Director: Zhao Ji
Screenwriter: Wang Wei
Starring: Yang Tianxiang / Zhang He / Xuan Xiaoming / Li Shimeng / Zhu Ker / Ling Zhenhe / Liu Ruoban / Zhang Yaohan / Zhang Zhe / Gao Zengzhi / Guo Haoran
Genre: Action / Animation / Fantasy
Country/Region of Production: Mainland China
Language: Mandarin Chinese
Date: 2021-02-12 (Mainland China)
Duration: 116 minutes
Also known as: 新封神:哪吒重生 / New Gods: Nezha Rebirth
IMDb: tt13269670
Type: Reimanging
Summary:
Three thousand years ago, the world was in turmoil, and humans and gods encountered a great catastrophe. Unexpectedly, a ray of Nezha's soul escaped from the net of heaven and earth and was reincarnated. In this life, humans and gods coexisted with Li Yunxiang, a passionate young man in Donghai City who loves motorcycles. However, the Dragon Clan did not let go of its grievances against Nezha. Li Yunxiang, who had the soul of Nezha, could not escape the fate of being driven out and killed by the Dragon Clan. The East China Sea is at stake. Can Li Yunxiang fight side by side with Nezha Yuanshen and become a hero against the dragon clan? Can the people of Donghai City be saved?
Monkey asks Yunxiang whether his dad ever told him the story of Nezha conquering the dragon king when he was a kid. Most Chinese people will probably remember this story from the 1979 animation of the same title that was adapted from chapter 14 of Investiture of the Gods.
More product displacement: Smirnoff, what looks to be Suntory Royal and if you zoom in on the Jack Daniels, it reads “Made in Light Chaser” lol
Primordial Spirit or “god-body” is something you’ll see a lot in the New Gods universe. Known in Chinese as yuanshen (元神), it is a concept in Daoism defined to be a level of existence surpassing that of physical existence, capable of existing independently in the form of a soul. It is viewed to be the center and essence of a human's existence.
Monkey breaks the fourth wall
This quote comes from Liu An’s poem Nüwa mending the heavens (女娲补天), delivered Peking Opera style, down to the mannerisms. The caged bird could be a thrush or a lark. Bird keeping is a traditional hobby in Beijing that started in the Qing Dynasty and songbirds were usually kept in these cylindrical cages.
I shouldn’t have laughed so hard when he accidentally killed the glasses monkey and continued his business like nothing happened.
“Fire imp” (葫芦老四) is the fourth of the seven Calabash Brothers, a classic Chinese cartoon from the 80s. Each bro has a unique power, and bro #4’s power is the ability to control fire. The snake demoness is an integral part of that story, so Light Chaser’s White Snake movies might actually be set in the same universe?????
Chan and Jie are religions featured in IOTG. Chan Daoism was founded by Yuanshi Tianzun (Primeval Lord of Heaven) and Laozi, and Yang Jian is one of its disciples. Jie is a fictional religion headed by Tongtian.
The most unfortunate character in this movie has got to be this monkey.
“Are your training methods even legit?”
Where did he get so much water? I thought water was being sanctioned.
RIP this monkey again.
He built his own version of Nezha’s spear.
The Six-Eared Macaque is arguably the most dangerous antagonist in Journey to the West. This deceptive creature impersonated Sun Wukong after the Monkey King abandoned his pilgrimage following a tiff with Tripitaka, with the impersonation so perfect, only Gautama Buddha and Diting could see through the pretense.
Nezha’s primordial spirit manifests as his three-headed, six-armed form.
Nezha is traditionally depicted with his four Astras - the Wind Fire Wheels (风火轮) under his feet, the Cosmic Ring (乾坤圈) around his body, the Sky Ribbon (浑天绫) around his shoulders and a Fire-tipped Spear (火尖枪) in his right hand.
This man has gills.
The Yaksa Li Gen is described as a lizard like creature with long mercury red hair, protruding fangs, and a face the color of indigo. (IOTG chapter 12).
Netflix's thirst trap of a thumbnail is from a scene that lasted ONE WHOLE SECOND.
