iQIYI’s original Chinese animation lineup levels up again, as “How Dare You” Season 2, “Way of Choices” and “The Great Ruler” open up fresh Eastern fantasy experiences.
Anti-genre time-travel, ancient fantasy adventures and high-energy coming-of-age stories arrive together, inviting audiences around the world to dive into Chinese animation.
“How Dare You” Season 2 continues its anti-genre time-travel set-up, throwing Xiahoudan and Yu Wanyin back into the power struggle around Prince Duan and the Empress Dowager’s remaining faction at court.
As schemes and assassination attempts keep escalating, this pairing grows from a comedic duo into true partners who trust each other with their lives, blending sweet and heartbreaking moments with a tight, fast pace.
The new season upgrades its animation technology, art design and lighting, delivering more detailed character looks and richer palace visuals. “How Dare You” Season 2 launched on January 25 on iQIYI Anime, and a live-action drama adaptation of “How Dare You” starring Wang Churan and Cheng Lei will also arrive on iQIYI soon.
“Way of Choices” follows Chen Changsheng, a boy foretold not to live past the age of twenty, who walks into the Divine Capital with a marriage contract in hand, determined to change his fate.
There he meets Xu Yourong, Luoluo and other companions, and slowly finds himself drawn into a much larger game between four forces: humans, demons, fiends and divine clans.
Built around a structure of cultivation, trials and intense confrontations, the series tracks how a young man grows and makes tough choices, while its ancient-style settings and epic-leaning score create a fantasy world with a strong Eastern flavor. It invites viewers to enjoy a coming-of-age story about rewriting destiny and living with the consequences of each decision.
“The Great Ruler” S2 returns in a year-long season format, with 52 episodes of around 15 minutes each, streaming continuously on iQIYI from January 9.
Set against the backdrop of the “Grand World” and an invasion by the outer-realm evil Tian Xieshen, the story follows Mu Chen as he leaves the Northern Spirit Realm and, together with his beloved Luo Li, goes through training in the Spirit Light Realm, inter-academy exchanges and the Spirit Academy Tournament.
Battle by battle, he grows stronger on his path to becoming a guardian of all living beings. The season also weaves together the worlds of “Battle Through the Heavens” and “Martial Universe”, merging the three franchises into the new “Grand World” concept.
With even more dynamic fight scenes and a clearer growth arc, “The Great Ruler” S2 is set to keep global fantasy fans coming back week after week.
Beyond these titles, iQIYI is also lining up new 3D fantasy series such as “In Search of Gods” and the sequel “Against the Gods”, along with the 2D female-focused series “TO BE WINNER”.
With this multi-genre, multi-style creative slate, the platform will continue to bring global audiences more original Chinese animation that combines rich Eastern imagination with the excitement of genre storytelling. Stay tuned to iQIYI for more to come.
