Ethical Paradox and Narrative Rupture in Ne Zha: The Devil Child Calming the Sea: Ne Zha's Indifference to Lives of the GroupXiangyan Kong 1

Ne Zha—<italic>The Devil Child Calming the Sea</italic>, a "Rise of Chinese Animation" representative, continues traditional mythology's modern reconstruction. However, Ne Zha's "indifference to Chentangguan people's lives" plot has caused controversy. This paper, from a screenwriting perspective, analyzes this design using character arc theory, narrative ethics, and postmodern myth adaptation framework. The film deconstructs the traditional hero narrative to strengthen the individual - awakening theme. But, due to group - symbolic writing, functional - plot extrusion, and ethical - logic rupture, Ne Zha's behavior contradicts audience expectations. Although the film's "de - heroization" experiment is pioneering, it faces narrative - ethics controversy for failing to balance commercial entertainment and social depth.