Chinese online video streaming platform Tencent Video has sold its animated action/adventure series Blades of the Guardians (15 x 20’ plus 8 x 20’) to ADN (Animation Digital Network), a major European subscription-based VOD and OTT platform, specializing in animated content from around the world.
The deal is the latest step in Tencent Video’s strategy to make a long-term commitment to animation, which it sees as a genre with huge opportunity for potential and growth. The company is actively seeking more global partners to help bring its animated projects to a wider international audience.
Based on the best-selling manhua comics, Blades of the Guardians begins as a period of terror and fear reigns in history. Dao Ma is a mercenary who travels through the desert of the Western Regions, carving out a living by the strength of his arm and the power of his sword. As civil unrest beckons, Dao Ma accepts a seemingly straightforward escort mission to the capital of Chang’an and soon finds himself thrust into a bloody intrigue involving Imperial conspirators.
Three years in the making, Blades of the Guardians uses animated artistry to immerse viewers in ancient China’s Western desert, and bring the historical heroes of the Sui and Tang dynasties to screen for a modern audience. It is produced by Tencent Penguin Pictures in association with Coloured Pencil Animation.
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