As the Chinese animation blockbuster "Journey to the West" series is popular, the audience's discussion on the strength of the characters in the play continues to rise. As a shining pearl of Chinese original animation, "Journey to the West" has won the love of many fans with its unique world view construction, rich character creation and grand narrative pattern. However, the controversy about the strength setting of the protagonist Sun Wukong has become a hot topic recently. Many viewers have reflected that Sun Wukong's performance in the play seems to be weaker than the original or traditional impression, and some people point out that some episodes have the phenomenon of water injection in the plot. These have undoubtedly triggered the need for in-depth analysis and scrutiny of the works.
First, let's focus on the core character, Sun Wukong. In the traditional Journey to the West, Sun Wukong is deeply rooted in people's hearts with his omnipotent image, and he can go to heaven and earth. In the world view of Journey to the West, although Sun Wukong is still a very charming character, his fighting ability is considered to be "weakened" by some viewers. The original mighty image of the Fighting Buddha does not seem to be fully displayed in challenges and adventures. Especially in some key battles, Sun Wukong's performance seems to be unsatisfactory. This not only makes the audience who expect to see him stand out from the crowd feel a little disappointed, but also triggers speculation about the screenwriter's intentions - is it intended to show a more tortuous and complex philosophy of life through Sun Wukong's growth curve?
Secondly, the issue of "watered-down" plots is also a concern for many viewers during the viewing process. Indeed, Journey to the West has attracted a large number of viewers with its excellent production and fascinating plots. However, in some episodes, the foreshadowing of character dialogues, the development of emotional scenes, and the depiction of non-main plots sometimes seem to be long, which seems to dilute the tension and excitement of the main plot. Although a rich character background and emotional interaction are extremely important for deepening the character's personality, if the rhythm is not well grasped, it may cause the audience to be dissatisfied with the speed of the plot advancement, and feel that each episode does not focus much on the core conflict, thus creating a feeling of "watered-down content".
However, we also need to look at the attempt of "Journey to the West" in innovative adaptation objectively. Perhaps the "weakening" of Sun Wukong is not a simple weakening, but to highlight the theme of growth, allowing the character to constantly break through himself in setbacks, and be closer to the struggle and sublimation of real human nature. As for the plot arrangement, each work has its own narrative strategy, and slow or fast pace has its own audience group. The creator may hope to bring the audience a more layered viewing experience through delicate emotional depiction and three-dimensional shaping of the world view.
In summary, the ranking of the strength of "Journey to the West", the changes in the character settings, and the discussion of the plot handling methods not only reflect the audience's high expectations for high-quality domestic animation, but also reflect the animation industry's challenge of balancing creative diversity and audience tastes. Whether it is the "weakening" of Sun Wukong's strength or whether there is "water injection" in the plot, it is worth the creators' attention and improvement in future iterations of the work, in order to better meet the audience's growing cultural consumption needs, while also maintaining the unique charm and artistic value of the IP of "Journey to the West". For the audience who love this work, it might as well be more understanding and patient, accompany the characters to grow together, and witness together how the legendary journey of "Journey to the West" will shine in the new interpretation.