Qin’s Moon 秦时明月

I just stumbled across this series today on the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove site, and watched the first episodes. It’s a computer animated WuXia TV series from China set during the Qin Dynasty (210 BC) about a spunky orphan who has come under the protection/tutelage of the Emperor’s (former) greatest swordsman.

The animation in the first season is a weird combination between gorgeous and weak (it’s almost better to think of it as an animated comic book than an animated TV series) and the writing also seems to jump between almost profound and somewhat lowbrow. Whoever wrote this knew the limitations of the form they were planning it in, and they show some real skill in working around the limited animation at times. (Although it does look like the animation gets much better with each successive season.)

Overall in tone I’d compare it to The Clone Wars, although since it seems to have started around the same time I’d say that was a co-incidence instead of the Chinese animators following in CW’s footsteps.

The first three seasons are available on Youtube, or on the fansubber’s site for direct download. Either way, it’s probably worth a look if you’re a fan of fantasy or martial arts action. I will probably keep watching it for a bit just to see where it goes, but I’m still deciding if I like it or not.

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