6.
In 2022, “Love Between Fairy and Devil” was adapted from the novel by Jiu Lu Fei Xiang. One notable aspect is that the anime and drama adaptations of this IP were developed simultaneously, creating a good synergy. After the success of the drama series, iQiyi took advantage of the momentum and developed a meta-universe game with the same art style and worldview as the anime, focusing on the technology route, showcasing iQiyi's IP development concept.
However, “Tiger and Crane” aired this year received poor reviews, with a Douban rating of only 5.4. But as a suspenseful fantasy-style drama adaptation, this diverse attempt is still worthy of recognition. It can be seen that anime IPs, as a strong supplement to the creation of live-action dramas, have increasingly gained importance in the market. Various platforms have increased their investment, directly enhancing the popularity of this genre.
2 – The anticipation for the adaptation of anime dramas
The importance of anime adaptations is on the rise, and the status of anime series is skyrocketing. At this year's iQiyi World Conference, iQiyi unveiled a list of 38 animated series. Tencent Video's anime lineup reached 111, including many sequels. Youku Anime announced 74 works in 8 categories at this year's new release event, with 6 of them being part of the “Shao Nian Ge Xing”.
Already aired works like “The Demon Hunter” are almost the hexagonal warriors of this year's new anime series, with a perfect blend of martial arts and dramatic scenes, earning a high score of 8.8 on Douban, making it an excellent candidate for an anime adaptation. “Emo Faze” takes a Western-style fantasy route, which is rare in domestic animation, with a humorous and witty pace, attracting a large fan base.
As for upcoming works like “Jin Wu Wei: Feng Qi Jin Ling” which combines detective and martial arts elements, the characters appear full-bodied with the historical background. “Da Tang Cheng Feng Lu” is a highly popular martial arts work with a grand structure and numerous foreshadowing, making it very suitable for adaptation.
It is foreseeable that among these more than 200 anime works, the seeds for the next wave of anime adaptations will be born. However, the audience does not need to wait too long, as major platforms have already lined up a batch of anime adaptations, including some heavyweight works.
According to statistics, the upcoming anime adaptations on top platforms each have their own characteristics. Youku's adaptations mainly focus on works like martial arts and other male-oriented genres. Works like “The Young Brewmaster's Adventure” and “Rakshasa Street” are high-intensity IPs with a clear male audience appeal. Works like “Biao Ren” and “My Senior Brother is Too Reliable” also primarily target male viewers. As for “Ling Cage,” a manga adaptation with post-apocalyptic science fiction elements, it is expected to make a breakthrough in terms of themes.
Tencent Video's “Douluo Continent Season 2” can be considered a sequel, and with the previous experience, it is expected to progress smoothly, although the cast may not be as sensational as the previous work.
iQiyi's focus on adaptations drama is in the ancient costume genre, especially the project “Fox Spirit Matchmaker.” Rarely does an anime IP launch three adaptations at once. Among them, “Yue Hong” stars Yang Mi and Gong Jun, “Zhu Ye” stars Liu Shishi and Zhang Yunlong, and “Wang Quan” stars Cheng Yi and Li Yitong. Both in terms of cast and scale, they are the highlights of anime adaptations.
In addition, iQiyi also has “Burning Flames,” which can be seen as their attempt at a male-oriented adaptation. Another important reason to pay attention to this work is that its production company, Xuanji Technology, has works like “The Legend of Qin” in their hands. “White Cat Legend” is based on the anime. It has both suspense and comedic elements, making it quite appealing.
Seeing that all platforms are gathering momentum, why are anime adaptations being valued by platforms? Firstly, anime adaptations become the focus because they have been market-tested and carry their own influence, attracting a large audience and generating buzz. The loyalty of fans is also high, making them more advantageous compared to starting from scratch with purely original content. Secondly, whether it's TV dramas, anime, or movies, a good story can withstand changes in presentation. As long as the core remains the same, the attractiveness remains, which is why fans resist unfaithful adaptations. Thirdly, most anime adaptations cover a wide range of genres, including martial arts, science fiction, action, historical, youth, etc.
Based on these reasons, anime adaptations do have a broad future ahead and are worth continuous investment from platforms. It can be anticipated that with the release of these reserve projects, anime adaptations drama will also usher in their own spring.