#Jentry Chau vs the underworld spoilers

[willosword]

Fake, facsimile, forgery.

[conceiteddemon]

Jentry Chau is a fun character because she lives with ghosts and a demon, hauled her great aunts corpse home from the woods, intentionally fucks around with shēn pearls that burrow into a person’s body like ticks, saw a demon’s armoire full of flesh bodysuits and called it a ‘skinterest board’, grows a third eye when she locks in, intentionally went to the psychological torture body horror underworld, fused with a venom symbiote with veneers, and has fully committed moguai murder. But she was too squeamish to do the frog dissection in class

[vampirequeenoffan]

Had this line pop into my head and I had to draw a thing for it. Anyone else feel like Kit was a little quick to do that self-sacrifice?

Less shaded version under the cut because I feel like you lose a lot of details in the final (even though that was sort of the point)

[catloverdraws29]

Anime Expressions (3/?)

[cowrkersgrave]

// Not a studio investigrave fanart this time.

Kit from jentry chau vs the underworld fanart! ✨

he deserved better ngl

[jamesrb4th]

Yeah because how the HELL did I know THIS pairing was gonna happen

[teartra]

“I don’t ship Jentry and Kit” and “Kit deserved better and I hope he will be treated not as a monster because who he is” can coexist

[rose-morose]

alright everyone it's jiangshi time

that's right I'm back for more Chinese mythology in Jentry Chau vs the Underworld and we're talking about possibly my favourite creature from Chinese mythology, the 僵尸 (jiangshi)

(LONG spoilers under cut as per usual)

our resident JCVTU jiangshi is Ed, named for Edward Cullen the most commercially successful dead guy (except like Dracula probably)

(it's a Twilight reference btw) (I'm guessing only gen alpha missed that one)

when gugu's bestiary claimed that jiangshi are among the least threatening residents of Diyu, it wasn't kidding (not even joking or exaggerating its list of weaknesses is the longest section of its Wikipedia page)

jianshi aren't known to be particularly intelligent and are in fact often portrayed as mindless much like zombies, so I'm guessing the reason it was chosen to be the supernatural sidekick character was because of how little a threat a jiangshi poses to the main character

it is worth noting that traditional jiangshi of ancient depiction are known to be substantially more dangerous than their pop culture counterparts, but that's not Ed

anyways, jiangshi are often likened to the western vampire, they don't drink blood, but they do drain the qi of their victims (like Kit), they are undead creatures, they are often depicted as resting in a coffin or other dark place during the day, and they are sometimes known to be capable of flight (however I've never heard of them being able to "shape shift" in any capacity)

I did look into Ed's shape shifted form, and found that the most likely reason for this form is tied to the jianshi origin, jianshi myths are often attributed to the practice of "corpse driving" which was the transportation of the corpses of workers that died far from home back to their village to be buried with their families, the way that the corpses were transported made them appear to be hopping upright, but their is one specific technique that I believe inspired Ed's other form

I found this technique on Wikipedia, and it comes from an oral account of a two man team of corpse drivers, one man would carry the corpse on his back, both the corpse and the man would be draped in a long cloak, decorated with a Chinese mourning or funeral mask on top (though I've never seen a funeral mask as expressive or ornate as Ed's), the second man would travel ahead with a lantern to warn his companion of obstacles, but this doesn't seem relevant to Ed's design

I think this explains the extra tall incredibly flimsy inflatable arm tube man form being due to the design being based off of a corpse on top of another person with a cloak over them (like 3 kids in a trench coat) as well as the mask on top, I'm not sure what else could have inspired this design

moving on from that little side tangent, the common modern appearance of jiangshi (including Ed) is attributed to Hong Kong's jianshi film and literature phase where they just went crazy over them for awhile and put them everywhere

jiangshi appear to be adult men dressed in the clothing of an official of some kind from the Qing dynasty (though I'm not sure if Ed was created from the body of an adult), with pale greyish or sometimes greenish flesh

