Link Click receives official live-action adaptation: Everything you need to know

Link Click has officially expanded beyond animation with a confirmed live-action television adaptation, marking a significant milestone for one of China’s most internationally recognized donghua titles. Originally produced by Studio LAN and first released in 2021, the series gained acclaim for its emotionally driven time-travel cases and tightly structured narrative arcs. The series centers on Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang, who operate a time-photo studio that allows controlled possession of individuals captured in photographs. The property’s blend of suspense, moral consequence, and psychological realism established the series as a flagship Bilibili original.

Link Click has been officially adapted into a live-action adaptation under the title: 剧版时光代理人 (Drama Version: Shiguang Daili Ren), debuting on Bilibili in a single rollout with 24 separate episodes on Wednesday-Thursday-Friday rollout pattern. On June 19, 2024, the official channels of Bilibili announced the adaption with a teaser filmed in a darkroom, replicating a Polaroid-style time-jump aesthetic of the series. In June 2024, it was cleared to proceed with censorship, and the series transitioned to live-action, indicating that it can be released without an extended amount of time. The announcement achieved instant momentum both among Chinese and international fans.

The teaser video emphasized visual continuity with the animated original. Actors were shown holding Polaroid photographs in a shadow-filled studio setting, mirroring Cheng Xiaoshi’s possession mechanics. Link Click maintained its signature suspense tone even in promotional material, focusing on atmosphere rather than heavy exposition. This stylistic conformity was intentional, and served to reassure the audiences about conformity in adaptations.

The lead actors were unveiled progressively, and official photos were distributed before the opening. Jiang Long was cast as Cheng Xiaoshi, portraying the impulsive diver capable of entering photographs for 12-hour possession windows. Bi Wenjun assumed the role of Lu Guang, the composed strategist who can view timeline branches and guide missions. The series preserved the central dynamic contrast between emotional spontaneity and analytical restraint.

Bu Guanjin was cast as Qiao Ling, the studio’s landlord and operations manager. Supporting characters include Qian Jin and expanded antagonist roles that align with the donghua’s second-season developments. Link Click retains its core trio dynamic while broadening ensemble interactions for live-action pacing. Production reports confirmed that filming took place in Shanghai studios during 2023 under structured scheduling.

Link Click Live-Action Adaptation Details

The live-action Link Click adaptation spans 24 episodes, covering narrative material from Seasons 1 and 2 of the animated series. Early episodes adapt standalone photo-diving cases involving unresolved relationships, crimes, and personal regrets. Mid-season arcs escalate into the Qian Jin storyline, intensifying moral dilemmas tied to altering past outcomes. The series maintains the butterfly-effect consequences central to its storytelling.

Visually, the production integrates practical sets for the photo studio and darkroom sequences, supplemented by controlled visual effects for time-entry transitions. Blue-hued lighting shifts and temporal distortion effects replicate the animated dive sequences in grounded form. Link Click emphasizes performance-driven tension rather than stylized animation flourishes. The shift enhances realism while preserving supernatural structure.

Reception by the audience in the first week was indicative of high metrics of engagement. New media Bilibili has been reported to have more than 100 million views within a week of its launch. The chemistry between Jiang Long and Bi Wenjun was an outstanding aspect as indicated by viewers. Link Click has been acclaimed to have retained narrative clarity even after changing format, although a viewer has criticized that it was pace slower than the animation.

It is only distributed by Bilibili, and multilingual subtitles are available in English, Thai, and Vietnamese. There is no assured international streaming purchase that has been declared up to the most recent updates. The series also works in the ecosystem of Bilibili, which strengthens the idea of the company investing in the cross-media adoptions. The live-action project is also in line with the general trends in the industry of adapting successful donghua into a serialized drama.

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To sum up, Link Click has been made into a 24-episode live-action adaption that was announced on June 19, 2024, on Bilibili. The series maintains its time-photo engine, its central trio dynamic and its moral consequence paradigm but becomes adjusted to the performance based telling. Having established casting, systematic discharge timing and solid initial reception scores, Link Click shows the business and story sustainability of donghua-to-drama adaptation. The adaptation is an important expansion of the influence of the franchise into the modern Chinese streaming media.

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