It’s hilarious how this guy was just credited as “the traitor”.
The art deco style of the crystal palace 👌
In 2013, archaeologists unearthed a 1000 year old statue in Sichuan in that depicted a beast resembling a rhinoceros. This was believed to be the water-suppressing mythological beast Zhenshui Shenshou (镇水神兽) that was documented in the Biography of Shu Kings Written by Yang Xiong in Han Dynasty.
“I taught him? I don’t even have disciples! Stop joking.”
Dragons kind of have a low status in heaven (no matter how majestic they are, they are still beasts and all beasts are looked down upon by the gods), unlike in the mortal realm where they are revered.
Even in his dragon form, Ao Bing’s spinal column is supported by metal bracing.
One day I'll make a new friend who speaks Chinese and I can ask to come up with a different intro for donghua-related posts ;p
Long time Animation Night viewers might remember Animation Night 102 a little over a year ago, in which we watched a film called 新神榜:哪吒重生 (New Gods: Nezha Reborn) - not to be confused with other recent Nezha-related films like Ne Zha.
And it was pretty sick. Essentially you've got a CGI film set in a kind of FF7-like dieselpunk world in which various mythological figures now run crime syndicates or ride cool motorbikes. The film followed someone who turns out to be the reincarnation of Nezha - where Nezha's old enemy, the East Sea Dragon King, is also reincarnated as a kind of mafia kingpin who doesn't know to leave well enough alone, and picks a fight, hoping to stop the new Nezha fully incarnating.
As CG films go, there's not a lot to compare it to - except perhaps Lupin III: The First, which also has the kind of smooth, slightly stylised figures and fancy effects. It was a bunch of fun, lots of twists and turns, guys who look like Sun Wukong but aren't (...maybe?), betrayals, and of course plenty of slickly choreographed fantastical martial arts.
Well, sure enough, Nezha was the first in a series! The second film in the series, New Gods: Yang Jian came out last year...
This one focuses on another character from the Investiture of the Gods, Erlang Shen (二郎神), who's got a bunch of other names, notably Yang Jian (楊戩), which is the name he takes in Investiture of the Gods. I definitely needed to read up on this guy, so here's a primer: Erlang Shen's a god, nephew to the Jade Emperor, and a rather righteous one, associated with traits like purity, decency, and slaying monsters. Physically, his major trait is the truth-seeing third eye in the middle of his forehead; he also likes to carry a three-pointed spear, and his signature technique is '72 eartly transformations', i.e. turning into pretty much anything.
In Investiture, he shows up as a discple of the immortal Yuding Zhenren (玉鼎真人) during Chapter 40, in which Jiang Ziya battles the four 'Diablo Brothers' Mo Lihong, Mo Liqing, Mo Lihai and Mo Lishou, essentially a bunch of evil wizards who are causing havoc. Now, bear with me here. Mo Lishou has a powerful flying mink (or maybe an elephant). Yang Jian deliberately lets himself get eaten, and then when Lishou sends the mink out to attack, he transforms inside its stomach, popping it from the inside as it's about to fight Jiang Ziya.
Then, Yang Jian transforms himself into the mink, and uses this disguise to get close to the brothers and steal a magic umbrella from Mo Lihong, giving Jiang Ziya the chance to win the battle. Pure TTRPG player strategems here honestly. Love it.
He also shows up in Journey to the West, in which he's sent to try and deal with the Sun Wukong problem. They have a classic transformation battle, which Yang Jian eventually wins by seeing through Sun Wukong's clever disguise as a temple, and teaming up with Laozi (yeah¸ the Tao Te Ching guy) to capture him.
All in all, Yang Jian is not a god to be trifled with.
However, the main story about Erlang Shen/Yang Jian is none of these, but a folktale called The Magic Lotus Lantern, in which he plays the role of antagonist.
The Magic Lotus Lantern tells of the goddess Huayue Sanniang, who falls in love with a mortal scholar called Lui Yanchang. Her older brother Erlang Shen, here a god, does not approve, to the point that he's willing to fight her about it. However, Huayue Sanniang wins the fight using her magic lotus lantern, and marries Liu Yanchang. Together they have a child called Chen Xiang. With me so far?
