Marvel’s new Chinese franchise  Shang Chi is going to have a hard time topping the aesthetic of this superhero landing.

When an animated Peking Opera character goes through mid-show identity crisis, he escapes to the live-action human world to find himself behind all the masks he wears day after day.  The rest of the opera troupe, each one representing a type of Peking opera character,  must now enter our world to bring him back.

Dramaholic 戏隐江湖 is a comedy series that mixes 3D animated and live-action characters from the team behind Never Ever Expected  (万万没想到). The animation style is gorgeous and unique,  so I really hope the script holds up.  

The head artist and director, Zou Siwei, is a self-trained artist whose daytime job is an Peking Opera actor for the China National Peking Opera Company, so he’ll no doubt bring a lot of authenticity to the opera parts.  Dramaholic stars Chen Xinzhe, Zheng Qiuhong, Zhang Benyu, and Liu Xunzimo. You might recognize the later two as regulars from  Never Ever Expected .

Peking opera masks are character specific, so when our lead is tired of wearing one mask after another, he enters our world to find a face of his own.

Tu’erye, 兔儿爷  a tiger-riding human-like rabbit , is a deity unique to Beijing. Legend has it once rode through the city and cured a plague.