I mentioned earlier that the jiangshi are one of my favourite creatures in Chinese mythology, and it is purely because I love this design for their appearance, I just think it looks neat

there is another relevant little detail I found online about jiangshi, and that is that in modern media jiangshi are often combined with the idea of the 饿鬼 (egui), kind of pronounced like uh-gooay (that's not a very good pronunciation guide but it was the best I could think of), which literally translates to "hungry ghost"

in the show Ed is often very hungry and is always trying to get food to eat, and I'm guessing this is a reference to the egui part of modern jiangshi depictions, as I've never known them to consume anything other than qi

something I would also like to touch on is a very well known part of the jiangshi identity that is mostly missing from JCVTU, and that is the fact that jiangshi are often referred to as "Chinese hopping vampires/zombies" and that 僵尸 (jiangshi) literally translates to "stiff corpse"

there are two primary reasons a jiangshi would be stiff, and that is either rigor mortis or a fulu Taoist talisman placed on a jiangshi's head like the one shown above on Ed's forehead

due to their stiffness, jiangshi have been known to only be able to move by hopping around since they are unable to move their legs enough to walk or run

going back to the practice of corpse driving, one way that jiangshi are said to be created is by Taoist priests that reanimate the corpses, and use a bell to control the corpses and have them hop their way home, this was supposedly a way for poorer families, that could not afford standard corpse driving rates, to get their loved ones home for burial at a price they could afford

I am not at all disappointed by the exclusion of this design element which, while not being inherent to the traditional jiangshi design, is very often associated with its identity, I actually think it works better for Ed to be able to move around at will, but at least the first episode references this with the fulu paper talisman that traps Ed

another way jiangshi are believed to be created is by leaving a corpse unburied for too long, Ed says his body was thrown in a river, meaning it was never buried, but a jiangshi created by throwing a body in a river specifically does sound familiar to me, I just can't quite say where from, either way if Jentry had waited any longer, gugu's body was very much at risk of becoming another jiangshi which honestly would have been hilarious

the last thing I want to touch on are the jiangshi's many many weaknesses

one mentioned in the show is dropping rice in front of them, coins also work, but in either case the jiangshi would be forced to take a break for a moment to count the coins or rice on the ground

Ed mentions in the Alamo episode that jiangshi can't see you if you hold your breath, and this is true and very silly to me

there are plenty of strategies in Chinese mythology specifically meant for combating any form of undead like roosters and peach tree wood, and these all apply to the jiangshi as well since they are also undead

while there are plenty of other ways to fight a jiangshi, I'm gonna end here for now because this post is getting really long

I love taking any opportunity I can to talk about Chinese mythology because I love it so much, and Jentry Chau has given me an excuse to gush about pretty much all of it

I'd be surprised if anyone made it this far though, these posts get even longer every time, but I enjoy them regardless

anyways, moral of the story is go watch Jentry Chau vs the Underworld if you haven't already, and don't read the Twilight books or watch the films you have been warned

[willosword]

kit, jentry and the art of misunderstanding

this is basically just a really long post going over kit and jentry's interactions in eps 8 and 9 bc i've seen some people feel like their characterization took a sharp turn ("they made kit act like an incel", "they made jentry reject him just because he's a demon", etc), when i thought both their actions were perfectly understandable and a pretty natural evolution of their not-relationship. i think the key thing to remember when watching these scenes is that both characters have very different assumptions about the current status of their relationship, partly because they were never able to sit down and define it in the first place.

kit thinks he and jentry are functionally together, that any hesitation on jentry's part is the result of some fixable fault of his own, while jentry thinks they were never a thing to begin with, and especially not now after kit betrayed her trust.

so this is where the trouble really begins, tho i think even earlier in this conversation is when they started to be on different pages. up until this point, kit had been hoping she'd forgive him, and was taken aback when she said she wasn't looking for apologies. then she started reiterating her belief in his soul and relating to the feeling of being trapped with a life defined by someone else

jentry pov: even though i'm feeling deeply betrayed, kit doesn't deserve to be under anyone's thumb. we'll help each other out and then we'll part ways amicably. that'll make things right.

