Cang Lan Jue (2022)

OK if you're bored

I like this series because of Dylan Wang who did a great job as Dongfang Qing Cang. The chemistry between him and Orchid is there. I like their lovey-dovey scene and rewatch a couple on youtube. There is character development for both main characters - Dongfang Qing Cang: learn how to love, Orchid: learn how to be strong.

The story line is mediocre and very typical (i.e. you can find this plot in any movie). There is no surprise and not much dramatic - to me, it's a good thing since I only want some light hearted rom-com. Orchid is a bit annoying and overly cutesy but she's strong in her own way. The 2nd ML is rather boring. The 2nd couple should have more screen time as they're adorable.

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Surprised with this show

Best surprise here is Dylan Wang. I didn't expect that he will be able to nail the character. Also he looks good all in all.

Esther was okay too. Some don't like her voice but for me, it was tolerable. I do get annoyed sometimes by her and tend to fast forward but I stop getting annoyed when she was in mortal realm onwards. She got more intelligent.

The effects were so good. I love it. Costume was nice too. They deviate from the ones similar to TMOPB. Kinda getting tired of them.

The story was good too. I love the body switching idea. I love dongfang orchid too. Wish for more scenes like this.

It was a nice xianxia all in all. Not too tropey

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Perhaps I'm Not the Target Audience Here

I don't love romance stories. I've really enjoyed them in the past, for example: Crash Landing on You and The Imperial Coroner. Romance or not I'll watch anything if the premise seems interesting enough. That was the case here. The polar opposite characters, the vast room for growth that was possible, and, if I'm being honest, the humorous potential when they swapped bodies. China has a way of taking a story I'd otherwise care little for and making it pleasant.

I'm going to drop this one though. Let me explain why:

Firstly, I don't think Esther Yu has the range to be more than the silly orchid fairy. I enjoy the sweet innocence of her starting point, an almost dumb person with a fairy tale understanding of the world who gets forcibly launched into enormously complex situations. However, her cartoon character depiction (and writing) had her refusing any and all development along the way. She was like this bubble bouncing along the plot with no actual interaction with it. As dumb as she was, her persistent stupidity could only be explained by "we need tension here, so she needs to not figure this out" which I hate. I understood her being like that for a while in the beginning, but no matter how the plot developed, she remained like this. Don't get me wrong, she could absolutely maintain her sweetness and her innocence, but that's not what was happening here. Every time I thought she'd take one step forward, her refusal to budge was effectively taking a step back. In terms of character development, it felt like the demon lord had to do all the moving. As if, it seemed, her oblivious, idiotic, self-absorbed beginning state was somehow an ideal perfection she had no need to adjust. I didn't understand how someone so obsessed with her own problems could ever think enough to help with the various situations in which her contribution was crucial. And yet, like a rubber band, after she'd display the maturity needed for these situations, she'd immediately bounce back to being a self-absorbed airhead. And airhead who wasn't particularly unlikable, but still. I wasn't sure if this was bad writing or Esther Yu's acting, or some combination, but it was damaging the story in a big way.

Moreover, and here's where I'm not the target audience, one of my biggest pet peeves is the love triangle. I loathe them. Nothing ruins a story for me faster. Not to mention, here at least, the idea that the two most powerful bachelors in all the realms were somehow in love with her strained credulity strictly in terms of probability. But the way this shoved itself into the story and wrenched it into its own shape was unforgivable. Once the love triangle became more prominent I couldn't tolerate it any more. When I watched the Rebel Princess I was pleasantly surprised by the mature and realistic way in which the writers handled what attempted to be an intolerable love triangle. The main female character had evolved and matured, her husband allowed her the space to make her own choice, accepting that it might not be him (and aware that he had other, larger things to deal with anyway), and the other man was depicted as appropriately childish and petty and selfish. It's hard to view actual love triangles any other way. I lose respect for respectable characters who maintain their pursuit of people who are already with someone else. That isn't romantic to me, it's petty. Maybe it would go away eventually, and maybe I could have powered through had the rest not been so lacking, but as it was it seemed to take over the story.

Additionally, the thing that really bothered me about that was that every choice made by Cheng Heng (the other man, here) was because he was randomly and uncontrollably in love with the orchid fairy. Does he want his brother to stop publicly torturing someone? Yes he does. Is it because public torture of an obviously innocent person is extremely cruel? Nope. It's because he's in love with her. Does he want to risk his life to save someone? Must be because he's a good prince who wants to stop his enemy from kidnapping one of his own subjects. No, actually, it's because he's in love with her. His entire character was cheapened by this. How much more interesting would he have been if he was actually just trying to do the right thing considering the situation and his status. Instead all of his actions, which could have been noble and impressive, were instead petty and childish.

