★ The comic version of The Legend of HEI is spun off from the eponymous, record-breaking animated series: 9.6/10 on Douban (China’s most trusted review hub), 9.9/10 from 157 k viewers on Bilibili (China’s YouTube-like platform), 680 million cumulative plays, 7.97 million “follow-up” fans, 3.3 billion Weibo (Twitter-equivalent) hashtag impressions, and 92% on WeChat Books (China’s Kindle-like store).
★ The animated feature has already hit Japanese and Thai cinemas to warm applause. In Japan, Aniplex—studio behind Demon Slayer and Sword Art Online—shepherded the release; star seiyuu Kana Hanazawa (voice of Demon Slayer’s Mitsuri, Suzume’s heroine, etc.) gave HEI his Japanese “meow”.
★ The manga prints hidden clues and never-aired secrets, plus brand-new storyboards and side stories, delivering a reading experience unavailable anywhere else.
★ A mysterious kitten’s fantastical romp through a tender world where spirits and humans share the same sky.

On a stormy night, teenager Luo Xiaobai rescues a bedraggled black cat off the street and names him HEI. This is no ordinary feline: HEI uses the toilet, snubs cat food, and can split his oversized tail into a swarm of tiny entities called “HEI-xiu”. Meanwhile, the enigmatic Diting dispatches three winged wolves to track HEI down.

When Xiaobai takes HEI to the countryside to visit her cousin Ageng and Grandpa, the trip detonates a string of odd events: HEI is actually a cat spirit who stole the Tianming Pearl from the ancient immortal Laojun and was punished by Diting, reverting to kitten form. As the trio defends the village from spirit-world fallout, they peel back the layers of a hidden cosmos woven from magic and secrets. Warm, witty and wonder-filled, The Legend of HEI invites readers on a journey about finding home, forging friendship and claiming identity—one paw-print at a time.

Mu Tou,
also known as MTJJ, China’s indie animation auteur, comic artist and director.His flagship works include The Legend of HEI franchise and Soul Journey.

The Legend of HEI was first released as a FLASH animation series in 2011. The animated film adaptation, released in 2019, achieved box office success with RMB 315 million in China. It also earned JPY 580 million in the Japanese market, demonstrating its strong cross-cultural appeal.

Laurels for The Legend of HEI:
Film: Best Animated Feature nominee, 33rd Golden Rooster Awards; competition title, Annecy International Animation Film Festival (the Oscars of animation).
Series: Golden Petal Award, 2012 iQiyi Animation Carnival; Best Web Series, 2013 Tudou Image Festival.

As author of the manga, MTJJ debuted the print edition in 2015, widening the animated universe and deepening the interplay between spirits and humans. His signature blend of singular visuals, warm themes and witty storytelling has made him the flag-bearer of China’s independent animation scene.