Unfortunately, Erlang Shen isn't about to take this whole thing lying down. After seven years, he tracks them down by the light of that same lantern, and briefly abducts Chen Xiang, before stealing the lantern and sealing Sanniang under a mountain (Mount Hua).
Nine years later, Chen Xiang - now 16 - learns what happened to his mum. He goes on a journey running into a number of mythological figures, including Sun Wukong, who teaches him martial arts. Indeed, Sun Wukong is like you know what kid you're pretty strong, I'll make you a big old axe to get your mum out of that mountain. At the end of it all, Chen Xiang goes and battles his uncle, and loses... but at the last minute he gets a special lotus lantern powerup, which gives him the chance to win the battle and free his mum from the mountain.
youtube
Incidentally, if you will permit a tangent (that is at least animation relevant lmao) - this story was adapted to animation in 1999 as 宝莲灯 (Lotus Lantern), and in fact that's quite a notable film in itself. To briefly tell the story again, from the 50s onwards, the vast majority of animation in China happened under the roof of Shanghai Animation Film Studio. However, during the Cultural Revolution, most of the major animators at SAFS such as Te Wei were cast as reactionaries sent to the countryside to do hard labour, practicing drawing only in secret. Chinese animation entered a period where the only permitted form was propaganda films in a narrowly defined realist style.
Following the end of the Cultural Revolution, many of these animators returned to the studio, making celebrated films like 哪吒闹海 Nezha Conquers the Dragon King (1979) as well as all sorts of short films celebrating an end to their ordeal and railing against artistic censorship. However, the studio's output - and Chinese animation in general - declined in the ensuing decades, with Chinese studios mostly doing outsourcing work and younger audiences turning to anime and western animation. So far so familiar.
In 1992, the studio started to reorganise itself along Western lines, collaborating with a company called Prrfect Animation from San Francisco. [This information comes from an article in Animation World Network, which is incredibly light on details. I can't find any other mention of Prrfect Animation outside of its connection with SAFS.] The studio would soon become part of the new Shanghai Film Group Corporation.
And in the middle of that period comes this movie - a kind of turning point for donghua. You can a restoration on Youtube, albeit unsubbed. Visually it's definitely got traces of the Cultural Revolution-era style, narratively it hews fairly close to the Mouse's formula complete with songs; indeed, allegedly this movie beat them at their own game in 1999.
Anyway, we're not watching this movie tonight - vibeswise it would be a weird combo, and it's going to take a little work to find suitable subs and mux them in, but put a pin in this, we might just come back to it.
So what about this film? In this world, Yang Jian is now living a quiet life as a bounty hunter. Here's the official English-language plot summary, which is very brief:
Twelve years after imprisoning his sister underneath a mountain, Erlang Shen, a god known for his all-seeing third eye, now works as a bounty hunter. A woman hires him and his crew to prevent his nephew, Chenxiang, from obtaining a magical lotus lantern that holds great power.
Beyond that? I can tell you that at some point he wears a fedora. Look, it's in that gif right there. Yeah, I'm flying a little blind on this one ^^'
As things turned out, I didn't end up seeing this at Annecy, since it clashed with Rintarō's new short film... but fortunately, it is now available in the usual places. So the plan tonight is pretty simple: we will be watching both New Gods films, first a reprise of Nezha and then the new Yang Jian.
Also! We're actually on time! I'm gonna go live a lot earlier than we've managed lately, namely 8pm UK time, which is about 3 hours from this post (if you're in the States, that will be midday Pacific time, 3pm Eastern time). The place is, as ever, twitch.tv/canmom. Hope to see you there~
I love Chinese media lot! I got obsessed with that silly Great Wall movie (I still love it honestly), and then I got obsessed with Thunderbolt Fantasy, and then I found the Mo Dao Zu Shi novel and that was the final nail in the coffin LMAO
but here are some of my favorites (under a cut because it's literally just me rambling a bit):
Novels:
You would probably assume MDZS but no! Although yes, I am obsessed with it and it is my favorite of MXTX's books. But!
