Yao-Chinese Folktales 2

Take nine different directors, nine completely different art styles, and nine short films — every single one rooted in Chinese folklore. Yao-Chinese Folktales 2 is an anthology ONA where each episode drops you into a new world with new rules, new characters, and a totally different visual approach. One episode might feel like a watercolor painting come to life, the next like something out of a graphic novel. The thread connecting them is Chinese myth and imagination, but the stories themselves hit on stuff that's pretty universal — figuring out who you are, navigating family, understanding your place among other people. The first couple of episodes ease you in with these beautifully rendered fantasy settings where humans and mythical creatures coexist, and the vibe shifts from playful to genuinely moving without warning. If you liked the mythological atmosphere of Mo Dao Zu Shi or the way The King of Blaze draws from Chinese fantasy traditions, this scratches a similar itch but in bite-sized, self-contained pieces. Think of it like a tasting menu rather than a full course. Shanghai Animation Film Studio and several other teams collaborated on this, and you can feel the creative freedom each director had — no two episodes look or feel alike. It's nine episodes, each its own thing, and honestly that variety is the whole appeal. You're not committing to a long narrative. Just pick one and see where it takes you.