It’s been almost a year since Fog Hill of Five Elements was released and many fans are still craving new updates about the remaining parts of the story. After all, we only got a handful of episodes from the series last year and we are all anxiously waiting for its return to continue the story. Nevertheless, fans can still wait as long as the quality of the donghua remains the same.
I have stumbled upon various questions about Fog Hill of Five Elements and I think I’ll make a list of them all and answer them one by one in this compilation of facts about Fog Hill of Five Elements that many fans might find to be beneficial, especially to those who had only watched the series recently.
Without further ado, let me give you these several facts about Fog Hill of Five Elements, a general overview of the 2020 Chinese anime.
The Story & Characters
What are the Chinese title and other names of the series?
Fog Hill of Five Elements is the English title of the series, but it was known as Wu Shan Wu Xing in Chinese. Other people, often called it too by Fog Hill of THE Five Elements or The Five Elements of Misty Mountain.
What is the story of Fog Hill of Five Elements all about?
The story revolves around the 5 envoys (also known as axis); they are individuals gifted with special power affiliated to the five (5) Chinese elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Wood, and Metal. They served as the mediator between the realms of humans and demons, they also guard the special portal or gate that separates the two realms. However, one of them had gone against the rules of the mountain for his personal gain, thus, the story of the Fire Axis and the imminent war between the human and demon realms will be feature in the donghua.
What is the theme of the Donghua?
The theme of Fog Hill of Five Elements follows the usual cliche of humans against demons, the balance of the good and the bad (the Yin and Yang), the moral standard of humanity and their fragile heart; the story had many references to the Chinese religion and belief Taoism (Daoism), while also imparting some elements from other traditions and cultural beliefs from China in a fantasize setting.
Who are the characters from Fog Hill of Five Elements?
There are various characters from Fog Hill of Five Elements, the most notable are the 5 envoys or the people who had been gifted with the power of 5 elements. They are as follows:
- The Fire Axis: Wen Ren Yu Xuan
- The Water Axis: Shen Tu Zi Ye
- The Metal Axis: Xuan Yuan Shen Jun
- The Wood Axis: Rong Cheng Mo Xi
- The Earth Axis: Gong Yi Chu Ren
There’s also the villagers from the Di Shan Village, the place that the Peacock Demon had attacked from the Fog Hill of Five Elements Episode 1 and 2, here are the characters from the village:
- Su Xiao An (the human girl that tagged along with the Fire Axis in the forest)
- Bai Yi (Su Xiao An’s father, and the village chief and physician)
- Shan Zi (the spear-wielder from the village that fights the Peacock demon in the bridge during the first episode)
- Qu Huang (the dual-blade user that fought the demons in the bridge during the first episode)
- Hua Liu (the youngest of the village elders, he attacked the demons in the bridge by shooting grenades at them)
- Chi Ji (the 1st elder and was shown in the third episode of the series)
- Gong Xie (the 2nd elder of the village and was shown along with Chi Ji)
- Zei Qi and Lu Er (both characters were introduced in the 3rd episode as they returned to the village along with Chi Ji and Gong Xie.
- Yu Qing & Yu Dan (they are brothers from the outskirt of the village, the younger brother Dan was killed during the attack of the demon in the village)
- Mountain Sage Elder (the priestess of the village)
- Wen Ren Jing Xuan (a character shown at the ending credit of Fog Hill of Five Elements Episode 3, he seems to have a relation with the Fire Axis)
- Lin (was the mother of the Fire Axis)
- Yuan Shu (the younger sister of the Water Axis, both Lin and Yuan Shu were abducted by the Sacred Beast Qilin in the first episode of the series)
There are also characters from the demon realms and they are the Sacred Beast Qilin and its offspring, the Beast of Wrath also known as the Peacock Demon that attacked Di Shan Village, and the two prime demons shown before the 3rd episode ended, the Beast of Insanity and Beast of Greed as they lead the demons in their assault to the human realm.
