Oni: Thunder God’s Tale a new children’s television show from creator Dice Tsutsumi and Tonko House, the powerhouse team behind the Oscar-nominated film The Dam Keeper. A touching story unfolds cross four animated episodes, addressing the meaning of family, how to build a supportive community, and how we find our identities as children.
While Oni is definitely a show for kids, there is a depth of storytelling, beautiful animation, and wonderful characters that will appeal to adult fans of the medium. The animation is truly wonderful. Using a reduced frame rate and creating characters that are tactile and textured, ONI creates an imitation of stop-motion animation that is unique and wonderful to watch.
The show follows a young girl named Onari and her father Naridon. They are Kami, living on Kamigami Mountain. At Onari’s school, the schoolteacher, Mr. Tengu, attempts to teach all the Kami to tap into their special, natural powers–their kushi. All the other kids at school know what their kushi is–they get it from their parents. But Onari’s father, Naridon, is non-verbal.
When Onari ventures across the bridge that separates Kamigami Mountain from the land of the Oni–the demons that will attack the village under the light of the blood moon in a few weeks–Naridon reveals his kushi in order to save Onari from the Oni; he’s a thunder god. As Onari attempts to awaken the thunder power inside of her, she ventures too far into the Oni forest, and stumbles upon an Oni village, complete with neon lights, skyscrapers, and cars.
When I tell you that this twist was shocking, I’m not kidding. I was so sure this was going to be a folkloric tale of two monster factions duking it out, but it turned into a much deeper tale of environmentalism, what it means to grow up different, and how to be a part of a community, even when that community makes it difficult to be a part of. As Onari begrudgingly befriends Calvin (mispronounced as Kalbi in Japanese), a Black Japanese boy, she goes on a journey of self discovery, and learns that her father Naridon saved her from a car crash when she was a baby. Which makes her human, an Oni.
The fourth episode is heart-wrenching. I’m a tough little weirdo with a healthy relationship with my parents, and I was still tearing up at various points at the end of this show. As the father-daughter relationship comes to a head, the Kami must face their own fears, and the powerful hold that fear can have on a community that is anxious to guarantee its survival.
Truthfully, Oni: Thunder God’s Tale is a much deeper, layered show than most people will give it credit for. With truly gorgeous animation and a deep understanding of what it means to be an outsider even within your own family, Oni is a show that tackles tough topics head on, and doesn’t speak down to its intended audience of seven-to-twelve year olds. There’s some parts that might frighten the younger kids, but the point of the show is that bravery comes out during moments when you are afraid of losing something, and the final scenes between Onari and Naridon are aching in their poignancy.
With clever writing, a clear direction from Daisuke “Dice” Tsutsumi, and animation that really imitates a plush, doll-like stop-motion, Oni is a show that is absurdly easy to get sucked into. It’s stunningly relevant and will absolutely do its best to rip your heart out in between silly fart jokes and family shenanigans.
Oni: Thunder God’s Tale is currently streaming on Netflix.
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