Chinese Anime

I'm running out of Japanese anime. I mean, there's still lots to watch, just not the genres I want. So I ventured into the Chinese version of it. It took a while to get used to the language, but let me tell you! It was worth it. I still get somewhat lost in the names because they seem really similar to each other, but I'm glad I tried it. That doesn't mean that every single Chinese anime is good. Far from it actually, but there are some gems there that I'm glad I tried watching. 

There was one that I tried a while ago. At that point, it was really a last resort on my part, because the premise was looking way too interesting. That time, I was still in the mindset of disliking Chinese anime but biting down and dealing with the language for the sake of this single show. It's called Uncharted Walker in English and I'm not even gonna attempt the Chinese name. And now I had to go and check that it's really Chinese. Good news, I'm not talking bullshit. It is Chinese. And based on a Chinese novel or something like that? No, it's based on a Web Comic. Though there was that one comment on Reddit where that person said it was based on a novel? Not sure, but myanimelist says Web Comic so that's what I'm going to believe. 

This anime was really interesting and I am hoping that there will be a season 2 at some point. So far there's not even a peep about it, but I'm not going to give up hope. I would read the comic, but the thing is, I don't really like to read manga-style comics on the internet. By that, I mean the black and white ones. Colored webcomics are okay, even great in some cases. But reading black and white manga makes my eyes hurt. It's not a problem when I have a physical copy of the manga, I do have a few of those, but online... Nope, don't like it.

The Chinese anime I'm watching now is, in English, called The King's Avatar. It's a little bit like the original SAO mixed with Log Horizon. Just without the virtual reality thrown into the mix. Oh yeah, and they're not trapped inside the game. Still, there's a lot of gaming involved. The game's name is Glory. And the players are separated into professionals and "amateurs". Yes, with quotations. As that's not really what they're called. It's more like professionals and then the rest of the players. 

One thing we learn in the very first episode is that if you retire from being a Pro, you can't be a pro again for the next year or something. That's the protagonist's problem. He's something like a prodigy, but his old team kicked him out, his Pro team. So he's now playing on a newly opened server as a regular player. Only, he's setting all these records for clearing times and such. He formed a group to clear with, with some people and they're doing really well. However, this brought them to the attention of the Pros and they don't like it. Not all of them, but definitely a big number.

At one point, they figured out who he really is, that he's the legendary pro that retired and well, can't tell you more, as I haven't watched the whole thing yet. And even if I did, I wouldn't want to spoil the whole thing for you. Where would the fun be in that? 

One thing I did observe is this: A lot of the females in Japanese anime have really grating voices. This is not such in Chinese anime. The voice can be forceful, yes, but the pitch of it, it's not shrill unless the scene specifically calls for it. In general, the female voices in Chinese animes are pitched lower and are somewhat softer. I have to say this is a thing I really like about it. On the other hand, understanding Chinese is at least 1000x harder than Japanese. With Japanese anime, I can avert my eyes for a bit and still get at least the general idea of what is going on. With Chinese anime, not so much. Can't take my eyes off of it or I will be completely lost as to what is happening. Maybe it will get better with time, I haven't watched that many Chinese anime yet, so who knows. But as of now, I can't understand jack shit without subs when it comes to Chinese.

I don't think that when it comes to Chinese anime, all genres are for everyone. However, if you manage to find a genre that you really like and can get behind, you will find that Chinese anime can be a good next move when you run out of Japanese stuff to watch. Or if you wanna get rid of those shouty females with grating voices. 

And what process do I use to find something to watch? In Chinese, I mean. Pick a genre you can get behind. Pick a show based on the description. Ignore the names, as that's something that would always deter me at first. And start watching. Don't worry if you can't properly read the names. As long as you remember what approximate text + sound combination belongs to which character, you'll be fine. I couldn't reproduce the names from The King's Avatar apart from the main male protagonist unless I'm reading them off of myanimelist or somewhere similar, but when I see them in the subs, I know who they belong to. So I'm good. In the words of a fictional character: "Names aren't important. Matrix is. And Afro."

~AnnElfwind

Written on the 2nd of August, 2020