Chinese Streamer Bilibili Unveils 68-Title Animation Pipeline As Demand For Local Productions Skyrockets

Each year, around this time, Chinese streaming giant Bilibili unveils its upcoming animation schedule at the Anime Made By Bilibili event. This year’s lineup included 68 titles, 19 more than last year.

In addition to the vast lineup, Bilibili announced a new partnership with Shanghai Animation Film Studio and Shanghai Film Infinity to co-develop a new season and film adaptation of the Chinese animated series Yao-Chinese Folktales. Bilibili also finalized a partnership with Fuji Television Network in Japan to launch a dedicated Bilibili channel there. The two parties will collaborate on a Japanese series adaptation of Link Click.

It’s worth clarifying that Bilibili’s 68-title lineup doesn’t mean 68 new titles. Instead, the list includes the platform’s entire production slate of series, films, and specials, including new season of existing shows.

That said, the lineup is still impressive solidifies Bilibili’s place at the forefront of the Chinese animation industry.

Highlights from this year’s lineup include:

• Capsules: Bilibili announced a second season of this well-received shorts collection. We recently featured one of the season one shorts, Tomato Kitchen, which is qualified for the upcoming Oscars.
• Yao-Chinese Folktales: A second season and a feature adaptation were announced for this already popular series, which has been viewed more than 290 million times on the Bilibili platform.
• Link Click: One of the most successfully exported Chinese animated series to date – it’s on Crunchyroll in the U.S. – Link Click is getting another season.
• My Three-Body: Based on a fan-made animated adaptation of the popular Three-Body Problem novel, this sci-fi series is getting a fourth season.
• To Be Hero X: Co-produced by Bilibili and Sony’s Aniplex, this show blends 2d and cg animation techniques for a fun and extremely colorful action adventure. This one is also available on Crunchyroll.

Over the past five years, monthly viewers watching Chinese animation on Bilibili have increased six-fold and the category has become one of the service’s primary draws. According to company data, the average Bilibili animation viewer completes 10 series per year, and total interactions with Chinese animated productions on the platform surpassed 5 billion last year, although Bilibili didn’t specify what constitutes an interaction.

In a release accompanying the presentation, Carly Lee, vice chairwoman of the board of directors and chief operating officer of Bilibili, said:

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. 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.