Viewers Give ‘Three-Body’ Animated Series Two Thumbs Up

Since initial skepticism over whether Liu Cixin’s acclaimed sci-fi novels could be visually rendered, the series has received rave reviews.

A promotional image of “My Three Body, Legend of Zhang Beihai” featuring the titular character. From Douban

When animated and live-action versions of famed Chinese writer Liu Cixin’s “The Three-Body Problem” were announced last year, sci-fi fans wondered whether they would do justice to the beloved Hugo Award-winning novel.

But following Tuesday’s finale of the third season of a different, longer-running animated series, the answer is clear: Yes, it can.

Fans say “My Three Body, Legend of Zhang Beihai” — the third season of the animated series based on the second book from Liu’s trilogy — has exceeded their expectations. Viewers have left glowing reviews on microblogging site Weibo and the host video-streaming site Bilibili, praising the plot, visual effects, and music. The series has even scored 9.7 out of 10 on review platform Douban, in stark contrast to the initial skepticism over whether the trilogy could be visually rendered.

“It has the flavor of the original work,” one Weibo user wrote, praising the series as the “pride” of China’s animation industry. “The scenes are all there, built from words I could barely picture myself using my barren imagination.”

A promotional image for “My Three Body, Legend of Zhang Beihai” (left) and a still frame of the Battleship Natural Selection (right). Courtesy of The Three-Body Universe

“My Three Body, Legend of Zhang Beihai” has been well-received since it premiered in early January. The nine-episode series is adapted from “The Dark Forest,” the second of Liu’s “Remembrance of Earth’s Past” trilogy, and tells the story of Zhang Beihai, a Chinese naval officer who evades an alien civilization to preserve hope for the future of humanity. Continue to read the full article here.

 

– This article originally appeared on Sixth Tone.