The World of Fantasy is an intriguing Chinese anime that has a brilliant use of Spirit Power as the main focus. Like many fantasy-action anime, the show has its own fascinating lore. However, this title differs in several ways from the worlds featured in Japanese anime.
The show is available on the streaming platform iQIYI, which features various anime, kdramas, and other shows in different categories. Like many other animes on this platform, World of Fantasy shows an amazing clash of cultures, as many fans are used to anime originating from Japan.
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Due to the influence of Chinese martial art films releases in the west, its curious to have the anime visuals with Chinese voicing. Fortunately, the content has English subtitles allowing western viewers to also enjoy the abundance of content.
What Is World of Fantasy About?
World of Fantasy, known with the Chinese name as Ling Yu, is set in a ‘Spiritual Field’ world within the continent of Chilan (Red Tide). The Chinese name is translated as Spiritual Field, hence the original Chinese title. It’s a shame it isn’t used, as it’s more unique, but the reason might be because the English translation loses its original meaning in Chinese.
In this world, warriors can use spirit energy to use spell-like abilities and possess ‘spirit weapons’. The warriors and weapons classification are an important factor in this world and gives the show a bit of a video game vibe. There also exists the Demon-based Nether race and creatures known as Soul-reaping beasts, which all act as the general antagonists in this world.
In the world of Ling Yu, there is a continent named Chilan, where warriors and their Spirit Weapons are classified into different levels. Families and clans follow a strict hierarchy, too. Under the leadership of the Xuantian Union, human warriors and the Evil Clan have been engaged in brutal fights on Nether Battlefield for hundreds of years.
A Soul-devouring Beast sneaked into the Chilan Continent through a crevice on the Nether Battlefield before it ruthlessly slaughtered the Feng Town and the Gao Town. Qin Lie, a young man from the Ling Town, together with Ling Yushi and Gao Yu whom he had grown up with, was commanded to help the Xuantian Union in the conquest of the Soul-devouring Beast. He did not anticipate that he would be swallowed into a great conspiracy. To protect his friends and to rescue the one he loves, the powers hiding in his veins are awakening.
The whole aesthetic of this anime has many Chinese elements to it, including the buildings and the war-torn environments. However, the most obvious difference is the art style as its clear that the characters have various features that differ from what Japan release. The use of ‘Spirit Power’ also highlights how Chinese mythology is the basis for the lores in this production. These components make this show stand out from regular anime and automatically draws you in to discover more.
The episodes of this anime are short, which is a real shame since the story is so compelling to watch straight off the first episode. Generally, the episodes are only around 12 minutes long, which includes opening credits, ending credits, and sometimes has a recap, extra scene, or a preview of the next episode. The small duration does make the show nicely ‘bitesize’, but the action, story, and concept do make the show feel like it deserves a duration between 20 to 30 minutes.
Within the first 10 episodes, you learn a great amount of the structure of this world, such as how people attack, the creatures that inhabit the map, and the society hierarchy. Its clear that death is highly likely, which adds to the suspense during the first few episodes. After the ground-work is laid by the first couple of episodes, you begin to learn more about the defining pieces of lore, which any great anime explains over time. There is also humor included so don’t worry, like all great anime, they balance serious and funny in a perfect ratio.
The fundamentals of the World of Fantasy lore include sigils, forging with Spirit materials, and using spirit auras as well as spirit Power in general. Each have their own properties that have their details revealed as anime fans would expect. It is also worth mentioning that warriors appear to have affinity for specific spirit types, including Qin with Lightning, and Gao with Wind. Whether or not they can only use these types is revealed later in the show.
The focus of World of Fantasy is clearly Qin Lie and he is set up to be a wild card, since his abilities surpass expectations of any he meets. Like many protagonists, he is a determined individual who deeply honors the bond with his childhood friends. It will be interesting to see how he develops as he learns more about his power, hones his skills, and works to become a master forger.
Ling Yu Shi is the most mysterious character so far. This is mainly due to her similar ability to the Nether race assassin seen in the beginning of the first episode. Although, as the goal is for Qin to find her, you only see her in the beginning before waiting to find out where she is. As for Gao Yu, he acts as a another perspective in to the story as he finds himself within the Nether Realm. This sets the show to have various story possibilities and adds to the suspense of the trio reuniting.
Overall, this show does contain a lot of unique features, which makes it an anime that really stands out. The show currently has 56 episodes, which you are able to watch freely with adverts, or without if you have an iQIYI membership. This is a production that can fully immerse anime fans and with its lores, it’s easy to invest time to find out what happens next.
If you would like to start watching World of Fantasy, use the iQIYI player link to begin enjoying this title;
What do you think of World of Fantasy? Does this pique your interest in Chinese Anime? What do you like about the ‘Spirit Power’ lore? Let us know in the comments below, or on social media, and keep following The Illuminerdi for a lot more Anime hype.
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