Donghua Fan

Perfect World

Manhua

Perfect World — the manhua

At a glance10 volumes

Perfect World — the manhua

Before the donghua, Perfect World was adapted into a full-colour manhua serialized in Shen Man (神漫) magazine. Drawn by Hou Sai Lei (猴赛雷), it produced 10 collected volumes between 2017 and 2019, following Shi Hao's childhood in the Great Wilderness.

Origins and publication

Shen Man is one of the magazines specialising in comic adaptations of web novels, which also ran Swallowed Star, Shrouding the Heavens and Throne of Seal. The Perfect World manhua joined it in 2017. Its collected volumes moved between several publishers over the years, from Zhejiang People's Fine Arts to Jiangsu Phoenix, as often happens with long-running series.

Volume covers

All 10 volumes of the print edition.

  • Perfect World — the manhua — cover of volume 1Vol. 1
  • Perfect World — the manhua — cover of volume 2Vol. 2
  • Perfect World — the manhua — cover of volume 3Vol. 3
  • Perfect World — the manhua — cover of volume 4Vol. 4
  • Perfect World — the manhua — cover of volume 5Vol. 5
  • Perfect World — the manhua — cover of volume 6Vol. 6
  • Perfect World — the manhua — cover of volume 7Vol. 7
  • Perfect World — the manhua — cover of volume 8Vol. 8
  • Perfect World — the manhua — cover of volume 9Vol. 9
  • Perfect World — the manhua — cover of volume 10Vol. 10

How it differs from the donghua

The manhua predates the donghua by four years and offers a more angular Shi Hao, in a very "magazine manhua" style with saturated colours. It lingers on the beasts of the Great Wilderness, which the art makes more impressive than the 3D of the time. But it follows the novel more slowly and did not get as far into the story as the animated series.

Reception and success

The manhua did its job as a teaser before the animation, with a loyal audience among Shen Man readers. It remains less known than the donghua, which has overshadowed most of the franchise's other adaptations. Its colourful covers have nonetheless left a mark on collectors.

Trivia

  • The 10 collected volumes came out between September 2017 and December 2019.
  • Shen Man also published the manhua of Shrouding the Heavens, Chen Dong's other great saga.
  • Each volume cover features a different character, including several of the novel's female figures.
  • The series changed publisher four times for its collected volumes.

My take

A pleasant manhua whose colours and creatures are a joy to look at. The faces lack a little finesse and the pacing is uneven, but it captures the adventurous spirit of Shi Hao's childhood well. I recommend it as a complement to the donghua rather than as an entry point.

Who is it for?Shi Hao fans who want another take on his beginnings, and lovers of huge mythological creatures.

— Spidermas, for Donghua Fan

Chen DongThe authorChen Dong 辰东Qidian's "god of plot holes"
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