Min Diao Ju Yi Wen Lu or The Bureau of Paranormal Investigation
I’m not going to lie, I am very new to the world of Chinese animation. I found Mo Dao Zu Shi or The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation only about 4 months ago and have amerced myself in as much content as is readily available when it comes to the works of MXTX.
This show is not by MXTX, but it is created by the same studio that created the donghua of Mo Dao Zu Shi, BCMay. They are also responsible for the first season of The King’s Avatar. Both of which are fantastic examples of extremely well done story telling and the combined 2d/3d cell shaded animation that Chinese animation is becoming famous for. If you have not watched them yet, I highly suggest you find them on Youtube and give them a look. Neither are dubbed into English, but the English subtitles are very good, if a little fast.
Min Diao Ju Yi Wen Lu - based off of a web novel of the same name by Erdong Shui Shou - is a urban fantasy drama set in the near future. A quick search for a translation of the novel does offer one at NovelUpdates. I have not read it yet, but I’ll be getting to it soon. Our main protagonist is Shen Shuang, a member of a drug enforcement team that gets caught up in a supernatural event that triggers a latent ability within him. He survives the event along with undercover agent Sun Desheng and the squadron captain, who is gravely injured, when they are rescued by Wu Hao, a man with long white hair and mysterious powers.
Both Shuang and Desheng are recruited into the agency Min Diao, though that recruitment is less voluntary and more ‘No really you are working for us now get over it’.
I’m not going to spoil anything beyond the first two episodes for the series, because I think it is really worth a look. The animation is really well done with a melding of 2D and 3D cell shaded art that really works well... with a few exceptions here and there. It is visually stunning and a feast for the eyes.
There are a few flaws with this show. One is that we are given very little personal information about the characters, especially at first. It is very hard to give a crap about any of them when I know next to nothing about them. There is also the fact that the overweight Sun Desheng is called ‘Fatty’ rather than his name. It is 2020 guys, enough with the fat shaming. These issues are exacerbated by a complete lack of a professional translation.
The only one I have been able to find is by Noobiesubs on Youtube. I am eternally grateful for their efforts because without them I would not have been able to understand anything that was going on. Unfortunately, Noobiesubs didn’t do a straight out translation. Rather they would put a x2 for any repeated dialog and they have a habit of making comments about dramatic moments like ‘uh oh’ or ‘badass’ which are jarring and distracting. Beggars can’t be choosers and I’m just glad there is any kind of translation available, but the unsolicited commentary makes the rest of the translation suspect.
Without a better, more professional, translation it will be very hard to garner interest in the West and I really think this series deserves more attention.