Bilibili Inc. (“Bilibili” or the “Company”), an iconic brand and leading video community for the younger generation in China, unveiled a total of 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, as well as the company’s vision to introduce Chinese animation to global audiences.
During the event Bilibili 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 Yao-Chinese Folktales, an original animation co-produced by Bilibili and Shanghai Animation Film Studio, which has been a hit among Chinese viewers for its imaginative adaptations of Chinese traditional stories with an elegant Chinese aesthetic. The series has accumulated 290 million views and sparked over 18,000 fan creations on Bilibili.
Joining hands with Shanghai Animation Film Studio and Shanghai Film Infinity, Bilibili announced at the event that it will produce a second season of this beloved series, alongside a film adaptation focusing on a protagonist from the first season, a wild boar whose story resonated deeply with younger viewers in China.
Other highly anticipated titles include:
- Link Click Special Season – Link Click is one of the most popular Chinese animations among international audiences. An English dubbed version of Link Click Season 1 was launched on Crunchyroll in 2022, followed by Japanese and Korean dubbed versions on local TV channels. The series received an impressive rating of 8.73/10 on MyAnimeList, with a peak ranking of No.18.
- My Three-Body Season 4 – Originally a fan-made animation adaptation of The Three-Body Problem uploaded on Bilibili, My Three-Body‘s 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 undertakes 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 Chinese animation has proven increasingly popular on the platform. Bilibili has launched nearly 600 Chinese animation titles, including 181 titles featured from the beginning of 2022 to date.
Since 2018, the number of monthly active Chinese animation viewers on Bilibili has seen a remarkable six-fold increase. In the past year, 62% of ACG fans on Bilibili regularly watch Chinese anime titles, making it a primary draw on the platform. Bilibili users collectively spend over 700 million hours annually watching Chinese animations, with each viewer completing 10 series annually on average. Total interactions around Chinese animation on Bilibili topped 5 billion over the past year. Over 57% of the platform’s Chinese animation viewers are under the age of 23.
These remarkable metrics showcase the rising prominence of Chinese animation enabled by Bilibili’s platform and its vibrant community.
Bilibili’s Commitment to Nurturing Talent and Creativity
Bilibili is committed to continuously investing in Chinese animation series to support industry talents and the production of high-quality content.
“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.”
Bilibili launched Light Catcher Initiative in 2021 to support animators, students and anime aficionados. This year, the company has supported over 50 rising stars in the industry and received over 300 original animations from passionate animators. Light Catcher also worked with 11 top animation universities in China to provide funding and resources for over 100 student-made animations.
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.
The Global Adventure of Chinese Animation
With a “MADE FOR GLOBAL” vision, Bilibili continues to strengthen its global animation production capacity and strives to share more Chinese animations with fans worldwide.
During the event, Bilibili inked a partnership with Fuji Television Network to launch a dedicated channel B8station for Bilibili-produced Chinese animation. The two sides will also collaborate on the Japanese TV series adaptation of Link Click.
As of 2023, Bilibili has distributed nearly 70 Chinese animation titles internationally through partnerships with global mainstream platforms including Crunchyroll, Netflix, Rakuten VIKI, Astro, and more. The MADEBYBILIBILI YouTube channel has featured 135 Chinese animation titles. Bilibili also actively explores collaboration with international production partners, including Aniplex and Red Dog on the production of leading Chinese anime titles such as Link Click and Fairies Albums.
“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.”
