Ze Tian Ji (2026)

In recent years Chinese 3D has really upped its game. This Xianxian donghua is no exception, it's visually stunning. Set in a fantasy world, but not with your typical tough protagonist. Chen Changsheng, a young man with a fatal illness, wants to change his destiny. He is the ultimate Daozang book nerd though. Instead of relying on physical power, he relies on knowledge and mental ability. But not the shrewd, calculating type... its the smart, humble kind. His temperament is the stuff of otome game male love interests: gentle, kind, smart, loyal and friendly. I've watched a lot of Xianxian where the protagonists are admired by men, but red-flags for women and I really found this refreshing. It seems animators are understanding that there's a female audience who enjoy action fantasy, but like a little sweetness with their butt-kicking. Right off the bat we are made aware of his marriage contract. While this is not a romance, what makes this story unique for me is running the theme of connection alongside the theme of dodging death. Its not only his destination that's important, but how he gets there. He's also put into situations that differ majorly from your typical Xianian protagonists. There are moments that make you want to root hard for this gentle underdog... I totally didn't crush on him 😂 As with most donghua, find good English subtitles... it's a melted brain otherwise. Good story, balancing action with character development Loved the music of the aura-farming OP with it's slo-mo introduction of characters Character designs are great, MC glow-up is S-tier. Good, polished CGI I've given it a 8/10 for daring to go the 'brains over brawn' route with their MC

Pleasantly surprising. "Way of Choices" is a 3d animated cultivation Donghua about a very intelligent, gifted and well read individual, Chen Changsheng. As an orphan he was taken in by a master in a mountain shrine seclusion where he spent all of his childhood. He studied and learned every piece of text in his master's library, giving him a very strong foundation to build upon during his first journey into martial arts cultivation. This knowledge, understanding and his genius nature set him apart from everyone else as he climbs to the top. The main character goes through many challenges, grows a decent amount and is genuinely interesting to accompany. The side characters are... there. They mostly serve as plot devices for the majority of the run, until late episodes when some characters are given the spotlight to shine. The main character's love interest especially. The whole show is rather romantic, in the literary sense, but also the basic one. It's filled with acts of idealism, study of human nature and deeds of affection. It's no great masterpiece, but even the shallow strokes pulled at my heart at times. Not all of the content is great however. There is definitely parts that made my eyes roll, or even just skip ahead. The first half especially in retrospect feels like the storytelling was struggling in finding itself and as a result it shifts steadily to something that surprisingly climaxes in a very delightful piece of media. I was struggling to stay interested at times before that to be honest. The visual effects are great. It's likely using tons of AI, which did make it less impressive on some level in my mind, but overall the visuals were amazing to look at. I think especially episode two wowed the most. The music plays a huge part in my rating. If it wasn't so well put together and meshed with the scenes I wouldn't have liked it nearly as much. The last few episodes notably left a striking impression. I will admit I teared up a couple of times. The fight scenes are serviceable. They're not really about a martial arts display rather than a fun conflict resolution with pretty special effects. Unlike many other Donghuas this one actually has a decent ending, even though some threads are unfinished. Overall I was pleasantly surprised by how it turned out. I was teetering at times but I'm glad I stuck with it and I will, hopefully, remember this for a while. 8/10