Ling Long or also known by many names such as Ling Cage: Incarnation, or Spirit Cage; this donghua had been in the foreground of science-fiction in Chinese animation and was considered to be the most expensive upon its release. A few years after its initial release in 2019, Ling Long still remains one of the well-received donghua among fans as it tackles various themes that highlight human nature in different forms.
The setting is in a post-apocalyptic Earth where humanity had been in declined after a catastrophic event that involves massive earthquakes. Now, humanity has to cope and face this familiar world but with a strange presence. This is where the story takes us off on an exciting and thrilling journey of survival.
For sure, fans must have been looking for more donghua or anime like Ling Long: Incarnation and that is why we come up with this list of recommendations to help you discover some more interesting sci-fi journeys that share similar antics or vibes to it.
10 Donghua & Anime Like Ling Long: Incarnation
Knights on Debris
A sci-fi donghua that features space exploration by humanity. However, journeying to unknown land always comes with a danger, and such had been the case in this donghua where one soul had to do his best to survive and return home but what will he do when an alien comes at him and disrupted his plan? Just like Ling Long, Knights on Debris features demonic and peculiar creatures.
FOREORDINATION
Another donghua is set in space and features humanity’s fight against an alien race. It is animated by studio CHOSEN and follows an exciting journey of survival against a powerful enemy.
Swarm
Another donghua from Studio CHOSEN, Swarm or Hei Men is a story of humanity as they stand at the crossroads of evolution. It has a different vibe than Foreordination or Knights on Debris but still falls on the same antics of science fiction that we admire from Ling Long: Incarnation.
Dr. Stone
A familiar anime to many, Dr. Stone is a post-apocalyptic shounen anime from Japan albeit it has a rather positive and light-hearted narrative compared to the darker Ling Long: Incarnate. The anime features humanity’s almost extinction, as almost the entire human population had been turned to stone, just quite similar to the opening of Ling Long: Incarnate when human corpses had been in a solid corroding and statue-like state.
The Infinitors
This is another new horror and supernatural donghua from Bilibili this 2022, quite similar to Swarm, and also shares some antics with Japanese mystery and thriller anime, The Infinitors mostly involves themes that concern humanity’s moral standard and to what extent we are capable of for the sake of our desires.
RUN=DIM
An action and sci-fi anime from Japan in 2001, this features another post-apocalyptic scenario the Japanese government had formed a special force to dispose of nuclear wastes into outer space. The anime follows the journey of a member of this special force along with her friends as they embarked to save the Earth from destruction.
A Farewell to Weapons
Buki yo Saraba | Based on a manga of the same name by Katsuhiro Ootomo, this Japanese anime is part of the 4 standalone film anthology called SHORT PEACE in 2013. Buki yo Saraba follows the story of a group of soldiers who are sent to a ghost city on a mission to destroy an automated sentry.
The Three-Body Problem
Next on our list is the upcoming sci-fi donghua The Three-Body Problem is scheduled for release on December 10, 2022 on Bilibili. It is based on the Hugo Award-winning novel by Liu Cixin and is animated by YHKT Entertainment, the same studio behind Ling Long: Incarnation.
The Invasion of Awakening
This donghua features the cruel battle between humanity against artificial intelligence in the future. Often the topic of many science fiction novels and movies, The Invasion of Awakening shares many tropes with them and this is probably one of the few shows that tackle this theme in Chinese animation. It is animated and produced by Oriental Creative Color.
Blue Remains
A movie from 2001, Blue Remains is quite similar to Ling Long: Incarnate and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. When Earth had been barren because of nuclear wastes, humanity has to find ways to survive since living on the surface is now deadly. Hence, the few surviving people were forced to live underwater.
