Something that I was talking about with a friend another day was how Nezha defies social rules, but AoBing defies social roles.
NeZha obviously breaks social rules, with his constant casual manners and he doesn’t seem to be courteous at all. However, from my perspective as a western audience, I felt like NeZha’s fear of showing weakness is indicative of his relationship with his own identity of being a boy, or being masculine. The way that he was afraid to show affection for his mother at the beginning of NeZha 2 because he’s embarrassed by what onlookers might think might also stem from his want to appear strong. He bit his lip hard enough to draw blood in while flying to Lady ShiJi’s mountain because he was so hurt by the destruction he saw in Chengtang Pass that he masks it with anger.
AoBing on the other hand adheres to social rules, and he’s known for being a gentle, well-mannered figure who’s much more respectful compared to NeZha. However, something I’d like to mention is that he doesn’t care as much to present himself as strong or masculine as NeZha does, and he expresses his moments of weakness much more honestly than NeZha. He’s not afraid to cry, and he willingly expresses his love to his father, in comparison to how NeZha tries to act tough all the time, even around his own parents at the beginning of the film.
Whenever I read fanfiction of them, I usually like when they’re written with this contrast: where NeZha might be egotistical, he’s actually quite insecure in himself, and where AoBing seems more gentle and humble, he’s actually more confident in his own identity. Just because AoBing seems less masculine compared to NeZha, does not actually make him more meek or unconfident.