The title of this article makes it seem like there’s going to be some somewhat racist undertones or something like that, but that doesn’t seem to be the case as far as I can tell. It just looks like it will be exploring some old Chinese stories, and I don’t know if anyone from “the west” that would have a problem with that.
I guess the real problem would be that people wouldn’t get references. I know any anime that involves historical figures or legends I don’t get a lot of the jokes and references. If a major portion of the entertainment value is from references you can easily alienate foreign audiences. If it’s a new, alien, story it could be pretty cool, though.
I find it fun, gives me an excuse to act like a knowledge goblin and collect new shinies. Just as the Allfather intended.
Not knowing things alienates people these days?
Yes. The more you know of another culture, the more you can interface with it and its people.
And how would you go about learning another culture if you need to know it first to be part of it?
Best way to make a setting feel alien and strange is to just base it on lesser known real-life cultures, traditions, religions, or myths. Nothing draws people into fiction quite like being vague, obscure and different than what the reader is familiar with. Their own curiosity will keep them wanting more.