Prelude of The Demon Hunter: Dongning Prefecture in Summer

Armed with a saber prodigy's instincts and a painter's eye, Meng Chuan spends his summers in Dongning Prefecture painting, training, and hanging out with his childhood friend Liu Qiyue. Sounds peaceful enough, except the demons show up and ruin everything. This 3-episode ONA from Shenman Entertainment serves as a prequel to The Demon Hunter (Cang Yuan Tu), and it wastes no time shifting from a warm, slice-of-life setup into a brutal fight for survival when demonic beasts tear through the city. What makes Meng Chuan interesting is that his combat perception is literally tied to his skill as a traditional Chinese painter — the way he reads a battlefield is filtered through artistic composition and focus, which gives the fights a visual identity you don't really see elsewhere. Meanwhile, Liu Qiyue is carrying a dormant Phoenix bloodline that might be the only thing that can turn the tide, if they can figure out how to actually awaken it. The 3D animation leans hard into dynamic camera work during the action, and the choreography favors archery and saber techniques over the usual sword cultivation stuff, which is a nice change of pace. If you liked the raw atmosphere and painted aesthetic of Fog Hill of Five Elements, or want something with the demon-hunting intensity of Demon Slayer but rooted in Chinese martial arts lore, this is worth the short runtime. Three episodes, tight pacing, no filler. Based on a web novel, dropping in 2026.