The best Chinese Donghua series for beginners

Key takeaways

• Like anime, China's Donghua offers diverse storytelling and animation styles.
• Link Click explores time manipulation in a unique way within the supernatural genre.
• God Troubles Me is a laid-back dongua with sitcom vibes perfect for new fans.

Anime has been a huge part of the entertainment world for ages. With every new series, there's always something fresh that takes the entire anime scene to the next level, to what some might call a 'standard'. While most people think of Japan when they hear 'anime', that's not really the case anymore, especially thanks to some anime becoming very popular, Korean manhwa. Single leveling and noble.

There's a genre of animation that doesn't get much love, even though it has some of the best stories and some of the most amazing animation out there – Donghua. Donghua is basically anime that comes from China and usually involves Chinese culture and traditions. While they are similar to anime in many aspects, donghua come in different styles and concepts, sometimes making it more diverse in terms of animation and storytelling.

7 Click the link

A supernatural mystery with a very emotional undertone

Click the link It's the 2021 supernatural mystery Donghua that stands out for being one of the weirdest premises on this list. What sets it apart not only from other donghua, but from most anime, is how it handles classic supernatural tropes like time travel and parapsychology in a fresh, non-generic way. The story follows two friends who run a shop called Time Photo Studio, where they take photos from customers and essentially enter them to complete a specific task requested by the customer.

The main characters, Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang, have unique abilities to manipulate time and alter reality. Cheng Xiaoshi can travel back in time by entering a photo and placing someone's body in it, while Lu Guang has the power to read a photo and predict real events within 12 hours of it being taken. Together, they use these abilities to help people resolve their regrets and find closure.

6 soul land

3D Donghua with heavy martial arts and Isekai themes

Donghua can be classified as a bunch of Chinese animated series, but they are not strictly classified as anime – mainly because they are not always in 2D. In fact, the most popular donguas right now are 2.5D or fully 3D animated, breaking the mold of what 'normal' anime usually looks like. soul land The 2018 Donghua, based on a web novel, can be considered the best example of such a series considering the fact that it is done entirely in 3D animation instead of traditional 2D animation.

soul land Isekai is a story revolving around traditional Chinese martial arts. It follows the journey of a man who loses his life after gaining forbidden knowledge, which inevitably leads to punishment and death. After acting on his impulses and doing the unthinkable, he takes his own life thinking he has lived enough. But instead of finding peace, he is reborn into a strange new world, with the power to control supernatural beings known as spirits in the body of a 6-year-old child.

5 The daily life of an immortal king

Comedy action with a naturally overpowered main character

The daily life of an immortal king A 2020 Donghua is one that completely switches its story from action to include small slice-of-life and comedy elements. It follows the story of Wang Ling, an ordinary-looking 16-year-old high schooler whose biggest challenge now is – well, high school. While this is mostly true, Wang Ling has a little secret that makes him different from the average student: he is practically invincible, with powers beyond anyone's understanding.

At only six years old, he managed to defeat the Demon King, and his power has only grown stronger since then. But, despite all his invincible strength and being reincarnated as the most powerful man in the universe, his biggest problem and the only thorn in his side is high school – which is apparently harder than any legendary feat he's ever accomplished.

4 Spirit Pact

Supernatural action with a BL subplot

Spirit Pact The 2016 Donghua is based on a manhua of the same name that heavily incorporates themes of spirit mastery at its core—like many other major Donghuas. It follows the story of two unlikely people brought together by unexpected circumstances whose survival depends on each other.

You are Keika a normal looking man with a normal looking life. He is not very financially stable and spends most of his time doing part-time jobs to earn as much money as he can. But then, as if things couldn't get any worse, he dies in an accident and returns as a ghost. When he meets an exorcist who offers him a deal – he will protect you from humans, and in return, you have to help him deal with spirits.

3 An incarnation of the king

A true life story that follows the journey of a disgraced pro gamer

An anime that focuses on video games leans on the whole isekai theme, where the main character is transported into the game world — think overlord, Life is not a gameand Sword Art Online. That's the normal route. But what's less common is a story about the main character staying in the real world and going on an esports journey instead.

An incarnation of the king It is unique in this respect. It's a 2017 Donghua based on the web novel of the same name, and there's no fantasy twist that sneaks into the game world. Instead, it's all about an esports player's fall from grace and his grind to make a comeback, starting from scratch in the massively popular online game Glory.

2 The swallowed star

Action, sci-fi, martial arts with hardcore animation

For those looking for a more hardcore Donghua that focuses more on action and sci-fi, The swallowed star Can be a very solid choice. This is a 2020 3D Donghua set in a very futuristic post-apocalyptic world with physically advanced humans and giant monsters. But, like most donguas, The swallowed star Keeps martial arts at the heart of its story despite its sci-fi background.

The show follows the story of Luo Feng, a recently graduated high schooler who wants to become a warrior in his disaster-stricken world. Their world is known as the RR virus which kills humans and turns other life forms into violently mutated creatures. These warriors are the humans' only line of defense against the mutated creatures and Luo Feng is willing to give his life to be a part of them. What he doesn't realize is, he may be more important in the bigger scheme of things than he realizes.

1 God makes me suffer

A slice-of-life comedy with strong sitcom vibes

God makes me suffer A 2019 Donghua that is perfect for new Donghua fans, especially because of how comfortable and fun it is. Although it leans heavily on a fantasy plot, nothing about it feels overly complicated or difficult to follow. It's basically a slice-of-life comedy featuring three completely unexpected characters who find themselves in strange life situations – kind of like a sitcom.

The story centers on Su Moting, a half-monster, half-god who is stuck with only human qualities from both parents. Many of her non-humans, wanting her to become more independent, decide to take her out so she can learn some independence. This begins her journey as an independent person, which leads her to live with two strange roommates: an introverted cat monster and a super dramatic god who severely lacks social awareness.