Nezha Zhi Mo Tong Jiang Shi

From the heavenly object known as the Chaos Pearl, two elements are extracted: the Spirit Pearl and the Demon Orb. In an attempt to suppress their power, the Lord of Heaven sends the Spirit Pearl to Earth to reincarnate as Ne Zha, the third son of Li Jing, while the Demon Orb is scheduled to be destroyed by a lightning strike. However, because of a conspiracy by the Dragon King to steal the Spirit Pearl for his own son, Ne Zha is instead reincarnated with the Demon Orb.

With no way to remove the cursed effects of the Demon Orb, Ne Zha is raised under the belief that he will become the great demon hunter the Spirit Pearl destined for him to be. Fighting against his chaotic and mischievous nature, Ne Zha must decide whether to accept his evil fate or rebel against it to prove he is worthy of the future his parents foretold.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Ao Bing Main

Nezha Main

Ao, Guang Supporting

Taiyi Zhenren Supporting

Madam Yin Supporting

Shen, Gongbao Supporting

Li, Jing Supporting

Yang, Yu Director

Cai, Tiannan Music

Reviews

Sep 1, 2019

Mnemease

Recommended

As of the time of this review the movie has already reached 4.7 billion in box office, making it the second most popular film in Chinese history just after Wolf Warrior 2. Given all the problems that have plagued the animation industry in Mainland China, this is an unprecedented milestone that will hopefully bring us many more quality animations for all audiences.

Being a devout supporter of Chinese animation, I took the first opportunity I got to watch this film, if only to experience renewed pride for my home country. As someone who grew up with Chinese legends and folk tales, this film brought an overwhelming ... surge of nostalgia. I have to acknowledge my potentially biased standpoint on the quality of this film, as my excitement over its mere existence is enough for me to give it 10s all around. However, having watched it twice now (once emotionally and once more analytically), I believe I am capable of enough rational thought to give a fairly balanced review.

Story (9/10) - The film tells the tale of Nezha, a child originally destined for greatness who becomes victim to a scheme that drastically alters his fate. Having inherited a monstrous power, Nezha becomes ostracized by the people in his home community. In an attempt to save Nezha from his demonic nature, his parents and master/teacher train him to do good deeds through fighting monsters. Unfortunately, a series of misunderstandings make their plans unsuccessful, and even Nezha’s only friend is forced to turn against him. Nezha also learns that he is destined to die via a calamity spell on this third birthday, a secret that had been purposefully kept secret from him so he could live a fulfilling life.

I enjoyed the story not because of its plot but because of the powerful messages that it conveyed. Despite all of the problems that he faces, Nezha chooses to fight - against fate, against prejudice, and against anything that stands in his way. He teaches the audience that anything is possible, and that regardless of what anyone else says, one’s own actions are the ones that count.

Art (8/10) - I was initially very put-off by Nezha’s design, as it was so contrary to all of the other depictions of him, traditional or modern (possibly with the exception of Shi Wan Ge Leng Xiao Hua). But about 30 minutes into the film this quirky unconventional design became my favorite, as I fell in love with his expressive face and adorable mannerisms.

The character of Nezha was super well animated, and definitely a highlight to the art. While there are a few characters that I didn’t like much, the overall art style was surprisingly pleasant. In terms of the special effects and background art, I feel that they may have been excessive at times, especially with the water animations. However, I am of the opinion that having too much is better than not having enough, and at this stage in Chinese animation I’m more than satisfied with what was produced.

Sound (8/10) - The voice acting for Nezha, his parents, Ao Bing, and most of the side characters was superb. I hold mixed feelings about Taiyi’s Szechuan accent, and there’s this one muscular villager whose high pitched screams I honestly cannot stand. But overall I really enjoyed the voice acting, enough that I actually looked up the main voice actors since I loved their performance so much.

The weakest point of the movie, though, is the background music. There is a main theme that plays pretty much every time Nezha is on screen (which is frequent considering how he’s the protagonist), and at some point it just got really repetitive. The emotionally moving scenes also could have benefited from better sound.

Character (10/10) - I don’t think there’s a single character I hated in the entire movie, which is pretty unusual since I’m not one to love people easily. I adored the way that both of Nezha’s parents were portrayed, which consisted of a slightly more modern twist on more traditional characterizations. For instance, I expected his father to be a very stern man. While he was strict in the film, he also had a caring side that moved me to tears near the movie’s climax.

