The year is almost over and we have finally decided to share our list of the best boys-love and bromance donghua (Chinese anime) of 2021 as this had been the genre that caught the hearts of many fans from all over the world and help the spread of the love and appreciation towards Chinese animation despite all the censorship it went through back to its home.
2021 has been a great year for Chinese animation as we get to know some of the best works that we had in recent years, and some had even broken through international barriers and were able to captivate the hearts of many fans. In this post, we will highlight our best bl donghua of 2021 that features genuine brotherly bonds, bromance, and anything adorable and fantastic that could make us all gay more than ever.
Some of these bl donghua had been well-received domestically in China, and some had been a huge hit and immediate favorite globally such as Link Click which had been considered by many as the best donghua of the year. Now, let’s take a look at them one by one and learn why they had been our top bromance and bl donghua of 2021.
Best Bromance & BL Donghua of 2021
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: The Final Season
Mo Dao Zu Shi. Fans can’t talk about the Chinese boys-love story without mentioning the epic Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation which released their final season this year and led us all to a satisfying conclusion. Despite the heavy censorship, the series was able to drop a lot of signals that simply show how special is the relationship of Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, and these hints are as delightful as any other fanservice that we can all get from it.
It also fills almost every hole in the story, giving us some of the most dramatic and heartbreaking revelations, albeit I believed that it left some holes open and we haven’t been able to properly address it until the end. Nevertheless, the Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji-focused stories had been trying fantastic from start to end.
Thousand Autumns
Shan He Jian Xin. Who would ever enjoy the intricate bromance of Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi from Thousand Autumns? This is like yin and yang, the unlikely brotherhood between the pure good and pure evil, one dares to stay true to his principles and beliefs, while the other one tries to dilute the other.
These are all narrated in entertaining and intriguing storytelling, making every episode a scene to behold. The politics in the martial arts world are rather boring and we had seen this a lot of times, but Thousand Autumns had been spectacularly catchy, all thanks to the undeniable charisma of the main characters, and their genuinely good chemistry.
Link Click
Shiguang Daili Ren. Technically not a danmei (boys-love), but the bromance is as good as any other bl donghua we had out there. Link Click is a basket of many flavors, it has mystery, drama, crime, supernatural, comedy, and a whole lot more. In the center of them, all is the unique and rather delicate relationship of Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang, and we are still clueless when it comes to their story, the source of their ability, and the fate that they both share.
Related Post: Link CLick Season 2 Had Been Revealed by Bilibili
Drowning Sorrows in Raging Fire
Lie Huo Jiao Chou. I felt like this is Link Click but in a more subtle boys-love setup. It follows the story of a supernatural and a demon, in a thousand-year-old conspiracy. It’s action-packed and hilarious, and sometimes, we were all just left in awe in appreciation of how overwhelming and handsome the boys were, aren’t we? I love the animation quality albeit it’s quite peculiar especially to those who are not familiar with CGI animation. Nonetheless, this is a really good danmei series.
Legend of Exorcism Season 2
Tian Bao Fuyao Lu. From the light atmosphere from the 1st season, Legend of Exorcism went to full drama this time and it shows us some enticing moments between our favorite boys. What I love about Legend of Exorcism Season 2 is the sudden shift of the focus to Mo Rigen and his White Deer, as well as the truly adorable moments between Li Jinglong and Hongjun. We had been introduced to some more conflicts but it hasn’t truly been solved right now and just add on piles of challenges that our boys must surpass.
Epic of Divinity Light
Dinghai Fusheng Lu. Now, here’s a donghua that has been adapted from the prequel novel of Tian Bao Fuyao Lu (Legend of Exorcism) and is an adorable BL donghua of 2021. I love how we have a rather different type of characters here compared to its sequel. Epic of Divinity Light is more of an adventure story and we definitely love how divine and peculiar is the fate that our main characters have shared.
The Outcast Season 4
You might be asking why a very shounen-donghua is listed as a bromance or boys-love series here? Well, in particular, it is not a danmei or BL, but The Outcast Season 4 has given us a considerable amount of bromance scenes that I think are worth mentioning here. While we all love the dynamic duo of sister Feng Baobao and Zhang Chulan, Hitori no Shita: The Outcast Season 4 has truly had a splendid time highlighting Zhang Chulan and Wang Zhenqiu, and we are all living for it.
The Defective
Can Ci Pin. This is another donghua that has been adapted from a BL novel by Priest, who also wrote the novel where Drowning Sorrows in Raging Fire had been based off. This one had a rather different feel than the others in this list, it’s quite futuristic and has that science fiction vibes that set it apart from the martial arts and cultivation feels of the others here.
So, these are all our top bromance and BL donghua of 2021. I suggest that you better be ready for next year, as we will be having plenty of boys-love donghua next years such as Warm Sun (SAYE), PUBG Mobile, Liu Yao, Heaven Official’s Blessing Season 2, and many more.
Have you guys watched any of the series that I had mentioned above? Which one do you think is the best BL anime from China this year?
Related Post: My Top Chinese Anime of 2021 (Donghua) So Far
