DRAMATIC TURNAROUND
Adapted from a hit web novel, the Chinese fantasy drama Martial Universe is proving popular overseas despite meeting with a tepid response back home, Xu Fan reports.
As one of the latest Chinese fantasy tales to grab headlines overseas, Martial Universe has aired in 18 countries and regions, and is due to make forays into more foreign markets, according to it's producers.
Adapted from a popular online novel, the series fictionalizes the coming-of-age story of a reluctant hero, Lin Dong. The mischievous yet talented teenager from a fallen martial arts family, accidentally discovers he has magic powers which draws him into a series of adventures. What unfolds not only changes his destiny, but also rewrites the history of his fictional land.
The novel, Wu Dong Qian
Kun (Martial Arts Reshapes the World), was written and published online in 2011 by renowned web novelist, Li Hu, who is better known by his pseudonym Tiancan Tudou, quickly garnering around 32 million views within the space of a just few months.
As a mark of the novel’s growing popularity overseas, the drama has been ranked ninth on the most-watched lists, both for this week and this month on wuxiaworld.com, the largest Chinese-to-English translation platform in the world.
Chinese pop idol Yang Yang, who has a following of 41 million fans on Sina Weibo, headlines as the protagonist Lin who ends up as a powerful martial arts hero by the end of the story. The starstudded cast also includes actress Zhang Tian’ai, Wang Likun and Chinese Bruneian singer-actor Wu Chun.
The first season of the drama, which runs for a total of 40 episodes, aired on Shanghai-based Dragon TV and the Youku video-streaming platform between Aug 7 and Sept 19, and will be followed up by a second season of 20 episodes, which will debut on Youku on Oct 11.
Zhang Wei, chief producer of the series and CEO of its production firm, Azure Media Corporation, says the first season of Martial Universe initially opened in 18 countries and regions, including Malaysia, Brunei, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, as well as being available to view on YouTube.
Although the series has received mixed reviews domestically, it seems to have been met with a better reception overseas, with Viki — a US-headquartered site which mainly streams Asian dramas — awarding it 8.7 points out of ten and IMDb — a popular online TV and movie database — giving it 8.3 points.
“China’s film and television markets are expanding quickly. Before the screening, some foreign buyers approached us to ask about securing the overseas distribution rights,” recalls Zhang, who adds that they plan to launch the series in South Korea and Japan.
Unlike many palacethemed dramas, a popular genre revolving around intrigue and scheming in the royal court, overseas audiences tend to find Chinese fantasy tales easier to identify with.
“They‘re quite similar to superhero stories like SpiderMan. The protagonists were once ordinary people, but they turn into extraordinary heroes by chance. These kinds of stories don’t require audiences to have any specific knowledge about Chinese history,” explains Zhang.
The translators who created the English subtitles for the series also worked hard to make sure the concepts behind the martial arts clans less confusing to Western audiences, adds Zhang.
With its big budget, the series involves a variety of special effects sequences and techniques to recreate the spectacles and magical creatures depicted in the novel.
Another highlight of the series is the directorship of Zhang Li, who is known as one of China’s top TV drama directors thanks to hits like For the Sake of the Republic of China, and Ming Dynasty in 1566.
Martial Universe marks the 61-year-old director’s shift from serious historicalthemed dramas to fantasy stories.
Speaking about the decision to leave his comfort zone, Zhang Li says he wanted to convey the message that he’s always willing to take on fresh challenges.
“Fantasy dramas require a high degree imaginative thinking, something lacking for most Chinese content makers,” he says.
“When we talk about fantasy stories, domestic audiences are quick to compare homegrown titles with slick international productions like Marvel’s superhero films,” says the director.
“But to be honest, we have yet to develop a mature procedure and the right technology to produce comparable epics — but it’s a goal we can certainly strive for,” he adds.