A new Bilbili-produced martial arts donghua, Back as Immortal Lord, is finally on its way, with an assumed premiere date some time in 2025.
The donghua was originally teased by Bilibili early last year, with no new information released for months after.
We did get a trailer at the time (which you can watch at the bottom of this article), and information that the animation company creating the donghua is LX Animation Studio (The Ravages of Time).
But, if the trailer is anything to go by, Back as Immortal Lord looks like it will feature superb animation, fast-paced action, and a fun plot.
The donghua, which is titled 仙帝歸來 in Chinese, is also known by the titles Return of the Divine Emperor, Return of the Immortal Emperor and Xian Di Guilai.
It is based on a novel by Chinese author 风无极光 (aka Fengwu Jiguang)
Bilibili explains the Back as Immortal Lord plot in this way:
The young warrior Yun Qingyan disappeared three years ago, seemingly vanishing without a trace, but in reality, he was swept into the immortal realm for three thousand years!
With his extraordinary talent, he rose to become one of the Ten Great Immortal Emperors, the Cloud Emperor. However, tired of the deception and intrigue of the immortal world, and yearning for his family, he decided to defy everything and forcefully return to the mortal realm.
To his surprise, his parents and younger sister also mysteriously went missing.
During his journey through space and time, he faced countless disasters, losing his magical artifacts and almost losing all of his cultivation. Taking advantage of this, various major forces began to hunt him down, and the Immortal Emperor became a target. His family was on the brink of destruction!
With his extraordinary talent as an Immortal Emperor, however, Yun Qingyan embarks on an adventure to revive his family, search for his missing loved ones, and restore order to the mortal realm by refining pills, setting up formations, and researching cultivation techniques, all while suppressing his enemies.
Yep, even though it’s yet another Chinese martial arts donghua, this one actually sounds interesting, and that animation looks amazing.
Watch the previously-released Back as Immortal Lord trailer. Now doesn’t that look like it will be super cool?
Entertainment journalist covering Japanese and Chinese anime industry for a decade.
Favorite donghua — World of Immortals, A Will Eternal, The Demon Hunter, Perfect World, Battle Through the Heavens, Fabulous Beasts, Spy x Sect, Soul Land, Tales of Herding Gods, Heaven Officials’ Blessing, Qi Refining for 3000 Years.