Get Ready for Bilibili’s Three-Body Problem Animated Series This December

Bilibili, the largest video platform for anime, comics, and gaming (ACG) content in Southeast Asia, announced a lineup of 49 Chinese anime series and the latest progress of The Three-Body Problem animated series as it showcased new and exciting initiatives in the Chinese anime sector at its annual event, ANIME MADE BY BILIBILI 2022-2023.

As the principal producer and financier, Bilibili officially announced that The Three-Body Problem animated series is scheduled to make its global debut in China on December 3, 2022. The series, which is adapted from Liu Cixin’s titular Hugo Award-winning sci-fi trilogy, is co- presented by top sci-fi company The Three-Body Universe and leading animation studio YHKT Entertainment. Since its announcement in 2019, the project has prompted widespread discussion across sci-fi and anime communities.

As one of the most influential sci-fi novel series of the past 20 years, The Three-Body Problem trilogy broke language and cultural barriers and inspired millions of readers globally. Preceding the launch of The Three-Body Problem animated series, there have been many excellent fan creations. At this year’s ANIME MADE BY BILIBILI event, the company collaborated with The Three-Body Universe, the rightsholder of the Three-Body IP, to further support fans’ creativity through the Three-Body Global Creator Project. The project invites top animation creators across the world to explore the IP using their own unique vision and showcase a wide variety of styles and the infinite potential of the Three-Body animation.

“I am excited to announce that the The Three-Body Problem animated series will debut on Bilibili,” said Liu Cixin. “Animation, like science fiction, is the art of imagination, and imagination is humanity’s most powerful force. I believe that a sci-fi story like The Three-Body Problem can really come alive with the power of animation.”

Other anime series announced during the event include Link Click Season 2, which follows the story of two friends using extraordinary powers to grant people’s wishes. As one of the most popular series among overseas audiences, Link Click ranked #20 on MyAnimeList, the world’s top online anime community and database. The new seasons of The Daily Life of the Immortal King and A Record of Mortal's Journey to Immortality, both of which fall under action, adventure, and Eastern fantasy genres, will also be released on Bilibili. Each title has won accolades since the launch of their respective first seasons across Southeast Asia.

“Chinese anime has been gaining new momentum on top of riding on a global animation boom. When we take a deep dive into the entertainment industry, we find that anime has become a popular way for the young generation to express themselves,” said Carly Lee, Vice Chairwoman of the Board of Directors and Chief Operating Officer of Bilibili. “Anime is also more than just a form of expression. It has transcended its own boundary and became a necessary building block of today’s digital world with a wide range of applications in films, games, and virtual creator livestreaming. Bilibili is now the world's largest virtual creator (VCreators) platform, with around 230,000 VCreators interacting and bonding with people through virtual images and animation technology,” she added.

Chinese anime has achieved a high level of recognition internationally. Since the end of 2020, over 70 Chinese anime titles have been launched on Bilibili in Southeast Asia, and they have garnered more than 98 million views. In social media, #DongHua, the Chinese word for anime, has begun to distinguish itself from #Anime and it is starting to become a popular hashtag that global audiences are following and discussing. Moreover, global platforms are actively introducing Chinese anime titles and 24 series from Bilibili are already available to audiences around the world.

As a platform with a global perspective, Bilibili is promoting its overseas production capacity by cooperating with international production companies. It worked with outstanding global animation production houses such as Red Dog Cultural House and CMC Media to produce some of its anime titles such as Fairies Album and other original productions. In addition, the Bilibili-made Face on Lie Season 1, which is based on a South Korean webtoon and was launched in April, is an example of Bilibili’s IP expansion capability in overseas markets. “We have always embraced MADE FOR GLOBAL as our vision,” said Leo Zhang, Vice President of Bilibili. “We are committed to making more original anime with global influence, and we are also keen to discover more outstanding creators from all over the world to develop diversified cooperation models.”