American Born Chinese is my latest binge! Man did I get through this one quickly! The eight episodes premiered on Disney+ on May 24, 2023. I believe it is set to be just one season, however the final episode, really left room for the story to continue!
American Born Chinese follows tenth-grader Jin Wang (Ben Wang), who is struggling to fit in with his peers. When he is tasked with showing new exchange student Wei-Chen (Jimmy Liu) around, he is unexpectedly thrust into a battle between mythical Chinese gods, including Sun Wukong (Daniel Wu) and Guanyin (Michelle Yeoh).
Based on the 2006 graphic novel American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, who drew inspiration from his own adolescent years in the 1990s, incorporating elements from Chinese folk tales and mysticism found in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West.
So a little more about the storyline? Jin Wang (played by Ben Wang), a son of Taiwanese immigrants, who for the most part is a typical high school kid. He collects manga, tries to join the soccer team, and is on a journey dealing with his own identity as he tries to figure out who he is.
One day, Wei-Chen (Jimmy Liu), an exchange student, arrives at Jin's school. Unlike Jin, Wei-Chen didn't grow up in America, is loud and open by nature, and doesn't exhibit Jin's self-doubt and insecurities. At times, this causes Jin to feel embarrassed being associated with Wei-Chen.
Not convinced to jump on Disney+ to give it a go yet? Well episode one is below to watch for free, now!
In the finale, The Fourth Scroll, Jin gets a message in a dream from Guanyin that the Autumn Equinox is near, which is when Niu Mowang will enact his plan to destroy, not just Heaven, but Earth as well.
Jin manages to recruit Anuj to help him locate Wei-Chen where they see him in his true monkey form. Realizing that Niu Mowang's plan is similar to his depictions in manga, they figure out that he will activate the staff's magic at the soccer tournament that night.
Meanwhile, Simon and Christine try looking for the pendant and discover Sun Wukong and revive him back to health. Afterwards, they decide to head to the game. Jin has a brief encounter with Amelia where the two of them admit their love to each other. Jin then stages a cosplay sketch with Anuj and they draw out Niu Mowang as a fight between him, Wei-Chen and Sun Wukong breaks out.
Jin realizes he is the fourth scroll and saves heaven and earth by taking the staff's blast. After Sun Wukong defeats Niu Mowang, Wei-Chen says goodbye to Jin, but as the latter enters his house, he finds his parents missing and Princess Iron Fan, who demands that he come with her if he wants to see his parents again.
So where did Jin's parents go? How much fun did Ronny Chieng have playing a drunk?
This was loads of fun, while being one of the best offerings on Disney+. So if like me, you missed this one back in May. All eight episodes are streaming right now! While episode one is streaming above!
No comments:
Post a Comment