Why Should You Watch Oni: Thunder God's Tale! - A Renegade Editorial
The Animation Guru gives his two cents on the brand new 3D stop-motion hybrid animated series premiering on Netflix this weekend, Oni: Thunder God’s Tale!
While a lot of the recent news coming out of the industry, especially from studios and companies like Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery is extremely disheartening, it’s easy to forget that a ton of great animated fare is coming out on TV, streaming, and theatrical features. One of those examples is the upcoming 2022 Netflix Limited series by Tonko House, Oni: Thunder God’s Tale. This limited series created by Daisuke Tsutsumi is hot off the acclaim from the Oscar-nominated short The Dam Keeper, and his company Tonko House teamed up with Netflix to craft one of 2022’s most stunning and adorable limited series. Then again, when you have some of the most talented artists around with Mari Okada writing the script, then you know you are going to have a good time with this four-episode series. So, with how Netflix is probably going to not market this well, why should you, someone who may or may not have heard of this series want to check it out? Well, here are a couple of reasons why!
Amazing animation
One of the most striking elements of this whimsical series that you will notice right away is the fantastic animation. While it is easy to assume this is all CGI animation that looks like stop-motion, it is in fact, actual stop-motion that was handled by a group of different studios that include Dwarf Animation, which did the Rilakuma series on Netflix, Megalis VFX, Marza Animation Planet, Anima, and Tonko House. Some of the characters having felt-like skin is mind-bogglingly impressive. They might be more limited in their movements, but since so many animated films and other projects have used this process of animating movement before and after films like Into the Spider-Verse made it popular, they choose their movements wisely. Even if you are one of those oddballs that want completely smooth animation or think there is a thing like “over-animating”, that would ruin the entire charm of the stop-motion feel in this series. It’s still very expressive animation, it’s just a very different way of crafting the look. It’s still extremely expressive character animation, and it brings so much vibrant personality to the overall series.
The voice cast
While the team that makes the art come to life should be getting most of the love here, no piece of animation is complete without a stellar cast, and boy howdy do these four episodes pack in so much talent into one cast. You have Momona Tamada, Archie Yates, George Takei, Craig Robinson, Tantoo Cardinal, Omar Bensen Miller, Yuki Matsuzaki, Brittany Ishibashi, Anna Akana, Charlet Chung, Seth Carr, and Robert Kando rounding out an incredible cast. It’s also an interesting twist on some of these actors who are having to play something fairly different than what they usually get cast as. Craig Robinson doesn’t really have an actual piece of dialogue, and has to rely on grunts and noises that he makes as Naridon to provide character and personality to our lovable giant lead.
The mid-point twist
I’m going to be really short with this one. At the end of the second episode, there is a really fun twist that helps expand upon the world of this show, and it’s fantastic in how it’s revealed. Just watch the show and you will see what I mean.
It’s a limited series for all ages.
While children can and will enjoy these four episodes, we have seen animation grow and evolve to be a more universally acceptable medium of storytelling for all ages. Granted, most major studio execs will have you think otherwise, but the fact of the matter is that there is something here for everyone to enjoy. You have the silly and goofy antics of some of the characters, some subtle humor for more observant viewers, touching themes about found family, a distinct perspective on good and evil, and finding your strength to push through any challenges that come your way. Kids can just enjoy it for the antics alone, but this show will definitely grab them and make them observe the themes within the story. The character dynamics are engaging to watch and have some of the more complex characters seen in Netflix’s lineup of animation. Animation is such a bountiful and beautiful way to tell different stories, and this is another example of another way to tell a story for everyone to get into.
Honestly, if this is the first time you are hearing about this show, then I personally wouldn’t blame you. With Netflix’s notoriously stingy marketing, how it relies on the algorithm to give you everything you think you want, only to bury everything else, you really need to support stuff like Oni: Thunder God’s Tale more than ever now.
That’s a wrap for this editorial! Thank you guys for stopping by, and stay tuned for a more in-depth discussion on a future Renegade Animation podcast!
