Oni: Thunder God's Tale is heading to Netflix, and we just got our first look at the four-part animated event! The teaser and casting announcement broke this morning that shows us a world with little gods and monsters from Japanese mythology that looks like a delightful new adventure for the world of Netflix animation.
The synopsis for Oni: Thunder God's Tale is as follows:
"In a world filled with the oddball gods and monsters of Japanese mythology, one of the creature’s free-spirited daughters, Onari, is determined to follow in the footsteps of the mighty heroes of lore, but her unique powers are yet to be revealed. Does she have what it takes to fight to protect her peaceful village from the encroaching threat of the gods' mysterious enemies, the “Oni”?"
The cast for Oni: Thunder God's Tale includes Momona Tamada, Archie Yates, Craig Robinson, Tantoo Cardinal, Brittany Ishibashi, Omar Miller, Anna Akana, Charlet Takahashi Chung, Miyuki Sawashiro, Yuki Matsuzaki, Seth Carr, Robert Kondo, and iconic Star Trek star George Takei!
Creator and showrunner Dice Tsutsumi had this to say:
"The story of a brave girl caught between two worlds divided is, at its core, not only a very personal story for me, but one that’s become personal for everyone involved including our absolute dream cast. Every one of these incredible talents from our dream list accepted with such passion and empathy for the story, and collaborating with them has been equally humbling and inspiring. They've given souls to our characters and unparalleled performances for our animators."
Tsutsumi serves as executive producer alongside Robert Kondo and Kang Lee. Sara K. Sampson serves as producer. From what footage we've gotten from the series in the new teaser, we can tell that it is a love letter to the mythology that Tsutsumi and writer Mari Okada are bringing to life. It's a new era for Netflix in terms of their line-up of animated projects but from the teaser trailer, it's clear that Oni: Thunder God's Tale is a wonderful little love story to this mythology and it's clear that both Tsutsumi and Okada love the story they're telling.
And who doesn't want to see Takei bringing a new animated character to life? This teaser and new image really sets the tone for an amazing four-part series and we can't wait to see what Oni: Thunder God's Tale has in store for us all when it is released.
Check out the new teaser below: