“Am I always the one who has to take the heat for these adaptations?”
Tiancan Tudou, the author behind the popular Chinese web novel series “Battle Through the Heavens” (《斗破苍穹》), recently unleashed his frustration during a live stream, blasting the anime adaptation for its deviations from the source material. Tudou candidly admitted that, due to his youthful naiveté regarding intellectual property rights, he sold the adaptation rights for a pittance early in his career, leaving him with virtually no say in the anime’s production.
This outburst was triggered by the latest installment of the “Battle Through the Heavens” annual series, which featured what fans derisively called a “punk rock” character design and a host of plot alterations, finally pushing the author past his breaking point.
The spark that ignited the fury was the appearance of the character Scorpion, whose flamboyant and, shall we say, unconventional look left viewers aghast.
One exasperated fan commented, “He’s supposed to be a peak Six-Star Dou Zun! Couldn’t they have put some effort into the special effects and character modeling? You’d think he was some random nobody.”
Beyond the aesthetic choices, the plot deviations have fanned the flames of controversy. The changes include the removal of one member of the Scorpion Three Brothers and a reduction of their power levels.
Faced with a torrent of fan criticism, a visibly weary Tudou lamented during his live stream, “It’s not just that they haven’t improved over the years, but they also consistently ignore fan concerns, playing dead when it matters most. This forces me to step in and take the blame every single time.”
Tudou revealed he was “green and clueless” when he initially sold the rights, adding that the sum he received for “Battle Through the Heavens” back then was less than his monthly royalties today.
Because the copyright is long gone, he has effectively no power to influence the production of the anime.
Tudou even confessed that he stopped watching the series after the revival of the character Yao Lao, indicating that the annual series’ faithfulness to the original story fell far short of his expectations. This situation highlights the challenges faced by authors in navigating the complex world of media adaptations and the potential disconnect between creative vision and commercial execution.
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