Film Name: 風語咒 / The Wind Guardians
Drawn in by the poster, I made a special trip to catch the sneak preview of “The Wind Guardians.”
The audience was quite full—after all, everyone loves animated films and has a heart for supporting domestic animation. Seeing how Chinese animation has been rising in recent years, people want to cheer it on. This is a blessing for our domestic animation industry. No doubt about it—our domestic animation definitely has a bright future.
Let’s start with the strengths.
“The Wind Guardians” draws strength from Hollywood kung fu animations like “Kung Fu Panda,” excelling in portraying human warmth, highlighting the hero’s growth journey and romantic entanglements, and delivering a satisfying showdown between good and evil. It also incorporates playful, tongue-in-cheek moments. The pacing is steady and measured, with a story and characters that hold up to scrutiny—all unfolding naturally and seamlessly.
Simultaneously, “The Wind Guardians” avoids the common pitfalls of weak storytelling often found in domestic animations. Frankly, some domestic animations either feature plots so fantastical they feel completely detached from reality, or suffer from weak, shallow, and contradictory character development, with childishly simplistic dialogue throughout—severely testing the audience’s patience. In my view, “The Wind Guardians” avoids all these flaws.
It can be said that “The Wind Guardians” successfully leverages strengths while mitigating weaknesses—a truly commendable achievement.
Moreover, the voice acting cast is impressive, seamlessly blending their performances with the characters’ personalities. The series also weaves in a diverse array of songs—rap-infused, lyrical ballads, and even catchy, earworm-worthy tunes—leaving viewers feeling refreshed and uplifted.
The storytelling is solid, the soundtrack is catchy, the visuals are impressive, and the voice acting fits perfectly. Yet, something feels off after watching it.
What exactly is it?
The art style feels off. The most immediate impression of an animation is its visual aesthetic. “The Wind Guardians” employs popular CG animation techniques, but the end result looks more like characters stepped out of an MMORPG. It feels like a mishmash of “Xianjian,” “Sword and Fairy,” and “Skyward Sword” elements. Whether it’s the character designs, background settings, or fight scenes, everything feels molded from the same template as fantasy-themed MMORPGs. While watching, I couldn’t help wondering: Could this be a movie sponsored by some online game company?
It’s not that online game animations are inherently inferior to others—every style has its place. But this one feels like watching someone play a game in an internet cafe. The flaws and strengths of this style are equally obvious: while the visuals are immersive and realistic, the characters’ expressions are stiff, and their movements resemble puppets. Much like the games themselves, these animations can’t escape the formulaic tropes of young heroes, beautiful maidens, and evil overlords. You can predict the ending without even finishing the story. And if domestic animation continues down this path, won’t the line between animation and online games become increasingly blurred?
Then there’s the dialogue.
Some lines seem meant to be funny but come off as cringeworthy. Truth be told, there are plenty of moments where the dialogue is downright thunderous.
Take the universe of “The Wind Guardians,” where Zero Force is considered the evil energy of the cosmos. Those possessing it are deemed demons and given the bizarre name “Zero.” This leads to exchanges like this:
Female Lead: “Actually, I’m Zero. The Zero Force within me has made me forget everything…”
Male Lead: “Ah! Why are you Zero? Why are you Zero?!”
Female Lead: “…”
At this point, we assume the male lead should have figured out her identity—she just revealed it herself!
However, when the mastermind behind it all, the fake Ye, appeared, the heroine snatched the spinning top from the hero’s hands to save her lover from danger. She deliberately declared, “I’m actually the villain. I’ve been using you all along.” Stunned, the hero collapsed to the ground, crying out, “What’s wrong with you? Why did you do this?” before covering his face in agony.
Hey, young hero, pay attention—she already told you herself that she was the evil “Zero”! Didn’t you see this coming? Knowing how it would end, why are you still tormenting yourself with these painful questions?
Then there are some “shocking” scenes.
In “The Wind Guardians,” after the “blind boy” accidentally swallows a spinning top (sealing the spirit of the Taotie monster), he suddenly regains his sight. But this also gives him a digestive disorder where he can only take in, not release. He constantly farts but can’t defecate, leaving everyone frantic. Plus, if the top doesn’t come out, the female lead can’t fulfill her duty to the scheming big boss.
Then, roughly several dozen minutes of “The Wind Guardians” revolve around matters related to “pooping.” Seeing the male lead unable to defecate, a child behind me giggled innocently. Yet I couldn’t laugh. Instead, I felt horrified. Not because the protagonist couldn’t defecate, but because the filmmakers genuinely believed this “pooping” gag was hilarious. I was stunned by such a crass, outdated ‘joke’—a shock comparable to the infamous “This holiday season, no gifts accepted. If gifts must be given, only Brain Gold” advertisement.
Witnessing his girlfriend’s tragic death, the protagonist instantly mastered the legendary “Wind Speech Curse,” finally propelling the film to its climax. With a look of bitter disappointment, he muttered, “What truly matters is invisible,” swiftly snatched the blade his girlfriend had used to harm herself, and plunged it into his own eyes.
He then leaps off a cliff, continuing to utter profound philosophies like “I am the wind” during his fall, embodying the heroic spirit of “facing death to achieve rebirth.” In that moment, he seems to feel no pain, yet my heart bleeds. Is this really necessary? Is the Wind Speech Curse such a cruel technique? Is it like the “Secret Manual of the Sunflower” demanding that a seven-foot-tall man castrate himself?
In my view, The Wind Guardians could have been so much better. Despite all this criticism, I hold no personal grudge. Like every fan, I simply hope Chinese animation keeps improving. As a well-intentioned work with mixed results, The Wind Guardians represents a meaningful experiment in the evolution of domestic animation. After all, only a distinctive animation leaves a lasting impression on audiences, and the most stunning reversals often come when no one expects them.
Please specify：Anime Phone Cases » The Wind Guardians 2018 Film Review: A Mixed Bag of Chinese Fantasy Anime