I also loved how none of the characters were truly good or evil. Even those who played an antagonistic role had justifiable reasons for doing so, which strengthened the thematic complexity of the movie. Nezha, especially, is the epitome of this, as his edgy/punk/tsundere exterior is really just the armor used to hide a soft, caring, cinnamon roll. While he smiles like an arsonist and speaks with words sharper than knives, all he desires is companionship and belonging. (My inner Bakugou Katsuki fan was squealing so hard when I saw Nezha on screen. I think he’s my new favorite character.)

Additionally, I really loved the beautiful and unlikely friendship that blossomed in this film. It was equal parts magically adorable and heart-wrenchingly depressing. My inner fujoshi may have enjoyed it a little more than necessary.

Enjoyment (9/10) - I’m going to borrow a phrase from our lovely Chinese internet buddies for this section, because it summarizes the movie so nicely: “魔童降世将笑点最后都化为燃点和泪点”. The movie has so many humorous moments, some of which require a decent understanding of the Chinese language to get, but most of which can be enjoyed by all audiences (though westerners may find it strange that there are so many jokes about peeing, drinking, and farting). But what makes the film truly special is how it revisits many of those initially humorous moments later in the story, and deviously twists them to hit the audience with the feels train. And you'd really have to be a brick to not feel the passion and the sadness.

Overall I rate the movie 9/10. I admit that it’s far from perfect, but I also believe it’s one of those films that’s really worth watching if you get the chance. Hopefully my review has convinced you to at least consider giving it a try.

At the end of this review, I just wanted to say thank you to all the 1000+ people who worked on this film for 5 years to make it a reality. Because it was truly a masterpiece that reminded me of all of those childhood days spent obsessing over that 52 episode Nezha kids cartoon, waving around a red Christmas ribbon and shouting at invisible enemies. It was a indescribably profound experience to watch the same story, 15 years later, reimagined as something even greater than it was before. Somehow, Ne Zha Zhi Mo Tong Jiang Shi retained all of the key features of the Nezha films that came before it, and yet synthesized them together in fresh and engaging ways. I left the theatre feeling empowered and inspired.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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May 26, 2020

WdaCdaShdaDid

Mixed Feelings

I really wanted to like this because someone I follow was just SO into it. And it made me cry a little, too, so clearly it connected with me on a deep level very few films ever do. But like... I just... don't like it all that much. And not because it made me cry. It gets a higher rating because of that very poignant moment.

This is a truly gorgeously animated film. The fight scenes are wonderfully made. The environments are breathtaking and beautifully detailed, with bright colors and fantastical landscapes and hyper-detailed towns that we really get to explore. The characters are for the ... most part really well designed and the humans are pretty diverse in design, too.

The biggest drawback is probably Nezha's regular human form. I just don't... find that appealing. At all. He's not cute. He's not funny. He's honestly kind of just cringe in a way that just grates at the back of your mind the entire film. Maybe if I liked animated features starring very young children more I would have been okay with this, but I just watched "The Legend of Hei" and that featured a very young child protagonist who I didn't mind at all, and found rather endearing.

That being said, it is Nezha in this form that made me cry, so it wasn't the sole thing that broke the camel's back for me in this film.

This is probably piggybacking on the overall story, which is "spoiled child terrorizes townsfolk". We get backstory that actually there are reasons he's the way he is - and it's not because he's a reincarnated evil spirit - and they are very sympathetic, and if you're watching the scenes where he's terrorizing people, he isn't actually don't that much that's really "awful", outside of one instance where he's using a giant wooden mallet to hit people poking their heads out of a carriage, and one instance where he nearly murders a group of children with a boulder. Mostly people just drive themselves into a panic and he gets close to them and they make things worse for themselves through self-injury.

That all being said, I don't really enjoy the story. It's not compelling. Particularly given that a good chunk of the story is just Nezha being a spoiled brat. Sure, he has reasons for how he is, and like I said, his story is sympathetic, but that's not... enough. I guess you have to remember this is a literal 2-3 year old who just wants friends, despite how mature he acts, and people are mean to him. But that's not a thrilling story for me. Yes, children shouldn't be bullied or ostracized, particularly because of their birth. And water is wet.