kit pov: hold up. 'make things right'? as in... make up? as in... a relationship is still on the table? :D

jentry pov: after the powers are gone there'll be nothing tying kit to me, and nothing tying either of us to mr cheng. he'll be free to move on and choose whatever new life he wants.

kit pov: she said 'you and me' like we're a pair! so she still wants to be with me after all :D we're reconnecting!!

so this is when kit starts getting possessive. there's definitely good old fashioned jealousy at play, but i also think kit was genuinely under the impression that he and jentry were reconnecting, and that jentry should have no reason to be interested in michael at this point.

back at school he's genuinely confused, because he has no idea jentry isn't into him anymore. he helped her get rid of the powers and made up with her, so now they should be back in business. he did the mum thing that's apparently a romantic gesture jentry likes, so shouldn't she be happy about it? look how thoughtful he's being!

jentry pov: ohhh shoot, he doesn't get that i don't wanna be with him anymore. i can't deal with any more stressful demon stuff......... how do i put this nicely...

kit pov: yep haha ^_^ no more powers, yay! it's like what you said back at my house! now that you don't have the powers nothing is getting in the way of our relationship anymore, like mr cheng and gugu's game. peace and love on planet earth <3

jentry pov: i need to let this dude down as GENTLY AS PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE. i want to word this in a way that SCREAMS "you're an okay dude, just not what I personally want out of a relationship right now" because I know he has issues with his sense of identity. so i will focus on how the relationship itself can't be normal. this will hopefully take the brunt of rejection off him as an individual and lay the blame at the feet of unfortunate circumstances

kit pov: ohhhh so she WANTS to be in a relationship with me but i'm not acting normal enough

jentry pov: ok thank god. he gets that i don't want us to be together AND he took it gracefully.

kit pov: so she's saying we can be together... once i start acting more normal? that's slightly upsetting. but totally doable :)

jentry pov: i will now pursue michael since i've cleared things up with kit ^_^ yaaayyy

kit pov: what the hell??? i'm trying to be normal for her???? like she ASKED me to?? but now she's flirting with michael out of nowhere???

jentry pov: THIS CREEPY ASS DUDE KEEPS STALKING ME AFTER I TOLD HIM IM NOT INTERESTED

kit pov: i am doing Normal Displays of Normal Human Affection like she literally asked me to >:( ok well not literally but she INSINUATED

from his pov, she's not even giving him a chance to "correct" his behavior before she runs off with someone else, toying with his emotions. he's trying to "out-normal" michael to win her back, but it's frustrating and terrifying bc if there's one thing he Can Not handle it's rejection

jentry pov: this guy obviously can't take a gentle let-down, so I need to be more blunt about this. he stalked me, lied to me, tried to kill me. how can he NOT see why i don't want to be around him anymore? what the heck is his problem?? how much meaner do i need to be about this before he finally leaves me alone???

kit pov: ok, so the mask is coming off now. she said i was more human than i thought, that a soul is made up of the decisions you make, who you choose to be. but i didn't choose to be centuries old, i didn't choose to drain qi, those are all intrinsic parts of my demonic existence. was all that talk a lie? do i not have a soul after all? am i not human enough for her? was she just trying to spare my feelings this whole time?

jentry pov: he's so creepy and possessive, i hate this, why can't he just take no for an answer!!? (<- objectively true btw)

kit pov: she's avoiding the question, so she means 'yes' and is too proud to say it. she doesn't like me because i'm a demon, and if i was a normal human, we'd be together right now

so of course he gets so upset he punches the lockers. it's not extreme or out of character, he thinks everything jentry told him about his humanity was a lie. that there IS something inherently wrong with him that nothing but the acquisition of a soul could fix. that he's back to square one, that mr cheng was right, that no one could possibly love him in his natural state. that he is, inherently, down to his core, a monster.

but at least this time, he doesn't have to kill jentry to get what she he wants (because it was never really about her. he never prioritized her happiness. everything he did to change 'for' her was always about desperately maintaining the sense of human connection he craved)

[princess-unipeg]

Having watched Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld as soon as it dropped, I can definitely say it lives up to the hype and Netflix should renew it for more seasons. It does feel weird that this dropped during Christmas season and not earlier like around Halloween. This show just vibes more with the spookier season.

