A heartwrenching story is about to invade the donghua community in Warm Sun (Nuan Yang) which is the Chinese anime adaptation of SAYE, a drama and psychological slice of life novel that revolves around the story Jiang Cheng and Gu Fei, a story of two young men who find solace, hope and salvation in the presence of one another.
Photo credit: Colored Pencil Animation, Tencent Penguin Pictures
This is a wild ride of emotions that many fans of Chinese boys-love anime might want to dig a bit deeper than usual as it promises a lot of interesting twists and modern storytelling that revolves around the intimate friendship of two men as opposed to the usual historical BL donghua that we had through all these years. If the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, Heaven Official’s Blessing, Scumbag System, etc are among the popular BL donghua set in Ancient China, Saye is the one that will take the attention of fans who prefer a modern setting.
SAYE Anime – Warm Sun (Nuan Yang) Announcement
SAYE anime adaptation was first announced during the Tencent Video Animation 2021 Conference that took place last August 8 where the Chinese company had revealed to the public its list of upcoming projects that includes sequels and returning series, adapted works, and original animation.
Tencent has revealed that Saye anime adaptation will be titled Nuan Yang or Warm Sun. The novel was written by Wu Zhe and was first published in 2016 which runs for 145 chapters with 5 extras. If you wish to read the novel, you can check it at Novel Updates.
Here’s a trivia, Saye is written by Wu Zhe who also wrote Jie Yao (Antidote) and other dramatic novels such as Wolf’s Love, Qing Kuang, A Lucky Coin, Unbridled, and Melted City.
In 2020, another novel of Wu Zhe had been adapted into donghua, it was Jie Yao (Antidote) which was animated by Seven Stone Entertainment and produced by bilibili. It’s one of my all-time favorite donghua, so if you like soft bromance and a whole lot of drama with the right amount of adorable moments, I highly urge you to check it out too as well as its novel and manhua adaptation.
The novel also inspired a manhua adaptation titled Saye by Zuo Er Cong Yue and illustrated by Yao Xi, with the original story credited to Wu Zhe. It starts releasing on March 27, 2021 on Kuaikan Manhua.
Saye Synopsis
I wish to have you by my left shoulder, with a smile by my right—I wish to run freely in your eyes. —I wish for one look to last a lifetime. Jiang Cheng, an accomplished student, was “exiled” to the steel mill where his biological father worked. This strange, foreign environment, coupled with his rather vulgar biological father, caused Jiang Cheng to feel quite depressed. That is, until one day, he met Gu Fei, the “Delinquent of the Steel Mill”, by chance. Thus begins the story of Jiang Cheng and Gu Fei, a story of salvation and hope. [Source: Kuaikan Manhua, translated]
Animation Studio & Release Date
Colored-Pencil Animation Studio will be animating the series, the studio is known for its works on The King’s Avatar Season 2 and its prequel film, For the Glory. Along with Saye anime, the studio will be working on 4 more upcoming donghua too which are Blades of the Guardians (Biao Ren), Silent House, The King’s Avatar Seson 3, and Fantasy x Hunter; all three are part of Tencent’s upcoming Chinese anime lineup.
There’s no official announcement for the release date of Saye anime yet, however, we shall keep you posted through this post whenever Tencent unveiled new updates about it.
Trailer and PVs
Here’s the first look at Saye anime adaptation as revealed by Tencent during their conference.
Where to Watch Saye (Warm Sun) Anime Online?
While we don’t have its release date yet, we can always check its official page on Weibo and Tencent QQ for new updates and PVs through the following links:
Alright, with all of these said and done, are you guys excited for Saye getting an anime adaptation? Would you mind sharing your thoughts about its story with us in the comment section below? What are your expectations about it?
To receive updates about Chinese anime news, editorials, reviews, and recommendations; don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletters.
Last Updated on September 25, 2022 by Yu Alexius
I’m especially excited for this one! I really love your blog–I’ve been following since your post on TGCF (my first donghua). I personally am really liking these BL donghua adaptations, I feel like they depict a lot of healthier relationships than what I often see in yaoi anime.
Thank you! Yes, I agree with you that the Chinese BL story had depicted healthier relationships than their counterparts from yaoi anime. I am not sure if it’s a matter of cultural differences I think that donghua bl revolves around a pure and delicate relationship with so much sincerity and genuine emotions. While, I love the fanservice of yaoi anime, I think it is quite far from what truly happened in an LGBT-related story.
Hlo I really like your blog and articles. I just want really to know thing why there is so much bl obsession in donghuas? I really don’t know I only feel this but I don’t have a problem with bl MDSZ is may fav. I just want to know.
Hi, thank you. I really appreciate it. I am not Chinese so I can’t really tell why there’s many bl in donghua recently. But I think there are markets, there are viewers and readers of bl genre both inside and outside of China, I think that is one of the reasons why we get plenty of bl adaptation lately, because there’s the opportunity, that the production team had seen. Yeah, MDZS is also my favorite BL donghua, along with TGCF, and this one SAYE, is another that I am excited to watch.
Thank you