Jentry Chau vs the Underworld is an invigorating teen horror sequence racked with anime aesthetics and eerie paranormal properties, becoming a member of the ranks of sequence like Gravity Falls and The Owl Home. Paying homage to Pixar’s Turning Pink, the sequence boasts bushels of Asian-American excellence with its totally youthful and energetic soundtrack, and voiceover performances from esteemed Asian-American comedians and actors together with Ali Wong, Bowen Yang, and Lori Tan Chinn.

What Is ‘Jentry Chau vs the Underworld’ About?

Because of a supernatural energy to emit hearth from her arms, 16-year-old Jentry Chau (Ali Wong) grew to become an notorious city legend because the little lady who set hearth to her hometown in Texas. Now that she’s 16, her powers are mysteriously again, and so are a legion of underworld demons after these powers. Jentry navigates the awkward woes of life at a brand new highschool, alongside Package (Woosung Kim) and Michael (A.J. Beckles), two very enticing, very pleasant, and completely platonic new associates of hers. On the similar time, aided by her clever great-aunt Flora, higher generally known as Gugu (Lori Tan Chinn), and a less-than-intimidating jiangshi named Ed (Bowen Yang), Jentry works to hone her powers to be able to shut a portal to the underworld and defeat the menacing Mr. Cheng (Greg Chun). As Ali Wong informed Collider’s Steve Weintraub, “She’s beneath a whole lot of strain!”

Jentry Chau’s Largest Impediment within the Netflix Sequence Is Excessive Faculty

Characters in Jentry Chau vs the Underworld will appear very acquainted to followers of Disney Channel’s Gravity Falls and The Owl Home. Those that know and love Gravity Falls’ secretive-great-uncle-involved-in-dark-magic, Stan, should not have any bother adjusting to Jentry Chau’s secretive-great-aunt-involved-in-dark-magic, Gugu. And lovers of Invoice Cipher will recognize the smooth-talking and undeniably evil mogwai (Kenton Chen) — though the mogwai is admittedly a lot much less charismatic, and it doesn’t include the little high hat and bowtie that you simply love a lot on ol’ Invoice. The Owl Home’s Luz, an solely little one grieving the absence of her mother and father, may make good associates with the likewise grieving solely little one Jentry Chau. Of us who’re loyal to The Owl Home’s Hooty must also get pleasure from Jentry’s equally impish however lovable sidekick, Ed. However followers of each exhibits, and different equally youthful paranormal-centric sequence, ought to actually come for the present’s younger protagonist who’s surprisingly comfy with dangerously magical beings.

A standard pattern in sequence like Gravity Falls, The Owl Home, and fewer horror-based cartoons like Avatar: The Final Airbender or Steven Universe — all fantastical exhibits that revolve round adolescent characters — is to maintain their protagonists exterior of the general public faculty area. However Jentry Chau’s story is deeply reliant on her life in highschool, nearer to the likes of Star Butterfly in Star vs. the Forces of Evil. Half of Jentry’s major relationships come from her expertise at Riverfork Excessive, together with a love triangle between Package, Michael, and herself.

Sequence creator Echo Wu mentioned with the LA Occasions that putting Jentry Chau in highschool was supposed as an added worry issue for the character. Not solely is she coping with a supernatural bounty on her head, however she’s additionally beginning life at a brand new highschool. As Wu put it, “Speaking to a boy, for Jentry, is scarier than having to defeat the mogwai king of the underworld.” Jentry’s entanglement together with her personal forces of evil disrupts any probability of her need to take care of a traditional highschool expertise. All of the whereas, she does her finest to masks her notorious id because the “demon lady of Riverfork.” The LA Occasions goes on to recommend that the romantic feud between Jentry, Package, and Michael isn’t the one love triangle within the sequence, as Jentry additionally struggles with prioritizing her human relationships over her connection to her powers.

‘Jentry Chau vs the Underworld’ Is an Genuine Chinese language-American Story

Echo Wu’s underlying aim with Jentry Chau vs the Underworld was to create a love letter to her childhood, having been closely impressed by the anime Sailor Moon and different cartoon sequence that transcended the language barrier between herself and her mother and father. Jentry Chau’s visuals are certainly energetic and downright fiery, stuffed with thrilling motion and loads of anime-derived types. “I needed to try to make a present that had a whole lot of completely different pursuits of mine mixed into one,” Wu informed the LA Occasions. “There’s horror components and there’s motion, however there’s additionally teen YA romance.” In mixing these foundational pursuits, Wu made positive to correctly symbolize Chinese language tradition. Based on an interview with Collider, Wu and the creators introduced in a cultural guide who imbued quite a lot of authenticity and element within the creation of the story’s magical beings. Viewers may also absolutely discover that Gugu’s lair is riddled with mythological Chinese language artifacts and weapons, to not point out the spoken references to Chinese language mythology all through the sequence.

Jentry Chau vs the Underworld is an accessible present for younger audiences all in favour of a bit of low-key spookiness, and the story is stuffed with thriller and misdirection — sufficient to maintain audiences of all ages engaged. Jentry offers with boys, magical powers, and a sophisticated household historical past, as solely an adolescent beneath the affect of societal, familial, and even self-imposed expectations would understand how. However on the heart of all of it, she’s simply attempting to determine her id. Jentry Chau is a incredible coming-of-age sequence with an unique voice that grapples with the all-too-familiar themes of adolescence.

Jentry Chau vs the Underworld is offered to stream on Netflix within the U.S.

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