With the Japanese animation industry struggling amid strict social distancing over the last few months, Chinese professionals seek different ways to adjust to the new situation.

The year 2019 was very good for Chinese animations. The animated film "Nezha" grossed total revenue of over 5 billion yuan on the Chinese mainland, becoming No. 2 on the box office chart covering all the films ever screened in the country. Earlier in 2019, another sensational animated film "White Snake" generated a domestic box office revenue of more than 450 million yuan.

But just as everyone in the industry was expecting a great season to come, COVID-19 came along.

"The uncertainty and problems we face in China right now mostly stem from a slowing economy. Fewer people are investing in animation, and broadcasters and screening platforms are less willing to pay for content because their revenues for advertisement are going down. But I'm confident that when the economy recovers, the situation will turn around," said film producer Hao Yu, also co-founder of Baozou Manhua. 

Although the current climate is far from favorable, Hao Yu's studio Baozou has already switched to innovations. The combination of animated film and video games is their new direction. And the big demand triggered by the pandemic has even speeded up the company's production.

Different from the Japanese animation industry, which has a long history of tradition in Two-dimensional hand drawing, many Chinese studios have already turned to Computer Graphics or CG technology. Light Chaser Animation, the production company behind the 2019 acclaimed animated movie White Snake, said the modern way of production is less affected even when telecommuting is required. As a result, the company hasn't lost a single day on its new production "Nezha Reborn."

Producer Lu Xi said they use generated assets and shots.

"Most of the work was to research the scenes to identify the common elements in them and to set up a resource library dedicated to special components. Then we could use the algorithm to mass-produce the models for the whole city and let the computers do the heavy lifting," said Lu.

Once again, boy-god "Nezha" is going to lead in an animated film. This time, he shows up as an ordinary man, some 3,000 years after defeating the Dragon King in mythological times. It's not a fairy tale anymore. The scenes are modern, real, and close to life. The production is planned to be put before the audience over the summer, giving that cinemas could reopen soon.

(Cover: A still from the film "Nezha Reborn" by Light Chaser Animation. /CGTN)