Kun Tun Tianxia Zhi Zhang Men Guilai

Honestly I went into it with not much hope. I've not been the biggest fan of the Chinese animations before, so I expected the same from this. However, after the two episodes, I feel so invested and truly this scratches an itch I've had that even Pokémon failed to scratch.

And of course, with a story like that, I couldn't be happier to get animation I consider almost on par with JJK.

If I did have to complain about something, which I really don't even need to, is that the story thus far hasn't been super emotionally impacting, but to be fair it has been ... only two episodes.

The All-devouring Whale: Homecoming has released 2 episodes so far, both of which are of high animation quality like this season's Super Cube. However, unlike Super Cube, the story-telling is actually on par with the animation quality. The anime strays away from the manga and explores many of its themes in more detail(Which I won't go into detail or add spoilers). The All-devouring Whale not only captures the bond between the protagonist and his "spirits" like Pokemon, but also connects the audience with the rest of the cast. Whilst providing a unique experience from Pokemon, it also induces a sense of nostalgia(I was a Pokemon ... fan). I have high expectations of this anime as there hasn't been a great DongHua since the release of Link Click.

Aware that it's not right to review before finishing the whole series, but I felt the need to say this for those whom thought that this was just a Pokémon dupe, because it's looking to be so much more, and I'm just overall surprised by Donghuas this season and how they ARE setting new standards for the Anime industry now into the 'review'

(This might get updated when the whole series is out, and this will be pretty spoiler free so yeah)


ANIMATION/ART:

Now usually I wouldn't start a review with Animation, but this is what has made me rate it so highly, whilst usually I go for ... narrative driven things, which don't get me wrong I'll get into and this actually HAS

Though Donghuas have truly been exceling in this area as of late, something that some Animes have been missing for a while now, is that Anime itself is an Art-form, whilst most view it as a quick way to tell a story it's so much more and I feel that this series could show that whilst juggling a fun and sometimes silly plot

The artstyle in this is quite unique using a line-art brush reminiscent of Inking and a sort of rustic look which really sets the scene for this era, the visual storytelling when it comes to utilizing colors for scenes, complimentary colors, desaturation when the scene is depressing, or a more rough water-color look for things that are dream-like so subtle yet good, and just to throw in something else the 'simple' yet small symbolism in different scenes for those looking out for it, such as when MC gets imprisoned a butterfly gets caught in a spider web, or when a character is acting like a roach they show a literal cockroach lol all these are subtle yet show that there IS care in its making which gives something potential

The Animation itself is stunning, and I'm not one to watch a series based off eye-candy there was many series' I haven't finished ex, Solo leveling, JJK even though they are visually stunning, and though different in execution I'd say the animation in this is quite on par with those, you can tell the artists were appreciated and had a bit of fun with everything (Based on assumption, maybe they were held at gunpoint /j)

The Spirit pet fight scenes are an awe, as well as emotional scenes, though some parts did have less animation it's fine if the budget went to something of that caliber instead

STORY:

Only three episodes are out currently, so I don't believe I should speak on this yet, but with what there is so far, I will, just to break some assumptions

Also, any comparisons made to Pokémon during this section are not to bash one or the other, but to point out what this series does well

When the trailer first came out for this, I was excited as an avid Pokémon enjoyer in my childhood, so tying together what appeared to be a Wuxia world and pets/monsters to summon as well as pretty men!! And, women, I was quite sold, though originally didn't expect much from the plot, thought it might only be about the battles or a 'Pokémon rip-off' the plot seems to be something interesting, now don't know if this is one of those where the first few episodes is where it peaks, but they've already established a sort of 'mystery'/goal to solve, as in who killed the MC, who's now reincarnated as another person with their life lived, this plot also gives reason for us to learn about the world, in a sort of backwards yet forwards way akin to Frieren so far, as well as getting to see MC re-gain the power he once had and maybe even to greater lengths, so far the antagonist is a mystery but it still pushes the narrative along, as well as having some side-bad-guys to keep the viewers entertained and show off the spirit pets of the world, over-all won't spoil much go watch it yourself then, but it dosen't seem to have nothing and this could lead up to be something decent

Getting to this part the 'comparisons' with Pokémon that I keep seeing, as well as my own findings of 'similarities', this series does it well, as even as a child my gripes with Pokémon is they could not be killed, or that the Pokémon couldn't FULLY 'betray' their 'master', where-as this seems not afraid to explore such themes, and hopefully will do so more, as the 2nd episode almost brought me to tears, but it already ticked the only boxes Pokémon didn't/couldn't explore for me, and also I'm not a very nostalgic person, whilst sentimental yes, but I don't think there's much bias in my overall enjoyment of this series because of my history with Pokémon

Alright with that out of the way, there's some humor in this that feels very, Chinese, and some of it landed and some did not, though this isn't centered around comedy so don't worry, though MC acquires this Dog Spirit Pet and it's ability is to just⋯ pee on things, which is fine and funny but it feels a bit weird sometimes in battles, when attempted to take seriously, and, it's animated so well⋯ and for some reason there's been a lot of talk about bathroom things lol

But if that's not a bother or found funny then ignore this lol

MUSIC/OSTS:

Of course, as most Donghuas the OP and ED and beautiful and tear-jerkers, the OSTs throughout didn't seem to stand out much, which is a good thing as none were jarring, though some parts did get me emotional, also I really do enjoy when OSTs have some lyrics added in

This section is pretty short, since I'm not to well versed in OSTs


SUMMARY:

-- The animation is stunning, the Pet Battle scenes are an awe to view, and the artstyle that varys is refreshing to look at, and we're talking HIGH animation level like almost on par with some of the best so far, if it stays consistent, you can tell there was much effort poured into this project

-- OSTs are emotional

-- Subtle symbolisms and visual story-telling are nice from something I didn't really expect to have a plot

-- The narrative will probably pull you into it, as it's not as bad as most animes out there, and is seemingly taking it's own direction and not a complete Pokémon or Digimon

-- The characters seem alright and seem to have a lot of story to back them up, so far, there's also silly moments and not all of it is to serious but still keeps the tone well enough

-- Spirit pets

Alright, that's it for this review, if ya` have read this far then, go watch it, couldn't hurt to test, surely, but just wanted to say that this Donghua is going in it's seemingly own direction and not blatantly a single thing, and it seems like if it keeps going at this pace it could be something decent overall