So amazing that a lot of people nearly went blind!
As for the plot?
Would the plot maintain a "local flavor"?
A lot of people were waiting in anticipation at their computers as they dumbfoundedly watched on.
Then, even more people were dumbfounded!
Many of those watching gasped as they continued watching!
…
In the video.
Ge Nie said, "Tianming, are you afraid?"
Tianming said, "No!"
"Do you know why none of them are attacking?"
"It looks like they're really afraid?"
"That's right."
"Are they that afraid of you?"
"They're not afraid of me."
"Then what are they afraid of?"
"They're afraid of the consequences of getting in my way. You must remember the look in their eyes. Do not forget it for the rest of your life."
Tianming asked, "Why?"
Ge Nie explained, "Because these are the eyes of the weak. You must not become a weakling."
…
Very quickly, the first episode was over.
A lot of people had finished watching it with wide eyes!
What was the impression that everyone always had of Chinese animation productions?
Low budget.
Poor technical quality.
Bad art.
Boring plot.
Bad voice acting.
There was almost no comparison between the Japanese cartoons and their Chinese cartoons. The difference was not just a little, but like that of Heaven and Earth. In all aspects, their Chinese cartoons were inferior to the Japanese cartoons. This was something that the people were used to. They never had any expectations for Chinese cartoons, thinking that they didn't have the technical quality, capabilities, and strength to compete. But on the day The Legend of Qin was released, everything changed. Everyone's mindset of Chinese cartoons was shattered. It was utterly broken to the point they had no doubts left!
Surprise!
Excitement!
Disbelief!
This is a Chinese cartoon?
This is our very own animation production?
…
At a school.
During recess.
"Xiaofang, have you watched The Legend of Qin yet?"
"What the heck is that?"
"Zhang Ye's latest animation!"
"I don't watch Chinese cartoons."
"You idiot! Hurry up and watch it! It's awesome!"
"Are you serious?"
"I'd be a dog if I'm lying!"
…
At a company.
"Goodness, who here has watched The Legend of Qin?"
"I've finished watching it!"
"It was amazing! I was so dumbfounded!"
"Me too, the art was so beautiful!"
"The plot was very interesting too!"
"The voice acting was even better. Zhang Ye's voice was the best!"
"Yeah, I've been a fan of his narration since A Bite of China!"
…
At a Chinese animation studio.
"Holy shit!"
"How awesome!"
"This is too fucking awesome!"
"How did he manage to make the art so beautiful!"
"Just how much money did they spend on this?"
"This 3D imagery has got to be the most outstanding in the industry, right?"
"The script is a classic too!"
"What kind of a mind does Zhang Ye really have!"
…
On this day.
The country's comics and animation fans went crazy!
They absolutely couldn't have expected that Zhang Ye's new animation would actually be like this! This was already beyond anyone's expectations and had subverted the stereotype of Chinese animation productions that many people had. Be it the art, voice acting, or plot, there was nothing to nitpick. Almost everything was done to perfection!
It didn't look worse than the Japanese cartoons!
It was definitely not any worse than their cartoons!
And more importantly, The Legend of Qin had one huge advantage that the Japanese cartoons did not have, and it was that the setting was in China. The story was based on Chinese history, so no matter how the Japanese cartoons were translated into Chinese, it wouldn't be as immersive to the locals as an animation that had a local flavor!
A wave of good reviews instantly followed!
The Legend of Qin's reputation shot through the roof!
9.7!
9.6!
9.8!
—These were the scores that several of China's largest rating sites had given it!
In the blink of an eye, it became the highest rated animation in the history of Chinese animations!
Countless reviews were published!
"Crazily recommending The Legend of Qin!"
"The most outstanding domestic animation in history!"
"Zhang Ye has brought us yet another surprise!"
"Five-star rating! The domestic animation industry writes a new chapter!"
"Indescribable! Absolutely amazing!"
"Zhang Ye is still the same old invincible Zhang Ye we knew!"
"Analysis on the background of The Legend of Qin *Spoilers ahead*!"
A turnaround for domestic cartoons?"
A Chinese cartoon had unexpectedly set off a phenomenal wave of discussions. This was truly an unprecedented event in China!
More and more people read the reviews and recommendations, and they clicked on the animation to watch it. Many of those who didn't used to watch Chinese cartoons also joined in. They wouldn't know if they didn't watch it, but after they did, they were all very astonished as well. Everyone was calling it incredible!
The people applauded!
The media praised it!
The industry was cheering!
Although only one episode had been broadcast, this animation had given the people a morale boost!
Zhang Ye!
Sun Xiaobei!
Miracle Animation Studios!
They were all pushed into the limelight!
These reactions dumbfounded the Japanese comics and animation world!
"I thought that 3D animation productions didn't work?"
"Yeah, didn't someone say that this was a deep pit?"
"Why has The Legend of Qin become so popular?"
"This Zhang fellow is too good at stirring things up!"
"Surely Murder of Angels won't be surpassed in views, right?"
"That's not possible, right? Murder of Angels has already hit 30-plus million views for a single episode and is currently the most popular Japanese cartoon in China. It won't be that easy to surpass it!"
"But—but The Legend of Qin's first episode has already hit 15 million views!"
"What did you say?"
"15 million views?"
"It was only broadcast an hour ago!"
"Holy fuck!"
The statistics were constantly being updated!
The views for The Legend of Qin kept increasing!
20 million!
25 million!
30 million!
Under the dumbfounded gaze of everyone, and in only two and a half hours, views for The Legend of Qin surpassed Martial King and Murder of Angels. But this was still not the end. The momentum of The Legend of Qin did not slow down as it continued racking up views!
50 million!
60 million!
80 million!
And then, it actually hit 100 million views!
Furthermore, it was still increasing!
110 million!
120 million!
Everyone was dumbfounded!
The Japanese side was left kneeling!
Such momentum could only be described as invincible. Be it Martial King or Murder of Angels, the combined single episode views of all the Japanese cartoons until now could not even match The Legend of Qin's first episode views! Zhang Ye was right. He was really challenging ten of their series with one animation! With just The Legend of Qin alone, it crushed all of the other Japanese cartoons showing in China. Moreover, it wasn't just a close win, but an absolute thrashing!
Sweeping the competition!
None of them was a match for it!
The first day's broadcast of The Legend of Qin had achieved an astonishing result!
At this moment, a lot of the Chinese cartoon industry's people were in tears. How long had they been waiting for this day? They almost couldn't remember!
Sweeping the Japanese cartoons aside?
It had really been achieved!
A Chinese person really managed to do it!
Spring had finally arrived for the Chinese cartoon industry!