Michelle Topham 
The latest PV has arrived for the upcoming Chinese martial arts-themed action/adventure donghua Beyond Time’s Gaze, and I’ve got to say this one looks spectacular.
The new Beyond Time’s Gaze PV begins with protagonist Xu Qing arriving in a frontier town during in a post-apocalyptic wasteland and seeing nothing but devastation and destruction around him as starving people fight on the ground for meat that has been thrown to animals.
We then see him buying health elixirs, but being harassed by a man who tells Xu Qing if he lets him have the elixirs, he won’t kill him.
Of course, while Xu Qing may look like he won’t stand up to anyone, that isn’t the case at all as the man finds out when he is alone in a dark alley and Xu Qing quietly comes up behind him with a knife.
Yep, the world of Beyond Time’s Gaze is brutal and vicious, but it’s pretty obvious Xu Qing will figure out his way through it.
What is the Beyond Time’s Gaze plot?
The Chinese donghua, which is titled 光阴之外 in Mandarin Chinese), is based on the novel of the same name by prolific Chinese author Er Gen (Renegade Immortal).
Baidu describes the Beyond Time’s Gaze plot like this:
Beyond Time tells the story of the protagonist Xu Qing, who gradually grows from a scavenger in Nanhuang Continent to a heaven-defying cultivator on the ancient continent polluted by the remnants of gods.
The story unfolds through the intertwining and conflict of various forces such as the Seven Blood Eyes, Fenghai County, and the Sacrifice Moon Domain, as the protagonist and his close friend Chen Erniu, his master Zixuan Shangxian and other characters work together to fight against the threat of gods such as the “Red Moon Red Mother”.
The work innovatively incorporates the settings of “Life Lamp” and “Royal-level Cultivation Technique” into the cultivation system, and constructs a diverse worldview that spans star rings, such as the “Primordial Sea” and the “Fifth Star Ring”.
In the main storyline of adventure and growth, it interweaves profound reflections on fate, sacrifice and transcendence.
Beyond Time’s Gaze is animated by Yien Animation Studio (Eclipse of Illusion), and Flying Fish Studio (Word of Honor 2).
The first two episodes of the martial arts donghua are scheduled to premiere on December 28th on YOUKU, both in China and internationally, and on Viki in some regions.
And my sense is, if you enjoyed The Demon Hunter or Eclipse of Illusion, both of which tell brilliant stories about people in devastated worlds, this one should be right up your alley as its protagonist has the same sense of moral goodness as do Meng Chuan and Yun Wangshu, and even features similar music on its soundtrack.
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Steven Reynolds