There are some very good messages at the core of this story. Messages about loving your family, giving people a chance, being a good neighbor, avoiding stereotypes and prejudgment, making time for the people you love, and I think that core message of making your own destiny, of choosing to do what's right, even if no one cares, even if it doesn't change how other people perceive you, even if you don't win accolades, even if you don't get to see that better tomorrow, is a very good message. It's painful, but it's a good message. I think. It's kind of just sad, really. And it's nice to see a story about parents with a cursed kid where the parents don't just kick the bucket before the principal story starts, or they're not incredibly abusive towards said child. And hey, Nezha's mom has lines! Multiple lines! In different scenes! And a story arc! And she fights AND cooks well! That's all a bit out of the ordinary. Usually that character is dead, abusive, or either cooks well or fights, not both at the same time! And dialogue lines on top of it all, jeez! Although it's more of an indictment on other writers/companies than praise for this, since the bar is so low.

I didn't find the fart and dick jokes and general gross humor all that funny, but that's par for the course, and they're not as bad as they often get in similar media. Although they are a bit more disturbing than usual when you consider that one party is a 2-3 year old. I didn't find the alcoholism interesting. The pig jokes... had their moments. Mostly the remote control nose thing. I even generally liked Taiya, but the gross humor frequently featured him, so he was really an eh character overall. His scenes also tended to turn flat really fast, and he does some of the more blah things in the story, so... Eh.

Ao Bing's cute. And apparently smart but completely oblivious to the entire reason for his existence, but okay, he's the info dump character I guess.

The music was pretty good, or at least it was used well. Probably the best two jokes in this are around the music and they're amazing. The other good jokes I can recall are also repeated, but used quite well, and these are all rather minor jokes. But good on that.

Overall I just... find this film kind of okay at best. I wish I liked it more. I wish I wanted to rewatch it, or watch a sequel, or watch a story in the same universe. But I don't.

If you want to watch a Chinese animated film about spirits with good fighting and gorgeous animation, if you can find it, watch "The Legend of Hei". That's pretty great. Or if you want something that's got spirits and stars an ostracized child who's working on changing his destiny, watch "Natsume Yuujincho". Or if you want a fantasy story about changing your fate with the central theme, watch "Revolutionary Girl Utena".

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Mar 18, 2025

MaiDeNaBysS

Not Recommended

I won't waste effort on a wall of text like some shills since this is a silly children's action movie of no depth.
Full 3d childish art style of silly caricatures doing silly things. At least 3D allows for decently fluid animation.
The characters are mostly action set-pieces, slapstick potty humor machines, cartoonishly evil, assholes, etc. It's very hard to like or care about any of them since we barely get to know any of them, and the MC is a childish gremlin interacting with a walking ha ha fat dumb person joke. The only nonsilly characters in the whole movie are MC's parent's and brother.
Borderline deliberately ... offensive tokenism of minorities in a movie that preaches "do not be biased (against your rulers and their nephews for their incompetence and destructive acts). Prejudice (against the elites) is bad." while going out of their way to uphold divinely approved prejudicial societies of both heaven and earth.
The world itself is generic Chinese mythology of everything magic bs and (un)enlightenment cultivation to curry enough favor to go from courtly aristocracy on earth to (identical) courtly aristocracy of gods in a divine realm. Lauding a culture of greed and supremacism.
The plot is willfully dumbly cartoonishly contrived. The few emotional moments are extremely hard to care about and almost exclusively just the MC (an asshole gremlin surrounded almost exclusively by assholes and silly idiots) crying because sad. The movie is effectively just a bunch of pointless action sequences that are drawn out with completely excisable filler and mostly accomplish nothing but fill time with boring weightless spectacle since cartoon logic is in effect so none of the impacts actually matter and everyone is completely fine. The end.
Also that narcissistically long string of premovie credits including a animation/production company advertising itself as a shitty performance the audience doesn't like followed by them mass electrocution murdering the audience as a threat to enjoy this movie or else was quite on-the-nose.
The english dub is pretty good, though the lines are mostly dumb jokes only a child could enjoy.
And yes, a child could enjoy this movie. There are however way too many far better movies out there with better ideals.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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