Nezha Reborn

[Drunk Monk]

Well that was a trip. It’s a post-apocalyptic steampunk take on ancient Chinese legends done in a videogame animation style. It’s got some visionary stuff for sure but it doesn’t take off until about a half hour in when things get deified. I enjoyed it thoroughly but I’m not confident it works unless you know the myths - Nezha is a very unique character that might not make sense to the naive viewer.

It might help to watch Nezha first - http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...p?tid=5349 although that’s a different story by a different animation company. It covers the basic creation myth however and might give some context. Or you could read Journey to the West.

It’s from Lightchaser who also did White Snake - http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...p?tid=5738 which was a classical tale on the original myth. The end credits scene connects these two films (it’s all about reincarnation which is a fair way to build this universe). I look forward to the next installment.

Magical sword fights (although Nezha is known for his spear). DOOM recommended if you’ve done the prep previously mentioned.

[Drunk Monk]

I watched this again with Tara & Bri just prior to our Yosemite Trek. Tara is huge into anime, more so than me, and she’s converted Bri. They were both totally engrossed by the animation, the vision and the storytelling. Tara knows Nezha because I read Journey to the West to her as a bedtime story so she got it on a deeper level but Bri was still entranced by it knowing very little of the legend. 

The 3rd installment of this series Green Snake just won the box office in PRC. Can’t wait to see it.