Cheng He Ti Tong 2 Concludes — iQIYI's Summer Animation Lineup Still Has These Aces!

Author / Liuliu

Edited by < The Reliable Editorial Desk >

Time to update your summer anime watchlist!

June has been a lively month for Chinese animation, with every platform frantically locking in release dates and one great show after another. Over on iQIYI Animation, the recently concluded What a Joke Season 2 has been hot since Chinese New Year — a 9.4 in-app rating, and its popularity never dipped in half a year of airing. Even after the finale, the danmaku hasn't stopped, fan works are flooding feeds, and new viewers are still jumping into the fandom. Before the buzz around What a Joke Season 2 fades, the summer lineup goodies are already on the way.

The Yudan couple's story has come to a pause for now, but iQIYI Animation's summer season is only just getting started. Ongoing year-long series include The Great Ruler Year 2 and Against the Gods Year, seasonal series like Ze Tian Ji, Sou Shen Ji, and Above Ten Thousand People are updating back to back, and three new titles — Feathering on a Chosen Day, Li Panda, and God of Wealth Dou Zhanlong — are queued up for release... Xuanhuan, wuxia, folklore, fantasy, suspense — everything a Chinese anime fan could want is here.

If you want great shows this summer, you really need to keep an eye on iQIYI Animation.

Airing continuously for six months, What a Joke Season 2 can easily be called one of iQIYI Animation's strongest titles of 2026.

Over 1.57 million pre-release reservations, an in-app popularity score that shot up to 5264 at launch, a 9.4 in-app rating — What a Joke Season 2 kept breaking iQIYI original animation records, swept the No. 1 spot across seven major platform charts, hit 42+ trending topics across the internet during its run, and sparked discussions across Douyin, Kuaishou, Weibo, Xiaohongshu, and other social platforms, hooking fans at home and abroad.

Data is cold, but audience discussion is the most direct proof. Open Douyin, Xiaohongshu, or Bilibili and scroll a bit — from "How are you" to "the Yudan couple," from "my wife Wanyin" to "little hot pot," memes and fan creations are everywhere. Just one glance at the comment sections tells you how much fans love this show.

Fans express their love very directly: fueled by passion, producing fan content nonstop. Across platforms, high-quality fan works of What a Joke Season 2 keep going viral: highlight reels of the Yudan couple's romance and career arcs, viral comedy modern-AU edits featuring ping pong / hot pot / English conversations, deep dives into the "chosen one" foreshadowing around Xie Yong'er... Cosplay, edits, illustrations, comics — every format you can think of.

According to official data, the #WhatAJoke hashtag has surpassed 7.03 billion views on Douyin and 160 million reads on Xiaohongshu, with over 50 videos racking up 100k+ likes. Many viewers joke: "The show got me hooked, and the fan works keep me captivated for hours."

The official team also gave a heartfelt send-off, repaying fans' long devotion. At the end of this story of laughter and tears, the Yudan couple returns to the modern world, and Wang Cuihua and Zhang San reunite across two lifetimes. The series has ended, but the story hasn't — a closure that makes viewers all the more willing to believe that every character is not a paper cutout, but a flesh-and-blood living being who will live happily ever after in a parallel world.

The Yudan couple's story has wrapped up, but the Chinese anime summer season is just beginning. iQIYI Animation has several new titles in hand, spanning different genres, each with its own reason to watch. Let's start with the three most anticipated.

A great novel by Zhai Zhu, author of Tales of Herding Gods, finally getting its anime adaptation.

If you're sick of the "work hard at cultivation and you'll ascend" formula, this one might be a refreshing change. The protagonist Xu Ying is a lowly snake-catching teenager, living an honest life until he witnesses a village god casually taking human lives — and in a fit of rage, he kills the god. From that one strike, he discovers that the entire cultivation system above his head isn't some path to heaven at all, but a game rigged by the upper realm, a scheme to harvest the people below. Those at the bottom grind themselves to death while those on top reap the profits.

This "anti-involution" core hits especially hard right now. The novel's alternate titles alone are 996 Cultivation, 007 Cultivation Too, Grind Till You Drop, and Nobody's Ascending, Damn It — the names alone are catnip for young audiences.

The visuals are bold too. Produced by China Film Niannian, the show blends folk elements like Nuo opera masks and incense-fire deity worship with Cthulhu-style dark aesthetics. Shots of awakened god statues and Nuo masters casting spells are eerie yet gripping — when the PV dropped, netizens praised it for "capturing the soul of Chinese horror." The suona blares, the chanting begins, and your scalp tingles just listening. If you're into this Chinese dark aesthetic, lock this one in now.