Dylan Wang's acting was excellent. His depiction of the demon lord was at once over the top and completely believable. His development was subtle and well-paced and ultimately more profound than the fairy's. When he was acting as the fairy in the demon lord's body, it was perfectly done. Much, much better than Esther Yu's terrible wooden attempts at severity and seriousness when she was depicting the demon lord in the fairy's body.

Ultimately, I stopped watching once it seemed clear to me that this was another one of those romance dramas where the woman is perfect and the man has to bend to her. There are fewer and fewer romance stories these days in which the writers dare to depict the female as lacking or flawed in any way. What's worse is when she is lacking or flawed but this is depicted as not a problem. And the man has to do all the heavy lifting to make himself worthy of her, to change to suit her, to completely accept her, to renounce himself in order to be satisfactory to her. I'm sick of it. It's terrible storytelling. It's nauseating and embarrassing to watch.

I don't understand why this drama is so popular. But there's my two cents.

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Too Beautiful To End

*SPOILERS*
I often binge and finish a series I really like irrespective of the number of episodes. To see the happy ending and breathe a sigh of relief for my beloved characters. LBFAD was a masterpiece. Right from the storyline, casting, acting, chemistry, direction, OSTs till the major character development of of the leads, it was absolutely stunning and the kind of love we yearn for in our lives. It was nothing less than a rollercoaster with the amount of angst and heartbreaks we had for both the Moon Supreme and Orchid.
It became absolutely devastating with Orchid stabbing herself with the sword. This was the page turner for me. In normal situations, I would have rushed and reached the ending to see the leads happy and get over the heartbreak. But here, I just couldn't move past QingCang's anguished face. I have kept it on hold for about 6 months now and I just cannot get myself to continue it further. NOT because I am not liking it anymore. But because I love it way too much to see it end and bid a farewell to these characters. I have been watching the first 10 episodes on repeat (good fluffy starts you know?) It definitely is emotionally draining to leave it on loose ends with no closure to it, but you know how you cannot let go of things you love? This story has been that for me. I know the ending is happy, but that also means it's an end to their story. I would rather grieve the longing than put a shutter on this art.

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Really Good!

Nothing new about this storyline, but I love that they did not let it drag out. Things move pretty quickly and it shows the growth and development of the characters. I love anti-hero stories and this is one of those. The visuals are fantastic and the CGI's better than I have seen elsewhere. You might want to brace yourself for the first few episodes because the female lead needs some getting used to, but by episode 28 she is just fantastic. Many sweet and tender moments. I was really waiting for Immortal Samsara this year but in comparison, it pales to this drama completely.

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Best Devil

I came to watch this drama as a fan of Wang HeDi (ML - Dong Fang Qing Cang). I've been following him since Meteor Garden and have to say how proud I am of his improvements and achievements! Wang Hedi did a phenomenal job playing the ML in this drama. His facial expressions are spot on and he did a great job bringing his 'devil' character to life on screen.

Plot-wise, this drama is very different than the usual Xian Xia plots and so, to me, it is very refreshing to watch. A strong overpowered devil gets his fate intertwined with a delicate fairy who thaws his heart and helps him learns to love. This show has the perfect combination of comedy, drama, and romance. Funny at the right moments, but lots of seriousness and cute romance as well. The ML and FL has polar opposite personalities, yet somehow their difference generated a beautiful love. Like the saying "opposites attract", together they compliment each other well.

If you enjoy a badass, cool, strong (overpowered) ML like I do, coupled with a refreshing, fun storyline then this is the drama for you. Romance, drama, comedy, strong ML, lovely FL = best combo.

Also wanted to add that the costume procedure did a great job!! The ML's outfit choices are SO perfect.

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DRAMA IS GOOD BUT........

I'll start by saying this is a very good drama, am not taking that away from it. Love the cast especially Dylan Wang and his personality of thinking he's always right and powerful as in Miss the dragon.The Arbiter hall is something else, it looks fantastic as well as the heavenly palace. The fact that demons or the demon lord, you can say are far stronger than the heavens which stereotype is rarely displayed in such dramas for those who have watched a buch of them.
Two or a number of things let me down in this drama; Why are the costumes so weird? I don't understand where everyone's sudden love for them is coming from, really, the God of wars costume looks like a young kid's toy and again why is the moon supreme's costume so bulky? Really tries to get to my nerves but I think I'll get on with it sooner or later.
And finally, the female lead, Oh dear! Why is she so.....? I think the best way to describe her scenes is cringy really, I'm sorry, I know that many of you find her amazing but not for me. That's the script anyway, nothing to do. I'd have dropped this drama by now if not for the ninth episode that kept on and the music and the male lead plus the magic, loved it.
It'd be a nice drama to watch before you watch other xianxia masterclasses because you would be let down by kind of gap in between them.

