The Three-Body Problem in Minecraft

The Three-Body Problem in Minecraft
我的三体
GenreScience fiction, action, machinima
Based onThe Three-Body Problem and The Dark Forest by Liu Cixin
Directed byLi Zhenyi (李圳宜)
Country of originChina
Original languageMandarin
No. of seasons4
Original release
NetworkBilibili, AcFun
Release27 February 2014 (2014-02-27)

The Three-Body Problem in Minecraft (Chinese: 我的三体; pinyin: Wǒdè Sāntǐ; lit. 'My Three-Body') is a Chinese network animated series based on the science fiction novels The Three-Body Problem and The Dark Forest by Liu Cixin. Initially, the animation was an unofficial machinima doujin work, but from the second season onwards, it became an official adaptation.[1]

Production

The animation's director, Li Zhenyi (李圳宜), is a student studying at the University of Pau and the Adour Region and a fan of the Three-Body Problem. As he was often asked about the novel, he decided to use Minecraft to make an animated adaption of the work.[2] When he made the first episode, he was the only person involved aside from the voice actors, so he needed to adapt the screenplay, perform auditions, and design the levels. Due to technical, experience and financial constraints, the first season was relatively unprofessional, but nevertheless managed to attract others to help work on the production.[2] After the fourth episode, the creators set up a production team, and after the ninth, they all converted to animation production.[3]

With the debut of the second season, quality was further increased, with the addition of lighting and character expressions.[4] It also became an official adaptation, allowing the team to receive financial support and official licensing from the publishers of the original novel.[1]

Seasons

SeriesSubtitleEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1–1127 February 2014 (2014-02-27)6 October 2015 (2015-10-06)
2The Legend of Luo Ji119 June 2016 (2016-06-09)9 March 2018 (2018-03-09)
3The Legend of Zhang Beihai921 January 2020 (2020-01-21)10 March 2020 (2020-03-10)

The average episode lasts about 20 minutes.[5]

During the first season, there was a six-month gap between episodes 10 and 11. After the second episode of season two, updates were discontinued for a long time, before broadcasting began again in January 2018.[1]

Reception

Critical reception was largely positive. On the Chinese social website Douban and video website Bilibili, the animation received an overall rating of 9.7/10.[6][7][8]

According to the People's Daily, the creators' animation, voice-over work, scene design, and editing manages use the video-game-style pixel art into a production with a quality similar to sci-fi movies. They also commended the quality of the animation, especially in the third season.[9] The Paper also praised it, stating that since the production team were fans of the original novel, they could preserve the details that made it appealing, and make the adapted plot compelling and rich.[10]

In 2015, the production team was awarded the Silver Prize of the Xingyun Awards.[11]

Outside of China, users have uploaded the series onto YouTube, putting each season onto a playlist.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c "科幻巨著《三体》被动画化，前几集令人绝望，后面堪称神作！". Sohu.com (in Chinese). 7 February 2018. Archived from the original on 11 June 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b "当大家还在纠结《三体》电影版时，一群穷学生把它拍出来了。". Sohu.com (in Chinese). 25 January 2018. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  3. ^ "MC同人动画-我的三体 - 哔哩哔哩 (゜-゜)つロ 干杯". Bilibili (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  4. ^ "《我的世界》版《我的三体》新季预告片来袭：黑暗森林 - 我的世界,三体 - IT之家". ithome.com (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  5. ^ "《我的世界》打造《三体》动画《我的三体》完结 国内大神震撼制作 _ 游民星空 GamerSky.com". Gamersky.com (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 10 October 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  6. ^ Xiaowanzi (30 January 2018). "当我的世界遇上三体 像素游戏也能玩出好莱坞级大片". Yeyou.com (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  7. ^ "我的三体". Bilibili (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  8. ^ "How a Minecraft-Animated Three-Body Problem Show Became a Huge Hit". RADII. 15 April 2020. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  9. ^ "《我的三体之章北海传》：电影质感 精良改编--人民网娱乐频道--人民网". ent.people.com.cn. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  10. ^ "《我的三体之章北海传》：同人作品也可以成史诗_异次元_澎湃新闻". The Paper (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 10 October 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  11. ^ Minlin, Wang. "第六届全球华语科幻星云奖出炉 刘慈欣获最高成就奖". Sichuan News Network (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  12. ^ Liptak, Andrew (23 March 2020). "Watch The Three-Body Problem Adapted as a Minecraft-Style Animated Series". Tor.com. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.