Synopsis:
A unique Chinese folkloric suspense anime, set to be the shocking and thrilling masterpiece of 2025! The story follows college student Gao Ying, who, on his way to university, accidentally stumbles into the Great Qing Hotel in Nanting Village. There, he encounters a series of bizarre events and unexpectedly awakens the long-sealed Prince Zhennan, Yin Ting. He is then dragged into a century-spanning catastrophe involving mysterious forces like the Tai Sui and ancient Shamanic powers.
Genre: Thriller, Fantasy
Number of episode: 16
Studio: 2:10 Animation
Type: 2D Animation
Where to watch?: WeTV
Douban score: 7.3
Tencent rating: 9.5 (with > 164k raters)
My rating: Love to Watch
Status: Season 1 complete. Waiting for Season 2
Recommended if you like:
- Fantasy story with horror element
- Story about friendship and family
- Something angst. It’s actually quite tragic, although it also has comedy scenes
What I Like
- The story blends folk legends, historical, and urban legends. There is horror and suspense element too.
- I like the protagonists, Gao Ying & Yin Ting. I’ve read a review where the reviewer drop the donghua because the reviewer think Gao Ying is weak & not cool. But honestly, the point of The Chosen One is not about coolness. It’s about tragedy, sacrifice, & people’s fight to break free from the shackles of their fate. The Chosen One & The Heavenly Connected One is destined to have a tragic fate where Yin Ting has to choose between saving Gao Ying or saving the world.
My Other Comments
- There’s some comments that said the donghua didn’t captured the eerie vibe, tension and the emotional build-up in the manhua perfectly. But as a donghua-only watcher, I think this donghua is a good watch. It sufficiently evoke emotion.
- I feel that they can do better if this donghua has more episodes. Because there’s many thing that still left behind much mysteries. One of thing that I really want to know is the motivation of the villain. Why are those villains want Tai Sui so much? As far as I know, in the donghua it was explained that if Tai Sui descend to mortal realm, the world will be destroyed. How will the world destruction benefit them? I still wonder about the ending but I think next session will elaborate more.
Other Fun Facts
- The Chosen One is adapted from popular manhua. The manhua has won various awards, including Golden Dragon Awards.
- The name of the manhua & donghua is 谷围南亭 (Guwei Nanting). 谷围 refer to Xiaoguwei Island, but it’s also homonym with gui (ghost). Nanting Village is in Xiaoguwei Island. The author onced live in Nanting Village and he use it as the setting of his manhua.
My Donghua Review 
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