Mingyun Quan Tai

Next to Link Click, this is very much my new favourite Donghua. Actually, it might just be one of the best anime I watched in recent times. What a way to start 2024.

Let's get down to its premise. This is a story that takes place on Kong, an afterlife world built around the concept of mecha boxing tournament system. Basically, Isekai Real Steel. Here's the fun part: in this world, memory is used as a trading and betting currencies in the form of Qian, and people who win tournaments will earn a large sum of Qian and regain memory of their past life whereas the ... losers lose some. When a certain Qian quota is reached, a fighter earns a second chance at mortal life.

When its trailer first came out, I thought this would just be a mostly fun and cute and occasionally badass mecha show, so I was already seated. But seeing the SAME creator of Link Click doing this show, I know I'm in for a ride.

Characters:
The protagonist of the show, Again/啊肝 is really likeable, despite not having much of a depth. She is honestly the most expressive character of the show, which helps showcasing the power of this show's animation, which I will get to. Incredibly cartoony and adorable, she makes it really easy to get invested in the world through her eyes. Her motivation is as cookie cutter as it gets, and if anything, her existence is a vehicle to follow the stories of other more interesting characters with their own unique purposes to appear in Kong, including the other main character, the talking helmet Three/张三, whose true nature is shrouded in mystery. Speaking of which, they have excellent chemistry even when they have just met. Have I talked more about side characters? Yeah no I want you to experience them yourselves.

Story:
The story occurs in arcs that explore the backstory of different characters, with the climaxes usually taking place on the Ringing Fate battlefield. With masterful foreshadowing and presentation, it's easy to become immersed in everyone's journey. However that is not all there is. It may appear at first there isn't much of a main plot, which would be fine because the anecdotes are great, but once things hit the fan you'd realize how much everything matters. Also if you know how Link Click tells its story you can certainly expect some good ol' Haoling feels.

Animation:
Like most anime fans, I am generally not much of a connoisseur of 3D anime. But I am also not so much a puritan that I puke at the notion of watching it. I did not, however, expect this show to blow my expectations beyond a Trigun Stampede-esque quality. This is another one of those cases where not being a 2D show straight up doesn't even matter, because when characters get cartoony, they go all out in making them work. Again is the perfect representation of how expressive their 3D animation can be. The talking helmet is not shabby either, as he is capable of expressing his umpteenth exasperation at his gremlin of a companion. Even beyond that, the mecha combat animation is very stylishly integrated with 2D effects familiar to enjoyers of shows like League of Legends Arcane and the Spiderverse movies. The fight animations are all so snappy, even though occasionally stiffness can be felt. My only other complain though, is that it's really hard to notice the silhouette of the actions, because sometimes they are just too fast.

Art & Visual:
I love it when shows just have an artstyle that is not just classic anime proportions or the uncanny valley semi-realism that plague anime and donghua. This one just says "fuck it" and hired a chibi artist named Hakuro and put fluffy adorable desings next to hardcore mecha designs. It's also a perfect balance of not being too cutesy to take away the effect of more heavy, hard hitting scenes. The show itself is visually striking and uses clean cell shaded 3D rendering, even though that makes it look like just some high quality mobile game sometimes. Interestingly, when it comes to showing glimpses of the backstory, they use blurred live action footages instead of animation and it creates a juxtaposition to the show's otherwise bubbly colours. I don't see a lot of shows do that, and honestly it's pretty cool.

Music:
For some reason this donghua managed to hack the perfect formula to make every single scene not boring to watch in the slightest.
Straight up, in the opening scene of episode 1, you get right into the mood of a short action sequence with fist pumping background music. Even in slower moments, the music makes sure you know you are just there to vibe along as the characters talk and learn about the world. And then when big set pieces happen they bust out big ol' Hiroyuki Sawano tier masterpieces that make even losing a game hype to watch, just saying. The Opening has simple yet engaging melody that gets you into the tournament mood, but the Ending has a beautiful nostalgic vibes not too dissimilar from a synthwave music that goes along a beautifully animated 2D sequences by Studio LAN. Just the perfect way to ease you off the show while still having it linger in your mind.