Domestic 2D animation is getting rarer and rarer, and true gems are scarcer still — Li Panda looks set to serve the core audience that loves premium 2D Chinese animation.

Put the production team on the table and any veteran anime fan will nod. Produced by Luoshui Flower Original and directed by Wang Xin, with experience on titles like Love Between Fairy and Devil, Dragon Raja, and Fox Spirit Matchmaker; action sequences supervised by Terumi Nishii, chief animation director of Jujutsu Kaisen — essentially the best of Chinese and Japanese 2D craft combined.

The protagonist Li Panda, a white-haired boy raised by the demon tribe, is sent down the mountain by his master to kill three enemies who destroyed the demon clan. The character design leans into guofeng wuxia, while the story weaves in interstellar sci-fi settings — two art styles colliding head-on. The battle shots in the PV are genuinely hype, with serious visual tension. If you want to see hand-drawn 2D donghua max out its action scenes, follow this one.

An animated adaptation of a Tianxia Bachang work — you can already picture it in your head.

Unlike Ghost Blows Out the Light's tomb-raiding treasure hunts, God of Wealth Dou Zhanlong goes for Republic-era treasure hunting with Chinese thriller vibes. The protagonist Dou Zhanlong is the reincarnation of the Treasure-Gathering Golden Toad, with piercing blue eyes and a blood feud from his massacred family — a seriously compelling setup. Escaping death and setting out on a treasure hunt, braving danger far from home, getting rich through nine near-death experiences — this kind of dramatic conflict delivers natural satisfaction for anime watchers.

The PV's bold dark aesthetics and Chinese horror elements have earned widespread praise — it's on a completely different wavelength from donghua currently on the market, and could leverage its first-mover advantage to own this niche.

"Release it now!" "I'm crying from impatience!"... The PV danmaku and official account comment sections of these titles have been overrun by fans begging for updates. Which one becomes this summer's Chinese anime dark horse? Once the episodes hit the table, it's up to the audience to savor and judge.

The upcoming summer releases are worth watching, and iQIYI Animation's ongoing year-long series can carry your weekly anime fix just fine.

​First, the shows currently airing:

The classic xuanhuan 3D epic The Great Ruler Year 2 has leveled up in both production and storytelling. The powerhouse couple Mu Chen and Luo Li get both a growth arc and sweet pure-love moments, and the show has entered the mainstream of the platform's year-long series competition. Meanwhile, The Great Ruler Year 2 ties into its predecessors Battle Through the Heavens and Wu Dong Qian Kun, with cameos from beloved characters like the Flame Emperor, Xiao Xiao, and Lin Dong — earning fan approval and becoming essential viewing for fans of the "Tianshan Tudou universe."

Against the Gods Year, which premiered in April, delivers pure "satisfaction": the defiant Yun Che defies the heavens, slaps faces, and builds a harem, all to live this life without regrets. With all the classic male-lead donghua tropes assembled, plus the continuous upgrades in art design and visual presentation that year-long series enjoy, this anime is high-octane from start to finish.

Seasonal series have goodies too. Ze Tian Ji is currently playing out the classic Zhou Garden arc, where leads Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong are about to finally meet — from childhood sweethearts to mutual protectors, those who know, know. Produced by Shenman Culture, with full-throttle 3D visuals and exquisite character art, it's a treat for the eyes.

The adventure of Sou Shen Ji keeps escalating: the Tanggu barrier's seal has broken, and the suspense over who stays and who goes is at its peak. The just-premiered Above Ten Thousand People opens with a sect war, and its underdog little martial arts school story defies formulas — no small feat.

​More new titles ahead — bookmark now and wait for updates:

Tony Wong's classic Hong Kong manhua Emperor's Legend series is getting its first OVA anime adaptation. The Hongwu Emperor arc and the Ji Fa arc focus on Zhu Yuanzhang's underdog rise and King Wu's conquest of Zhou respectively, offering fresh interpretations of classic historical figures within a traditional wuxia framework — great news for Hong Kong manhua fans.

Bei Xue, adapted from the novel of the same name by Xiao Duan, master of mainland New Wuxia, maintains quality while delving deep into themes of history, nation, and loyalty, chronicling heroes in a chaotic age.

The popular manhua Cheng Ye Xiao He has been officially greenlit for animation, featuring both heated esports battles and sweet campus romance — this much-anticipated esports title could be the next dark horse.

From year-long series to seasonal shows, from xuanhuan to fantasy, from female-lead hits to Chinese suspense, iQIYI Animation has great shows lined up nonstop. Your watchlist seat is ready — let's get hooked together.