ANI-MOVIES, *Jiang Ziya

Being the second chapter in what has been labeled the "Fengshen Cinematic Universe", Jiang Ziya is a follow up to Ne Zha, both of which are based on the Fengshen Yanyi book of Chinese folklore from the 16th Century by Xu Zhonglin. The prior movie of Ne Zha became the highest grossing animated movie made in China with Jiang Ziya earning its spot as the second biggest seller. Originally titled Legend Of Deification in China, Well Go USA released under the name of the main character. Whereas Ne Zha was more of a comedic fantasy, Jiang Ziya is a high fantasy steeped in mythology and Taoisim. There was a live-action movie about Jiang Ziya that came out just the year before, but it suffered from bad special effects while the fully animated adaptation is a stunning depiction of Chinese legends.

A fox spirit possesses the body of the consort of the Shang dynasty's emperor and causes the three main realms to unite to defeat the wicked demon's plans. The main hero of the war, Jiang Ziya, is given the task of executing the fox spirit in front of the council of gods, but he notices the consort's innocent soul inside and refuses to kill her as the demon escapes. The gods banish Jiang for the next decade to a desolate wasteland along with his thunder-punching assistant Shen Gongbao and a junior deer/dragon pet called Si Bu Xiang. Jiang comes across Xiao Jiu, a young orphan girl with fox ears that everyone else thinks is connected to the fox demons. Jiang and Xiao head pass the borders of the outcasted lands to find answers to the pointy-eared girl's origins. They run across the Shang dynasty emperor now remade as a deity who recognizing that Xiao is original soul of his former concubine that the fox spirit consumed. After taking a trip to the heavens and getting information from the Master spirit, Jiang learns he must take Xiao taken to the Gate of Resurrection where she can be reborn free of the fox demon's spirit. After Xiao enters the Gate, the fox demon breaks it open and frees all the other fox spirits that were killed during the war which was all a plan thought up by the Master god to unify all the nations against a singular enemy. The Master tries to cover this all up by sending a giant guillotine to smash the swirling mass of fox spirits which Jiang and Xiao are caught up in. Jiang severs the stairway to heaven to leave humans to decide their own destiny free of the gods, and years later all the main characters get reincarnated. In a post-credit scene, Jiang in the heavenly realm has dinner with Ne Zha from the prior movie establishing the thin connenction between both films.

Jiang Ziya is a breathtaking saga with outstanding animation. The dub is fine with anime voice actor Chris Sabat as the title character, even though the translation doesn't make it totally coherent with where the plot is supposed to be going. There are some heartfelt deaths in this but considering that reincarnation plays a big part in this, the demise of each character is void of any real consequences. The dub is available on free streaming channels like Tubi, so it's no real sacrifice checking out one of the best Asian fantasy animated movies of all time.