My actual favorite Chinese novel is 反派白化光环, a.k.a. The Villain’s White Lotus Halo. I love this book sooooo much. Every chapter renders me incapable of doing anything else except thinking about it. Unfortunately it's not fully translated yet, so it's not accessible to other people. Even worse, a lot of what's available seems to be machine translated which is just awful.
I do think it's very funny that a few years ago some people accused me of being an MXTX apologist because they didn't like my opinions about another famous Chinese author who I will not mention here, but I literally have a signed post card by the author of White Lotus Halo on my pegboard in my office and I paid extra to get that with a box set of one of her other series. Clearly, if I’m an apologist for anyone, it's TP. Anyway.
I also really like 泾渭情殇, a.k.a. Clear and Muddy Loss of Love. To be fair I hate the ending, the last few chapters are awful. But everything up until then is 10 out of 10. I just pretend the last few chapters never happened. This one is fully translated, and I think the translation is still available.
Manhua:
Anyone who knows me knows that I have one manhua that I love above all others, and it’s 我家大师兄脑子有坑, a.k.a. My Senior Martial Brother Has a Pit in His Brain. What can I say? This story is so hysterical to me. I'm over 400 chapters into it, and I love the donghua as well. Every episode of that (except for the 1st one???) has English subtitles but afaik the comic has never been translated outside of the what I've done (which isn't very much).
Donghua:
Aside from the above, I really like 时光代理人, a.k.a. Link Click, which I don't have to talk about because everybody already knows what it is. It's excellent, I'm ready for the 2nd season LMAO
A less well-known show I absolutely adore is 风灵玉秀, a.k.a. Sunflowers a.k.a. Soulmate Adventure a.k.a. Spirit Wind Elegance, whatever you want to call it. It's currently the only GL donghua in existence and although it can be a bit rough around the edges, it's super cute. It needs more support and love! You can watch it with English subtitles on Bilibili’s youtube channel and we’re also getting a 2nd season, yay~
There's 天宝伏妖录 , a.k.a. Legend of Exorcism which is very funny to me and can be watched on Netflix
Honestly so many more? I watch a lot of donghua. I'm really waiting for information about 六爻, a.k.a. Liu Yao. Hello? It's been so long, is the production team still alive?
Dramas:
香蜜沉沉烬如霜, a.k.a. Ashes of Love made me fucking yell! Literally made me yell "oh fuck” out loud. Show is insane. It's on Netflix, I highly recommend it.
There's also 镇魂, a.k.a. Guardian which… Look. I hate the book that this is based on but the show is absolutely bonkers and it is so funny, and I was in the middle of re-watching it and it got taken down from everywhere that I can access and I'm so mad about it.
延禧攻略, a.k.a. Story of Yanxi Palace is so good. Every single episode makes me scream out loud. Again, literally.
招摇, a.k.a. The Legends. I will admit that the very beginning and very end of this show are not great but 80% of what's in the middle is fantastic and I loved it.
Movies:
Other than The Legend of Hei, I really like 姜子牙, a.k.a. Jiang Ziya. So good, and the animation is beautiful.
I have to mention 哪吒之魔童降世, a.k.a. Nezha because it got a very limited release in America and I literally drove 3 hours each way to see this movie in theaters.
And I also like 新神榜:哪吒重生, a.k.a. Nezha Reborn, which I think is super fun. Although I feel like people in the circles that I was in didn't like it as much for some reason.
Honestly, I love Chinese media. I read a lot of novels, watch a lot of donghua and animated movies, and a lot of c-dramas. And if you want recommendations for any of those things I'm happy to provide ahahahaha
Who is Cai Yun?
Monkey explains that she is a disciple of the demoness Shiji. 3000 years ago, 7-year-old Nezha accidentally shot and killed Shiji’s gatekeeper and Caiyun’s sister - Biyun - while playing with the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan’s Qiankun bow from 1000 miles away. Seeking revenge, Shiji overpowered Nezha before being killed by Nezha’s master Taiyi Zhenren. After her death, she was canonized at the Investiture Altar as Yue Youxingjun (月遊星君 "Star of Moon Voyage"). Apparently Caiyun has held onto that grudge since that day.