Before the series ended, I had wondered if it can keep up with the quality of the show considering how strong it started, but somehow by the end it managed to evolve into something even more and it exceeded my expectations. One thing I can say for sure, the more I rewatch the episodes the more I notice details that raise my overall enjoyment. It's like the Attack on Titan level of "Holy Shit it's right under my nose the entire time" effect. I had given this series a 9 before, but having finish it now I'm like nah fuck it it's absolutely a 10

This is an incredibly accessible Donghua to any kind of audience in the same way Link Click does, just as long as you keep an open mind about its animation and art style. I can only hope Mr Li continues to put out bangers like this, especially with his upcoming To Be Hero X.

Lastly, I hope this gets put on more streaming platforms with dubs so more people can see this gem of a mecha show.

Surprisingly really good!


To better explain the premise...
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This is Chibis and mecha battles in purgatory-like world and collect "Quiam" which gives people memories from past life that work like currency or price for winning, but there are also risks of losing and memories disappearing again. When collecting enough Quiam, you can return to the living world.

And we follow a girl with suspicious robot head partner in these mecha battles.
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... At first glance it looks like scifi show for kids with such chibi characters.
But truth is that this show has more depth with it's characters and memories from their original life and how they're doing now in this world.


The show is more constructed as archs for specific character we meet with our main girl.
Their struggles and memories from the past life and their development.

Some themes are definitely interesting and support well in these archs.

Despite being an online donghua the show also mixes different types of footages for storytelling, not just 3D animation that is already well done. They're clearly distinct and support the story really well and makes the show unique, memorable and shows strengths.


OP and ED are probably the best thing of this show and definitely will want you listen to it even outside of the show. I didn't even knew donghua can have such bops! You'll rarely skip these as even the visuals are great.


There are some weaknesses, as the main character might not be for everyone with her child-like bubbliness or some sound effects being used in some places. But that appears mostly in sillier moments.

With these archs of other characters we also somewhat sideline the main plot with the main girl and her developments move very slow or not move at all which is a bit shame. But the side archs are still good enough themselves.

Some characters that aren't main ones or arch focused aren't that memorable. But they do still support the story and worldbuilding.

First episode also doesn't help that much with proper story introduction and explanation of the world. And at least two-three episodes need to be seen to get actually understand what's going on.

Worldbuilding details and story relevant information can be a bit scattered.

But at the end it pays off with twists, connections and surprising moments.



I recommend this one, even if you know NOTHING about chinese animation or have low expectations of donghua overall.

(Unless you're epileptic, it features animated flashing effects in mecha battles)

I watched most of the stuff Li Haoling has put there and honestly where he shines he SHINES and that is conveying simple but heartfelt human stories that WILL make you cry :).

Beginning of the Donghua might be difficult to get behind - 3d chibi artstyle is not something you see often and Chinese to that. No proper introduction, you just get thrown into this world with no warrning. After a few minutes you start to realise why. In hindsight, I think it is a great way to give you a better sense of what protagonists pov felt like, but it might scare off ... some viewers because it's just too confusing (and official synopsis doesn't help at all)... Thought if you get through the first episode you will get the general idea behind the donghua.

And then it's up to you. The artstyle still is unique, but I think it's a good... maybe even a great thing. Honestly the mix of live-action footage is just so well edited into the show. In my opinion, this donghua wouldn't work so well without it! Because chibi artstyle IS childish and gives this immature vibe to it. But when mixed with real-life footage with real people, the seriousness and emotions kick in.

There is also a mystery aspect that keeps you watching! Who is that pretty emo boy? What is his backstory? Why does main character have slimes for shorts??? These questions need to be answered... So yeah, if you have seen Li Haolings Link Click, you will know what kind of episode structure he makes.

Characters are fun! The mystery is there! Honestly not much I can nitpick. I think for what it tries to achieve - it does it well. If you can get behind the artstyle, you enjoy emotional stories and love a bit of silly humour - you will like it.

P.S. Oh and (almost) all of the male characters designs are just straight out of genshin so take it as you will;)