To American audiences, especially comic fans, the title "New Gods" may confuse. "New Gods: Yang Jian" is not related to comic legend Jack Kirby's 1970s DC masterwork that spawned Darkseid, Mister Miracle and others. And the gods are hardly new; the protagonists of this exquisitely animated Chinese film franchise (first "Nezha Reborn," now "Yang Jian," with "The Monkey King" possibly next) are very, very old gods — figures from mythology reimagined for modern viewers.
There's plenty of imagination in that reimagining: The world of "New Gods: Yang Jian" is a swirling melange of myth, pseudo-steampunk, "Blade Runner," the kung-fu film genre and music from many corners of your ears. Bet you didn't expect a gorgeously rendered Chinese legend to be characteristically scored by a lonesome harmonica (among the comedic swing, reggae and everything else).
We're introduced via opening narration to a world that has survived an epic war among the gods in which the realms of the mortal and immortal are aware of each other but now generally keep apart. Our lethargic lead is fallen hero Erlang Shen, who used to be a big deal but now leads a group of scrappy bounty hunters on a flying wooden boat that seems in continual danger of running out of fuel. How big a deal did he used to be? He's the artist formerly known as Yang Jian, a mighty three-eyed deity who lost his powers in a nearly apocalyptic struggle involving his family. In the tradition of American detective movies, the big job he and his team lands forces him to grapple with his traumatic past.
