Consistently funny, frequently moving and always bursting with color and creativity, Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld is a wonderful addition to the annals of animated streaming shows. It skews younger than some of its compatriots (don’t expect the overall intensity of Arcane or the adult humor of Hazbin Hotel), but 16-year-old Jentry Chau’s trials and tribulations feel as universal as they are culturally specific.
Created by Echo Wu, the series juggles mature themes with the kind of teen drama you might expect—all with a supernatural twist taken from Chinese mythology. Jentry Chau (voiced by Ali Wong) is on the cusp of her 16th birthday at her swanky Seoul art school, but instead of celebrating she finds herself chased by a fearsome mogwai demon known as Mr. Cheng (Greg Chun). He has a long history with the Chau family, and he’s after Jentry’s mystical powers. The girl can produce fire at will, which, for a teenager, mostly means when she’s stressed or angry; but Jentry is adamant about not using her powers after a childhood flare up left much of her Texas hometown burned to the ground.
With a demon determined to take her down, Jentry is forced to go back to Texas and live with her great-aunt Gugu (Lori Tan Chinn), a Daoist with decades of experience in demon hunting and all things supernatural. Gugu has high expectations for Jentry and her abilities, though Jentry wants as little to do with her powers as possible. But when a run-in with Mr. Cheng ends with Jentry ripping open a portal to the Underworld, she has to own her powers or risk it all.
Along for the ride are a bevy of surprisingly layered supporting characters, from high school heartthrobs to friendly demons. In the latter group is Ed (Bowen Yang), a jiangshi (a Chinese hopping vampire) who’s initially a hench-demon of Mr. Cheng but ends up as Jentry’s social media-obsessed bestie. That might sound like a gag that could be annoying, but Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld has a sharp sensibility, so jokes never feel cheap or dated.
As for the rest of Jentry’s social life in Texas, much of it is dictated by her fear of being found out as the “demon girl” who set the town on fire, but she has a few friends. Namely, there’s Michael (AJ Beckles), her best friend from when she was little who she harbors a crush on. However, he has to contend with new kid Kit (Woo Sung Kim), a dreamy transplant who has an immediate spark with Jentry. The love triangle is believable without being overbearing, and the series retains a real maturity in how it handles each character’s changing feelings and motivations.
Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld does a very good job of blending its supernatural, fantastical elements with the more mundane story beats. Jentry’s journey is always relatable—your 16th birthday may not have been nearly-killed-by-a-demon bad, but you probably know the feeling of being outcasted for something horrible that you did without meaning to. Jentry has a lot of familiar growing pains, and the always-empathetic writing makes sure that you can see herself in her. It also helps that Ali Wong puts in an inspired voice performance as the teen, showing off some real depth and artistry in a different role than we’re used to from the actress and comedian.
The series also presents a neat subversion of a story that may seem cliche at the outset. Though Jentry is propped up as all-powerful, a supposed “chosen one” a la Aang from Avatar and the Last Airbender or the likes of Percy Jackson, over time she learns that her powers come directly from difficult decisions made by her family. Her parents Moonie (Lucy Liu) and Peng (Jimmy O. Yang) are long dead, and the consequences of their actions still follow Jentry. The show doesn’t shy away from that, instead using the plot point to drive home the importance of being your own person. That theme gets a little repetitive as the series goes on, especially in the final three episodes that feel more like a Season 2 prototype than a finale. Regardless, it’s a powerful message that should resonate with a pre-teen and teenage audience.
Aside from the mostly stellar story, Jentry Chau is an audiovisual feast. The soundtrack is phenomenal, a multilingual blend of pop, hip-hop, R&B and more. The animation is bright and distinctive and dynamic, making action scenes exciting and comedic beats hilarious. When it comes to the Underworld, things are very effectively creepy too. Echo Wu has created a series with a very solid sense of its visual vocabulary, and if Netflix has any notion of what quality looks like, Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld will become one of its animated staples.
‘Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld’ is streaming now on Netflix.