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Forbidden love

Brilliant story
Excellent cgi
Actress voice and acting is pleasing to watch.
Mail lead acting is also good.
Very funny and excellent series
I have watched many series but I like this series acting+cgi+song.
At first episode I like how female lead introduced her home very 😊😂 funny introduction
And mail lead crying like a small baby. The graphics are SO physically stunning, sometimes it’s breathtaking. The costumes are so beautiful, and have their own style unlike I’ve seen in other Xianxia. The fighting looks so awesome, my son loved when the dragon appeared. The music makes me want to keep turning up the TV, I’m sad I cannot find the opening theme song on YouTube yet. The humor is hilarious mostly because of Dylan Wang and Esthers acting, it’s not cheesy, and is so well done. The story is good and it’s pretty unique combining elements from other fantasy things to make up the “curse”. All in all it’s the first one I’ve seen in a long time that might match up to my all time favorite Xianxia, however only time will tell, so far I’m super enjoying every minute.

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This is definitely a MUST see drama. You will LOVE it!

You will not regret watching this drama. Every aspect of the drama production is done to perfection. Compared to similar Chinese dramas, this specific storyline is rather unique. The costumes and CGI were above my expectations. Also, you can't forget the acting. All the actors and actresses presented their roles very nicely. Wang Hedi's acting has made me fall in love with him once again. I can't imagine anyone else playing Dongfang Qingcang besides Didi. Esther Yu's acting was also on point. Her cuteness and cleverness fit XLH's role perfectly. To be honest, I know that some people find her voice annoying but that was not the case for me. I appreciate her effort to dub her own voice. I know that it takes a few months of effort to do the dubbing. Overall, this is one of the best dramas that I have seen all these years.

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Forbidden Love in its purest form

I dig this. The acting, wardrobe/hair, CGI, and plot, are all outstanding even just the 10 eps in. I personally am fond of the lead's performances that perfect the dynamic of good vs evil, soft vs hard, dark vs light.. People are attacking the FL over her portrayal of innocent annoyance, but it is all in line to what this story is about. FORBIDDEN LOVE/ROMANCE/FRIENDSHIP amongst opposite personalities from opposite worlds.

This is only the beginning [ep 10/36] and I already am rooting for both sides through the treachery hidden in the god's and the devil's circle. Both have to watch their backs over their own people . I want Dongcang to protect Orchid from Rong and the king, and I want Zhang heng to redeem himself in her eyes. I want her to stay in the devil realm and also go back home.

This emotionally puzzling feeling of rooting for both sides (but mostly fl/ml) is really exciting. Dylan Wang's skill in body language, eye language and expressions are dangerously good in playing a dark lord. He is the standout for me in this series. Also, Though Esther has to play such a role, she does it well and quickly grows on you. She is lovely, brave, and good hearted... There is so much more story to unravel and I'm excited waiting on each ep drop.

I am rating this 9.5 simple because it's not over yet.

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I LOVE IT SO MUCH

Ahhhh i love ittt!! It's really cute and light. I love how ML is already the strongest, and can save the FL. He's different from other male leads. To be honest, the SML in here resembles most xianxia male leads - that good guy who has big responsibility to protect the realm etc etc, the good-natured guy who should protect the world before his woman etc.

I just love it! DFQC is so baddass and handsome and XLH is so cute. I personally love Esther's voice. I find her 'naturally cute', unlike others who look forced to me.

The chemistry in this drama is ?!!! Chef's kisses. They look so perfect together and harmonious, if
y'know what I meant.

I love the music in here. It all fits my taste.

The CGI is top-notch. The drama looks colorful and visually stunning. Also the costumes, is just pure perfection for me.

I'm certain I can watch this nonstop all over again. I've been rewatching the episodes while waiting for the next release.

This drama may not be everyone's taste, but this fits mine, so yeah! This is 10/10 for me ;))))))

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Quite boring

Honestly, when i started to watch this drama i had a great expectation, the scenery is pretty and the acting is quite good. But as long as i watched more episodes it just felt like i was watching the same one. Then when they got into the human world it started to feel a lil more excting, but then the flower semeed to be another person, her personality changed a lot (at least, that's how it seemed to me). I got frustrared at some point that i coudnt keep going on, really dissapointing. I won't say every thing is unworthy, as i said before, when they entered the mortal world it was cool, but still not enough to save it.

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