Donghua Fan

Soul Land

Manhua

Soul Land — Mu Fengchun's manhua

At a glanceover 69 volumes · ongoing

Soul Land — Mu Fengchun's manhua

Long before the donghua, Soul Land first lived as a comic. The manhua drawn by Mu Fengchun (穆逢春) began on 2 July 2010 in Zhiyin Manke magazine, just after Tang Jia San's novel had wrapped up. Fifteen years later it is still running and has passed 69 collected volumes in China.

Origins and publication

The project was first run by Zhiyin Dongman, publisher of Zhiyin Manke, one of China's best-selling manhua magazines in the early 2010s. The first collected volume came out in April 2011. In 2015 the series left the magazine for Fengxuan Culture, which launched its own title (Fengxuan Manhua) and took over production from volume 28. Since 2019 new chapters have been released online, on Tencent Animation, Kuaikan and Bilibili Comics, and exclusively on the Fanqie platform since 2023.

Like many long-running manhua, Soul Land is a studio effort. Mu Fengchun handled the adaptation and the early artwork, and several lead artists have followed one another over the years.

Volume covers

The first 12 volumes of the print edition, out of 69 released.

  • Soul Land — Mu Fengchun's manhua — cover of volume 1Vol. 1
  • Soul Land — Mu Fengchun's manhua — cover of volume 2Vol. 2
  • Soul Land — Mu Fengchun's manhua — cover of volume 3Vol. 3
  • Soul Land — Mu Fengchun's manhua — cover of volume 4Vol. 4
  • Soul Land — Mu Fengchun's manhua — cover of volume 5Vol. 5
  • Soul Land — Mu Fengchun's manhua — cover of volume 6Vol. 6
  • Soul Land — Mu Fengchun's manhua — cover of volume 7Vol. 7
  • Soul Land — Mu Fengchun's manhua — cover of volume 8Vol. 8
  • Soul Land — Mu Fengchun's manhua — cover of volume 9Vol. 9
  • Soul Land — Mu Fengchun's manhua — cover of volume 10Vol. 10
  • Soul Land — Mu Fengchun's manhua — cover of volume 11Vol. 11
  • Soul Land — Mu Fengchun's manhua — cover of volume 12Vol. 12

The French edition

  • ManhuaSoul LandNazca Éditions · 2020–2023at least 14 volumes out · status to be confirmed

Checked on October 12, 2026 in the BnF catalogue (French legal deposit) and with the publishers. All French editions

How it differs from the donghua

The manhua predates the donghua by eight years and set the characters' first official look: a colourful anime style with huge eyes, far from the realistic 3D Tencent chose in 2018. The panelling follows the novel closely, but the comic takes its time: it took hundreds of chapters to cover the book's 336. Fans will find scenes the animation cut short, and a lighter, more comedic tone, especially in the early volumes at Shrek Academy.

Reception and success

Serialized in one of the country's most widely read magazines, the manhua introduced Soul Land to a whole generation of Chinese middle-schoolers before streaming platforms took over. Its longevity is rare: few Chinese manhua have passed the 60-volume mark. The changes of lead artist have divided readers, though, with some missing the style of the early years.

Trivia

  • In 2023 Mu Fengchun announced he would return to redraw chapters 332 to 344 for the move to Fanqie. In March 2024, however, he said on Douyin that a new lead artist was replacing him.
  • The series has changed print publisher four times in China, from Changjiang to Sichuan Fine Arts, which explains the differences in design between volumes.
  • Several editions coexist, including a revised 34-volume version (2017) and a 5-volume collector's edition (2023).
  • The first collected volume came out in April 2011 from Changjiang Publishing, less than a year after the first chapter.

My take

I have a soft spot for the early volumes: Mu Fengchun's art has the charm of 2010s magazine manhua, lively, expressive and a little rough. It is the best way in for anyone who finds the donghua's 3D too stiff. Over time the quality varies with the teams, and the very drawn-out pacing can wear thin. I mostly recommend it for the Shrek Academy arc, where it is at its best.

Who is it for?Readers who prefer drawings to 3D, and fans who want to relive Tang San's beginnings with a lighter tone.

— Spidermas, for Donghua Fan

Tang Jia SanThe authorTang Jia San 唐家三少The king of online writers
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