Light Chaser Animation Studios Archives | Otaku No Culture

Are We Ready to Run 3000 Miles of Chang’an?

Light Chaser Animation’s 3000 Miles of Chang’an is slated for release this Summer, and it’ll be different from their previous works.

Light Chaser Animation‘s upcoming 3000 Miles of Chang’an is a radical departure from their New Gods line of films, and it’s only a mere six or seven months away from release! In what I could dig up about this upcoming title is that the story will focus on a different aspect of Chinese History. Instead of focusing on further heroics from characters from classic folklore, what this latest tale will deal with is brotherly love, and the life and times of two famous poets.

Perhaps the switch is for the better. As much as I love to see further adventures from Ne Zha and Yang Jian from the New Gods series of films, perhaps they are meant to be sunsetted in favour for further tales to expound on a world today’s Chinese children don’t know about.

Although the tease at the end of New Gods: Yang Jian suggested Monkey will get to tell his story about those times from his persepctive, I suspect that won’t happen anytime soon.

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New Gods Yang Jian Ushers In Chinese New Year

New Gods Yang Jian not only ups the ante in what Light Chaser Animation can do with the animation medium but also update a traditional tale to the science fiction medium.

GKIDS
Playing at Select Theatres Beginning Jan 20
Coming to Digital on April 11 and Home Video April 25th, 2023.

Light Chaser Animation‘s New Gods cinematic universe has another hero, and his name is Yang Jian (voiced by Wang Kai). He’s also known as Erlang Shen, a god with a truth-seeing eye, but in this film it has even greater power which can’t be defined.

Thankfully, no prior knowledge of who he is or the prior film are needed (Nezha Reborn) is on Netflix and my review can be read here), but it’ll help explain the surprise bits found in this tale. In this second film to this franchise, titled New Gods Yang Jian, he gave up his godhood to become a mortal, a bounty hunter, and for much of the tale, he has no regrets over this decision.

Despite everything we know about how the Divine World fell apart, nobody in this new utopia is truly at peace. The introduction talks about an averted civil war, but all is not well. In Penglai, a futuristic neo-feudal tech city located upon a mountaintop, the people live in relative peace. But this home of the gods may well become a target should a boy assemble the pieces of a destructive lamp. The beauty this location represents is just one of many places this film visits. The look of Ancient China juxtaposed with the industrial age looks wonderful. When the adventure moves to the countryside, the landscapes look like they’re straight from a bamboo tapestry. The softer use of colours is not always pronounced, and that helps with giving this movie a better richness than those highly saturated works other CGI films, like Kung Fu Panda, prefer to emphasise.

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New Gods Yang Jian’s a Hit! So When Will It Arrive in America?

It’s tough to say New Gods Yang Jian will get a theatrical debut or if it’ll go to streaming.

Light Chaser Animation has been busy and wasn’t resting during the pandemic. This studio released New Gods Yang Jian over the weekend, with terrific box office results. According to Variety, “New Gods Yang Jian earned 19.8 million (RMB134 million) on its debut between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway.”

New Gods Yang Jian takes place in a different land, perhaps far away from where New Gods Nezha Reborn ends. My review can be read here. Instead of a completely historical story based on The Investiture of the Gods (Amazon USA link), this version takes place in a cyberpunk style world. The battle is not over. What Li Yunxiang (in Nezha Reborn) learns about his place in the universe is more than just a cycle of coincidences. His old enemies are hiding in newly reincarnated bodies, and the Dragon Clan is not ready to rest in peace.

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In White Snake 2, The Tale is Really about the Tribulation of the Green Snake

White Snake 2: The Tribulation of the Green Snake is a good enough tale to recommend viewing during Chinese New Year. Technically, this product wasn’t made with this celebration in mind. It’s more of a winter story because we’re dealing with depression and loss.

White Snake 2: The Tribulation of Green Snake“ reveals new poster Xiaoqing faces emotional test | Luju Bar Available on Netflix
Spoiler Alert

Not everyone will be aware Light Chaser Animation Studios‘ White Snake has a sequel. It went from Chinese theatres straight to American streaming in 2021 and that’s a shame. White Snake 2: The Tribulation of the Green Snake is retitled by Netflix as simply Green Snake. Here, the time spent to focus on Tang Xiaoxi searching for her sister in a post-apocalyptic world would’ve looked just as fantastic had it been given a chance to play on the big screen in North America. Instead, it’s being streamed.

And for home video collectors, the wait for a physical release is long; this service doesn’t like to offer it whereas in China, it’s possible to find, and perhaps bereft of a subtitle track. Although this movie works reasonably well as a stand-alone product, I recommend seeing this series as its originally intended by this studio over what North American producers have planned–to split them up. Although the setup does recount what has happened previously, to experience the first film again (movie review link) will have more of an impact.

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What can go Wrong when the New Gods: Nezha Reborn Mythology Goes Cyberpunk?

This movie starts off strong with its introductions, but sadly Nezha Reborn loses steam by the end of the second act.

Available to view on Netflix
Light Chaser Animation Studio

The release of Nezha Reborn in America may well be late, since the debut doesn’t coincide with any national holiday. In China, it hit theatres for Chinese New Year, and just how it fared was reasonable, raking in approximately 21 million in US dollars according to reports. This post-modern take is confusing. The visual elements are not altogether steampunk and not fully cyberpunk either. Had it been one than the other, I’d be more intrigued with the world building going on.

Li Yunxiang (Yang Tianxiang) is a reincarnation of the god, and when compared to the other version from the Fengshen Cinematic Universe, I prefer the spunky miscreant child over this young adult. I kept on wanting to shout Kaneda! The dystopian vibe is straight out of Akira, and the plot deals with how a mega-corporation wants to control everything in Donghai city.

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