The projects were revealed during the Middle Kingdom video community’s ANIME MADE BY BILIBILI 2023-2024 event; the offerings include a wide range of content including a new season and film adaptation of series Yao-Chinese Folktales in partnership with Shanghai Animation Film Studio and Shanghai Film Infinity.
Bilibili, a leading brand and video community in China, unveiled 68 upcoming Chinese animation titles during its signature ANIME MADE BY BILIBILI 2023-2024 event. This exciting lineup underscores Bilibili's leading position in the Chinese animation industry, its continuing efforts to empower homegrown animation creators, and the company's vision to introduce Chinese animation to global audiences.
The company presented a diverse lineup of highly anticipated titles, encompassing a wide range of styles and narratives, from traditional tales to modern anime-inspired stories. Among the highlights was a second season order for Yao-Chinese Folktales, an original animation co-produced by Bilibili and Shanghai Animation Film Studio. The series has accumulated 290 million views and sparked over 18,000 fan creations on Bilibili. A film adaptation focusing on a protagonist from the first season will also be produced in partnership with Shanghai Animation Film Studio and Shanghai Film Infinity.
Other highly anticipated titles include:
Link Click Special Season – One of the most popular Chinese animations among international audiences. An English dubbed version of the first season was launched on Crunchyroll in 2022, followed by Japanese and Korean dubbed versions on local TV channels.
My Three-Body Season 4 – Originally a fan-made animation adaptation of The Three-Body Problem uploaded on Bilibili, the high-quality production attracted Bilibili and The Three-Body Universe, the rightsholder of the Three-Body IP, to initiate development and production of the series.
To Be Hero X – Co-produced by Bilibili and Sony's animation studio Aniplex, the series utilizes a unique art style that combines 2D and 3D animation. Its trailer received over 100,000 likes on Twitter when it was first released.
Bilibili has become the online home for anime, comics, and games (ACG) culture in China, and animation has proven increasingly popular on the platform. The brand has launched nearly 600 Chinese animation titles, including 181 titles featured from the beginning of 2022 to date.
"Bilibili believes in the immense potential and value of Chinese animation, and remains steadfast in its commitment to excellence, prioritizing quality and surpassing user expectations," said Carly Lee, vice chairwoman of the board of directors and chief operating officer of Bilibili. "Furthermore, we remain dedicated to investing in and producing original content, providing a platform for aspiring animators to collaborate with Bilibili and nurture their talents."
The event also announced a project supported by Bilibili, Capsules Season 2, which invites animation talents, both domestic and international, to create a series of short animation videos. Tomato Kitchen, an episode from Capsules Season 1, won Best International Short Film during the 2023 International Animation Festival Chilemonos.
"Bilibili is born from animation and holds a deep faith in it," Lee added. "Back in 2018, when we went public, our vision was to make Chinese animation globally beloved. We will continue working alongside Chinese animators to turn this aspiration into reality, step-by-step."
Fans can watch ANIME MADE BY BILIBILI 2023-2024 here.
Source: Bilibili
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