Three-Body Problem anime arrives on Bilibili this December

The very best of Chinese science fiction brought to animation life.

by Justin Choo

Bilibili is a low-key source of animation–be it Japanese or Chinese. And earlier this month they announced an upcoming collection of 49 Chinese anime series. To date, over 70 Chinese anime (aka donghua) titles have been launched on Bilibili for Southeast Asian audiences. Bilibili says that the genre has garnered more than 98 million views since the end of 2020.

Newly announced titles include new seasons of The Daily Life of the Immortal KingA Record of Mortal’s Journey to Immortality, and Link Click. In particular, Link Click managed to reach #20 on MyAnimeList, the world’s preeminent anime community and database. 

But the most talked about of the upcoming bunch is Three-Body Problem, a major project co-presented by The Three-Body Universe and YHKT Entertainment, and produced and financed by Bilibili.

The donghua is an adaptation of a sci-fi trilogy written by Lu Cixin and is the first Asian novel to ever win a Hugo Award for Best Novel (along with many other accolades).

Three-Body Problem is regarded as one of the most influential sci-fi novel series of the past twenty years. For those not in the know and if you need a rubber stamp of affirmation, you might be surprised to know that there is a Chinese-made animation series and a Netflix live-action adaptation is also in the works and is set to premiere next year.

The story loosely calls to mind the mathematical three-body problem that bids to answer the question of where three bodies that are mutually attracted by gravity will move in future if you know their current states. Likewise, the novel explores the pluralism of its characters and power factions as they struggle for their survival, looking for a positive outcome from their intertwined fates.

Fortunately for the curious, or those who like their sci-fi with a serious tone, the Chinese animation is set to air on December 3rd on Bilibili.

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