There’s also Su Guan, the talking duck that is often seen with the Fire Axis. He’s the source of major comedic relief in the series and seems to be inspired by the group of ducks that the animators often seen outside of their office.
I had published a deep dive into the characters of the series in this post: Fog Hill of Five Elements Characters: The Envoys, Humans and Monsters
The Production & Distribution
Who is the Creator of Fog Hill of Five Elements?
Everybody might be asking but avid fans for sure knew the answer to this basic question – who is the creator of Fog Hill of Five Elements? The Chinese anime is created from the creative mind of Lin Hun, who also served as the director of the Fog Hill of Five Elements. It is a passion project for him after his first series, Kuiyu Chouyuan was called off by the production company in 2016.
What is Samsara Animation Studio?
Lin Hun then started Fog Hill of Five Elements after the cancellation of Kuiyu Chouyuan and this is where he founded his own production company, the Samsara Animation Studio for the sole purpose of producing Fog Hill of Five Elements where he has full control over it. Samsara Animation Studio was supported by Nice Boat Animation in producing Fog Hill of Five Elements. Lin Hun also directed the highlighted fight scenes in the 12th episode for Nice Boat Animation’s 2020 series White Cat Legend.
How Many Staff Animated the donghua?
To surprises of the many, Fog Hill of Five Elements was animated by Samsara Animation with only 6 crew in 3 years. 3 interns also assisted them through all those years, and this is the reason why it took so long for the series to be released. While it only started as a passion project and only get support, later on, the main reason for its delay is that Lin Hun had some problems in finding talents that will suit the requirements for the quality that Fog Hill of Five Elements needs.
How Many Episodes Does Fog Hill of Five Elements Have?
So far, there are only 3 episodes that had been released from Fog Hill of Five Elements. However, the series is originally slated to release 8 episodes. Therefore, we can expect the remaining 5 episodes to be released upon the completion of Fog Hill of Five Elements – Chapter II, which fans considered to be the 2nd season of the series and will highlight the fight between the humans and demons.
Where to watch Fog Hill of Five Elements?
Right now, the only official distributor and streaming outlet where fans can watch Fog Hill of Five Elements are through bilibili.
The Manhua
Is Fog Hill of Five Elements have a manhua adaptation?
Now, many of us are asking this, is there a manhua for Fog Hill of Five Elements? The answer is yes, but is it ahead of the animation? The answer is NO. The animation is an original story and the manhua was released several months after the 3rd episode has ended.
Popular Culture
What are similar stories to Fog Hill of Five Elements?
Now, that we are patiently waiting for Fog Hill of Five Elements Episode 4 or Chapter 2 of the project. It left us craving for more and wanting to check similar stories. In my honest opinion, Fog Hill of Five Elements is the Chinese Avatar series in a nutshell. There’s plenty of similarities between the two series, albeit it has a huge difference when it comes to its core and cultural relevance. Nevertheless, you may want to check our recommendation post: 10 Anime Like Fog Hill of Five Elements (Wu Shan Wu Xing)
What does the anime community think of the series?
Here, I have compiled several reviews from various bloggers, vloggers, and people from the anime community and what they thought about this gorgeous animation from China.
- Fog Hill of Five Elements – Animation Appreciation | Star Crossed Anime Blog
- Fog Hill of Five Elements 雾山五行: A Treasure Trove of Chinese Art | Donghua Reviews
- A Year In Sakuga – An Analysis & Review | Get In The Mecha
So, the series is expected to return by either 2021 or 2022, depending on how fast will Samsara Animation can finish it. It took them 3 years to release the first 3 episodes, but upon its hiatus, I had learned that some episodes were already finished, so we might not have to wait for another 3 years for it to finally arrive. Nonetheless, you can subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest updates and recommendations about Japanese, Chinese, and Korean animation from us right in your email’s inbox.
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