10 Best Chinese Fantasy TV Shows For Sci-Fi and Video Games Fans
Aliens, time loops, eSports academies, and, of course, robots.
We are living in the golden age of science fiction TV shows – impressive special effects are finally available not only for the big screen.
Chinese shows are known for their unique perspective and approach to already familiar plots, so if you've seen all the Western fantasy series, it's time for the Chinese ones.
1. The Bionic Life, 2023
The sci-fi show tells the story of a near future in which scientists have learned to create bionics that are outwardly indistinguishable from humans, but are programmed to perform only specific tasks – to be a faithful partner, a brilliant child, or a loyal friend. Gradually, dissatisfaction with the bionics, which increasingly replace ordinary people, begins to grow in society.
The show is structured as a procedural, and each episode investigates a case involving the conflict between humans and robots, but there is also a main plot about a mysterious maniac who kills bionics.
2. Reset, 2022
If you love Groundhog Day, Happy Death Day and Source Code, then this show will be a real treat for you. Shi Qing just can't get off the bus – each of her trips ends in an explosion that rewinds time. One day, she accidentally pulls Xiao He Yun, another passenger, into this time loop.
Despite the fact that the time loop is no longer an original plot, the creators managed to refresh the idea in this show. As in Agatha Christie's detective stories, each passenger on the bus will reveal themselves to the viewers until the puzzle is finally put together.
3. 200 Million Years Classmate, 2017-2018
Modest Xuan Mo loves her classmate Yi Hailan, the most handsome boy in school, but he doesn’t seem to notice her. Xuan Mo comforts herself by dreaming that one day she will have superpowers and then Hailan will definitely want to be with her.
Finally, to distract herself, Xuan Mo decides to go scuba diving. During her first dive, she finds a strange stone that charges her body with an essence that has lain at the bottom for two centuries. The essence turns out to be a tough female alien warrior with superpowers.
4. Three-Body, 2023-…
All over the world, physicists from different countries are committing suicide under mysterious circumstances. The only clue turns out to be the activities of a closed scientific community. To infiltrate it, the investigators bring in scientist Wang Miao.
Once he joins the club, a countdown to an unknown future event begins before his eyes.
Three-Body, like the original novel by Liu Cixin, raises the topic of contact between civilizations, which may not seem particularly original to sci-fi fans. Western writers have been exploiting this topic since the 19th century, so what could be new here? In fact, this theme is almost inexhaustible, and Liu Cixin offers his own, unusual version.
On March 21, another adaptation will be released on Netflix, but with a slightly different name – 3 Body Problem.
5. Guardian, 2018
Professor Shen Wei is certain that there are mutants with superpowers roaming the Earth. And it turns out to be true: there is a special investigation department, where such unusual creatures work, investigating the strangest crimes.
One day, a mysterious murder occurs at the school where Shen Wei teaches, and the professor meets the members of this department. He will have to join them, as Earth is in great danger from the inhabitants of the planet Haixing.
6. My Girlfriend is an Alien, 2019-2022
An alien accidentally lands on Earth and immediately gets into trouble when she saves a man and loses her device for communicating with aliens like herself. It turns out that the device was left with the man she saved, so the alien takes the human name of Xiao Qi and goes in search of him.
However, this man has one big drawback – he forgets everyone he knows during a thunderstorm, due to a severe childhood trauma.
This show is suitable for viewers who prefer lighthearted love stories with a little bit of science over serious hard sci-fi.
7. Cross Fire, 2020
The captain of the eSports team, Xiao Feng, believes in the future of eSports and in his own talent, but those around him only tell him to grow up and do something serious. The team turns its back on him, the girl he loves marries someone else, and Xiao Feng seems to have no choice but to give up.
But one day, during a glitch in a computer game, he meets Lu Xiaobei from the future, who claims that Xiao Feng is one of the best players in the world in his time. Lu Xiaobei dreams of recruiting Xiao Feng to his team and using him to save his dead brother.
8. Humans, 2021
In the year 2035, technology has advanced to the point where everyone can buy an android to do their housework. A simple Chinese family with three children gets their own robot – the children and the father are happy, and only the mother is nervous. Unlike the others, she notices that the robot-housewife is acting weird.
This show about the complex relationship between humans and artificial intelligence is a remake of the Swedish sci-fi drama Real Humans. There is also an American version called Humans.
9. Gamer’s Generation, 2016-2017
The era of virtual reality VR and AR has arrived in the near future, and there is even an eSports academy that teaches how to be an eSports player, a game commentator, a virtual technology engineer and, of course, a programmer.
Nan Ke enrolls in the eSports department – the boy's name is notorious because his older brother once disappeared from the finals of a competition, letting down his entire team.Nan Ke is not like other players – he has extraordinary abilities, and he gathers people around him who are as talented as he is. His goal is to beat the academy's strongest teams and win the competition.
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10. Gank Your Heart, 2019-2020
Qiu Ying is an online journalist who is gaining popularity. She dreams of being a commentator for a popular game, but she doesn't know how to play, and even worse, doesn't understand the game at all. That's why only a few people watch her streams and reviews.
Ji Xiangkong is an eSports player and team captain. They meet at one of the streams, after which the girl decides to increase the number of her views due to the popularity of the player, but the eSportsman also has problems with his reputation.