JCVSTU definitely surprised me. I mean they killed off Jentry’s great aunt Flora AKA “Gugu” in the very first episode and in the following episode they buried her body in the backyard which makes me wonder if they are even zoned for that.

It was very interesting in how they went about the “isolated and ostracized” main character route by showing how at first Jentry was accepted very quickly by the rest of her peers only to be rejected following the revelation with her role in the town fire that ruined many lives. The vice principal really had it in for her but as soon as other demons came in he quickly turned a 180 and was begging her for protection. Overall they eventually accepted Jentry again. The whole “saving everyone from demons” probably helped eased their opinions on her.

I was also caught off guard that Kit, the cute boy that was presented in the trailer as a love interest, was actually a demon. A Painted Skin which is a creature from Chinese mythology and this was the first time we see it in western animation. The way he died so that he could redeem himself makes me wonder if the opening credits was foreshadowing his reincarnation which would grant him the soul he always wanted.

I really adore the rest of the characters. Especially Jentry’s friends from Korea. It’s a shame that we didn’t get to see more of them. I mean they knew about Jentry’s powers and they accepted her anyway.

That isn’t to say that Stella and Michael aren’t great. They are also amazing for not only forgiving Jentry for the town fire years past but also for fighting by her side when demons started attacking.

I also like what they did with Stella. She’s really sweet even though she was introduced as a love rival which didn’t go anywhere thankfully. She decided on her own to dump Michael since he wasn’t fully sure about their future together. Stella doesn’t blame Jentry for the break up and was very accepting of her even following the revelation that she started the town fire all those years ago. She was a fully realized character which helped the LGBTQAII+ representation she demonstrated at the season finale episode.

Michael Ole was also interesting. As in I actually didn’t expect him to be the childhood friend/love interest. The rise of LGBTQAII+ representation in western animation made me think he was in love with Kit not Jentry. I’m not fully 100% invested in him as a love interest yet. At the end of the season I’m not sure where he and Jentry are relationship wise and I hope more episodes would remedy that.

At the very least I’m invested in Michael character wise. I mean he had future visions which had nothing to do with Jentry and his parents seem to know more than they let on. They should really explore this in season 2.

I enjoyed the decision to have Jentry go back to Korea with her mother. It was when she was at her most happiest after the fire incident. She had friends who accepted her and she thrived. Plus with her portal making abilities she can come and go to Texas as she pleases and keep in constant contact with Michael and Stella. After everything she went through because of those powers, it was nice that she was finally benefiting from them. Really helped saved a fortune in international moving costs.

I’m craving more from this show and Netflix should deliver if it knows what good business is.

[vampirequeenoffan]

Kit eating cake!

One year can make a big difference.

I just think a Kit-iversary party would be a good time and also that Kit should get everything he wants forever.

They eventually got him into the hat.

[catloverdraws29]

Anime Expressions (4/4)

[cowrkersgrave]

.. Fake, Facsimile, Forgery

Kit fanart !

do not repost anywhere.

Reblogs are appreciated .

[grandsoulapricotslime]

Fun fact! I overanalyzing the intro so much that I was sure these two were gonna have some kind of connection. I was incorrect

[youruinedmylifebynotbeingreal]

Lie Ren🤝Jentry Chau

Fighting a big bad with a “For my mom. For my dad. For myself.” moment

[wizardprime]

quick aside for the jcvtu fandom: is it just me or do the eternal ghost hunter (it's 4 am I can't remember her name if she has one, sorry ms girlboss) and min jae look.. similar? particularly in the jaw, eyes, and nose. i might be imagining things but I swear there's a resemblance here. apparently jentry's caretaker in korea was gugu's childhood friend/first kiss, who's to say this can't be a daughter/some other relative?