Chentang Pass was Nezha’s birthplace and the residence of Nezha’s family. Two treasures - the Qiankun bow and Three Sky-shaking Arrows that the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan used to kill his rival Chiyou (the Yan Emperor) - were kept there.
The most epic scene.
“But you’re Sun Wukong, the Great Sage who wreaked havoc in heaven”.
It was right here where Wukong obtained his magic staff, Ruyi Jingu Bang. Roughly 2000 years ago, it was sitting in the crystal palace as a piece of scrap metal. Wukong came here to seek the dragon king for a weapon. After none of the celestial weapons satisfied him, the dragon king’s wife suggested that if Wukong could lift the 13500-catty (6.75 tonne) Ruyi Jingu Bang, then it would be his. Not only was Wukong able to pick it up with ease, he could also make it grow and shrink to his command.
The REAL dragon ball.
When Yunxiang tugged on the Ribbon, the earth shook. It is a reference to an incident in IOTG: After taking a dip in a stream, Nezha was drying himself with the Sky Ribbon. Unbeknownst it him, it caused the ground beneath to shake violently each time it touched the water’s surface.
Ao Guang digging into Yunxiang’s guts is also a reference to how Nezha once broke his own bones, slit his belly and gouged out his intestines to appease the dragon king.
If she’s a doctor, her first instinct should be chest compressions right???
The ribbon encasing Yunxiang like the lotus symbolizing Nezha's rebirth. The visual metaphor is incredible.
These four large triangular flags are nearly always an integral part of Peking opera, used to adorn the performers’ backs. They have their roots in the small flags Chinese generals would use to signal their subordinates. Journey to the West also has its own peking opera play.
Mid credits scene:
The mink is Mo Lishou’s familiar. The other items in the room are Mo Lihai’s pipa, Mo Lihong’s havoc umbrella. Nezha’s wind and fire wheels sit inside the box.
Names from IOTG’s list of gods swirling around the cauldron include
Shiji (石矶娘娘), Shentu (神荼), Shen Gongbao (申公豹), Fang Bi (方弼), Jinling Shengmu (金灵圣母), Bo Yikao (伯邑考), Zhao Gongming (赵公明), Li Gen (李艮), Chong Houhu (崇侯虎), Chong Heihu (崇黑虎), Mo Liqing (魔禮青), Mo Lihai (魔禮海), Huang Tianhua (黄天化), Ao Bing etc...
Finally ending in the words “Investiture of the Gods”
Post credits scene:
This is a teaser for the second New Gods instalment - New Gods: Yang Jian.
As Yunxiang rides his motorbike down the street, he is stopped by a white dog. The dog is Xiaotian, and her owner is the formidable three-eyed god, Yang Jian.
Although Yang Jian doesn't end up in Donghai in that movie (yet), Light Chaser did tease an eventual crossover on their youtube channel.
Since New Gods: Yang Jian is about to enter NA theaters this week, and before I do a huge information dump about that movie, I wanted to write about its prequel - Nezha Reborn.
I've already seen Yang Jian twice in cinemas here in Australia, and the animation has markedly improved in the one year since Nezha came out - it's definitely worth seeing on the big screen. You don’t need to watch Nezha before Yang Jian but if you’re interested in the lore, then you should lol. It's on netflix.
My original thread on twitter.
Background
Nezha is one of the most well-known characters from the 16th Century Chinese Novel Investiture of the Gods (IOTG), with countless adaptations based on his legend.
New Gods: Nezha Reborn is one of the latest portrayals of the character, and is the first move in Light Chaser Animation Studios' attempt at establishing a New Gods cinematic universe.
