Head into a world of Japanese gods and monsters with Dice Tsutsumi and “Oni: Thunder God’s Tale.” The new animated series from Tonko House and Netflix is a gorgeous story of family and belonging. It follows Momona Tamada as Onari, raised by her father Naru-don (voiced by Craig Robinson) in their mountain village. Onari must find her place as the threat of the mysterious and ominous Oni circles in on her home.
The series balances wonderful humor and high stakes, and is paired with a gorgeous and tactile visual style. We chatted with the director about animism in Japanese mythology, food as an emotional core, and underdog stories.
Listen on Apple Podcasts
More about Dice Tsustumi:
He is originally from Japan, is a filmmaker, painter and philanthropist. A graduate from The School of Visual Arts in New York, Dice has worked as a visual development/color key artist at Blue Sky Studios on Ice Age, Robots and Horton Hears a Who! His credits at Pixar Animation include Lighting Art Director for Toy Story 3 and Monsters University. Dice is passionate about charity work and spearheaded both The Totoro Forest Project and Sketchtravel. He is co-founder of Tonko House with Robert Kondo.
More about “Oni: Thunder God’s Tale”
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”?
Also starring: Archie Yates, Tantoo Cardinal, Brittany Ishibashi, Omar Miller, Anna Akana, Charlet Takahashi Chung, Miyuki Sawashiro, Yuki Matsuzaki, Seth Carr, Robert Kondo, and George Takei.
“Oni: Thunder God’s Tale” is streaming now on Netflix.
