云璃 character design dissected

[cashew]

Because I disagree with the assessment, I'm going to demonstrate why I think Yunli's design is inspired by 哪吒 (Nezha).

On the left is Yunli's PV art. On the right is the most classic Nezha design. (Yes, I understand Nezha actually had many different designs over the thousands of years, but this is the most popular form and is a reproduction of the statue in Nezha's temple.)

In addition to all the similar design elements I've pointed out, there's also the general color scheme (fiery flames against a colder color background).

The reason I picked the 1979 animation is because basically every millenial in China was heavily influenced by the 1979 depiction of Nezha. Given the age of the designers and artists working for HSR, I'm almost certain they've seen the movie thus this design is deeply rooted in their subconscious.

Furthermore, Nezha's character in popular culture is that of a bratty child who defaults to violence (he gets better later). The fact that Yunli is also a bratty child prone to violence is unlikely a coincidence.

Again, that's not to say Yunli is a straight up Nezha expy, but the inspiration I would argue is pretty obvious.