Nezha’s origin story
Nezha was born as a round ball of flesh after his mother Lady Yin was pregnant for three years. His dad Li Jing thought he was demon spawn, so tried to kill him but was spared by the immortal Taiyi Zhenren who became his master. At seven years old, he caused a lot of trouble like accidentally killing a demon from 1000 miles away and killing the dragon king Ao Guang’s third son Ao Bing as well as his right hand man the Yaksa Li Gen. When Ao Guang demanded retribution from Li Jing, Nezha chose to sacrifice himself instead. His master later resurrected him using lotus roots to construct a human body, and he came back more powerful than ever. 3000 years later...
Breakdown
Donghai (East Sea). It was the mythical underwater city that Nezha once conquered, now depleted of all its water resources. Set design is inspired by Republican-era Shanghai and Manhattan in the 1920s and 1930s. The poor Chinese style backdrop is contrasted against the glitz of the Western style architecture in the rich area. Rickshaws were commonplace on the streets.
Fashion is also blend of east and west, like the guy wearing kung fu shoes with a denim jacket.
The qipao was a favored dress among women at the time, popularized by Chinese socialites and high society women in Shanghai. Flapper fashion also influenced Kasha’s outfit, blending eastern and western styles.
Li Yunxiang shares the same surname as the original Nezha. His brother Jinxiang’s name is also similar to Nezha’s eldest brother Jinzha. Jinxiang’s look is very typical of the republican era - complete with his center-parted hair and round glasses.
Old Li has the same temperament as Nezha’s dad, The Pagoda Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing.
Who is Yunxiang’s adoptive sister Kasha? She’s an orphan of Belarusian descent, however not much else is known about her past. Her name means porridge in Belarusian. It might be a corruption of Katyusha (喀秋莎) with middle character removed in order to follow Chinese naming conventions idk.
If you know the history of the Republic of China, there were many girls like Kasha in that era. Her father was a soldier and left Kasha and her mother after the war.
✨Princess✨ Ao Bing~~ and the Yaksa Li Gen. Ao Bing is the third son of the Dragon King of the East Sea. The Yaksa Li Gen is the dragon king’s right hand man.
The four big clans - De, Li, Shun, Song (德家、利家、顺家、松家) - actually corresponds to the titles of dragon kings of the four seas. King De, Dragon King of the East Sea; King Li, Dragon King of the South Sea; King Shun, Dragon King of the West Sea, King Song, Dragon King of the North Sea.
A netizen looked this up and really wanted to kneel to Light Chaser for their worldbuilding.
Fun fact: the white horse from Journey to the West is the third son from the Song family.
H*rley-D*vidson Darrley-Hudson product displacement on the arm of Kasha’s jacket:
Actually the film has left some hints about her past. There are some Soviet-style badges pinned to her jacket, along with some small badges that Kasha herself added as well. Since this jacket is huge, it can be assumed that it was left to Kasha by her biological father.
The giant buddha statue is reminiscent of the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan.
Daddy! Ao Guang, the dragon king of the East Sea.
Art deco details on the hood ornament, decals and invitation card.
Monkey’s suit is basically a hot pink version of the Zhongshan suit, a style of menswear introduced by Sun Yat-sen during the republican era, adapted from Japanese student wear. The four pockets are said to represent the Four Virtues of propriety, justice, honesty, and shame. He's blinged up his prayer beads too.
Does this mean Dr. Su is a descendent of Su Daji, the femme fatale of IOTG? Or could she actually be Daji’s reincarnation? Now I don’t know whether to trust her or not.
All these sea creature demons. Why? Chinese dragons are aquatic. They live underwater, and command water-based attacks, unlike western dragons who breathe fire. So it makes sense for them to control an army of demons that came from the deep.
So this is the crystal palace.
After Nezha’s death, Li Jing found out that Nezha’s mother had built a temple in his honor and burned it down because he was still angry at his son for all the trouble he caused to the family. The soul of Nezha was pissed and after his reincarnation, began to pursue his dad with the intent to kill. It took several parties to step in before matters were resolved.
Looks like monkey likes to listen to Peking Opera.
The Pukui fan, commonly known as the cattail fan, is a fan made from palm leaves and stalks. Lightweight and cheap, it is the most widely used fan in China.