Dec 15, 2021
I'm writing a review on this donghua as there is currently not even a synopsis on MAL.
Youxia Zhanji is a 3D animation adaption of the novel "Nightcrawler: Twenty Years of the Pingyao" by Nan Wujiao Science and Buddha. Its a story about a young salesman, Hou Mo, who inadvertently gets caught in the middle of a war between nightcrawlers. These are group of people who have special abilities enhanced by various animal genes depending on their bloodline. In the process he discovers he has the Lingming Stone Monkey bloodline. Of course this bloodline comes with a unique set of problems and he must go on
...
a quest in order to survive his fate and improve himself... while around him all hell breaks lose.
It's a simple plot of overcoming tribulations while upgrading the MC from zero to hero. It's fast paced with lots of action, creatures, cultivation and superpowers. The episodes, however feel a bit rushed and it is sometimes difficult to follow the story due to translation issues. Humor was also sometimes lost, or scenes that were not intended to be funny were hilarious due to bad translation... like when someone throws a sugar-coated cannonball.
The MC, Hou Mo, in his normal form is a little boring, but his transformation design is super awesome. I suspect a lot of the animation budget was spent on making him look OP. At times it's a mix of the great special effects and his monkey character design that carries the donghua. There is a variety of interactions between other characters, but not enough time is given for relationships to feel developed.
As is typical with limited budget Chinese animations, the overall quality of animation, sound and translation is, in places, lacking. Fight scenes are energetic, and any flaws were hidden by the superb special effects. I love the opening soundtrack, but feel they ran out of steam for the closing.
It is a fun watch, full of action, great creature designs, somewhat scantily dressed woman and an MC (when transformed) that is eye candy... excuse me... brave and heroic to look at. I'm sure there are deeper messages behind the donghua, but that, to me at least, was lost in translation.
I'd recommend it to anyone who likes action, mythology and has an open mind towards Chinese animation styles.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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