Cang Lan Jue (2022)

How this drama set itself apart from other xianxia for me

This is a great watch. This is like other xianxia drama that I’ve watched but also feels slightly different. The kind of slight difference that sets it apart from other xianxia. (Funny how a lot of people comment on how it’s different from other xianxia.) It shares all the major similarities with the xianxia genre but for me what set this drama apart is how they added a comical pacing to the drama which breaks up the traditionally serious and extremely “fairy”-like presentation of xianxia. And this comical element isn’t over done, it’s weaved in thru the main leads portrayal, interaction, and character development. And it works (it’s acceptable) without being overly cheesy exactly because it’s portrayed to us from the getgo that the fairy is extremely young for fairy standards, the lowest ranked fairies, and that she’s weak and powerless because of her damaged roots that hinders her cultivation. And on the other hand is the ml who’s much older, the cruel ruthless moon supreme, one of the most powerful beings on their universe, but devoid of any emotion or conscience (literally was plucked out of him.)

The plot is interesting without being too complicated or too simple. There are no backstabbing or dumb misunderstanding that would make this drama unbearable to watch and cliched. Character development is written very well for many characters besides the main leads (Chang heng, Dan yin, and Jie li). Even though the plot is rather straightforward, it’s probably one of the harder dramas for them to act in. Many characters need to act more than one role ( a complete opposite from their original role.) For the ml, major inherent changes in his character literally made him a new person (he’s more himself than he ever was).

The music and soundtrack is awesome. It sounds original and unique, scary, beautiful , and made the scenes more engaging. For example the folk song that was sang by the villagers of the moon tribe when they stood vigil for their lost ones. That made the scene much more sad and beautiful.

And lastly Dylan wang fit his role very well. From his looks to his acting. And I’m not talking about his good looks. I’m talking about how his mean cold angular features fit the face of the evil and cruel moon supreme. Most xianxia has feminine male paired with beautiful goddess which is how xianxia are. But this drama is different and the ml is drastically different. Here we have the ml bring to our eyes a scary and crazy moon supreme, whose piercing cold eyes convey nothing but fury, hatred, and the desire to slaughter.

Not to mention by casting an a class actor like li yi tong it seem to deepen the complexity of the universe the story takes place. Like we know si Ming is there for a very good reason and we will be expecting something from her.

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One of the most beautiful fairy-tale of 2022

Romantic, funny, dreamy, heartwarming and heart-wrenching. The amazing CGI enhances the fantasy feel. I was blown away by the artistic set design as well as the heartfelt portrayal by the cast.

Dylan Wang nails a challenging role of the intimidating and villainous but inadvertently funny and loveable Lord of the Moon Tribe, Dongfang Qingcang. Esther Yu as Fairy Orchid Xiao Lanhua is initially annoying with her high-pitched, whiney, babyish way of talking but she eventually grows on you when you realize Lanhua really has a baby's innocence and purity .Everyone out there should definitely added to their watch list.

The characters of the Lord Devil and the fairy role (after the body swap). The transformation of both leads is absolutely amazing.

Just like other Chinese fantasy dramas, this series, too, has brought in many interesting aspects. Falling under the genre of xianxia, i.e., the trope packed with angst and intertwined destinies, the drama series is bringing out many intriguing twists and turns.

Loved this drama from Ep 1 all the way to the end! I don’t think I’ve watched a drama and loved it as intensely as this in a long time.

The ongoing chemistry between our fairy and demon lord is immaculate. Their journey together on the search for a way to undo the spell has been incredible so far. All in all, the drama series is a must-watch in all possible aspects. The setting of the show is not only visually pleasing, the music, the whole plot execution is just WOW.

In summary, it's a beautiful and powerful drama that dares to make viewers believe in the supremacy of love.

I’m so grateful to be able to see this beautiful master piece .

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Epic love story in a well built fantasy universe despite some little shortcomings in the making

The drama depicts the love story between two characters diametrically opposite and that are brought together unexpectedly. It explores many narrative arc through its 36 episodes, allowing some much needed character growth for both the heroine and the hero. Annoying at first, with some real childish and quite frustrating / stupid behaviours, they both improve drastically over the run of the TV show.

Even though some arcs were stronger than others, the story was well-paced and never boring as the romance develops with some heart-warming and heart-wrenching scenes, as well as a lot of epicness and cool fights scenes. It provides a feeling almost reminiscent to the one you have when reading some fantasy mangas.

In addition to the romance, the fantasy universe portrayed here is really well-built with 3 very different realms with factions with various goals, as well as multiple heterogenous secondary characters with each their own motivation and backstory. Some are quite one-dimensional and may lack nuance but they make it up by being key in driving the plot and increasing the stakes.

The acting was good overall. It was really an ensemble cast with no obvious weak link. The stand-out for me were the actors Xu Hai Qiao and Zhang Chen Xiao playing respectively the best friend of the second male led and the brother of the hero. Those two had the most interesting secondary characters storylines and I would have loved to see them even more.

One of the strongest point of the show is its music. I found the OST simply beautiful, each one of the songs were complementing amazingly well the story. They were very present but I never got tired of them. Overall, all the sound effects were nicely done and brought added value to many scenes.

Contrary to the soundtrack, the quality of the visual FX felt a bit unequal to me: some were suitable while some were clearly lacking and looked a bit too cheap. Similarly, some of the props looked a bit plastic as well as some of the scenery conveying an uncanny impression.

Despite these little shortcomings in the making, I found that the overall vision and directing was full of great artistry. All the drawings shown in the opening and ending generics were magnificent. The production of the series was not able to match totally the quality of the concept art but still managed to approach it enough to allow the viewers to properly immerse themselves in the universe.

I would recommend this to people looking for a fantasy romance with some epic scenes in a well-built universe. If you love manga such as "Yona of the Dawn" or drama such as "Alchemy of Souls", this show is likely for you!

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Review de "Love Between Fairy and Devil" (CONTIENE SPOILER)

Es mi primer drama chino y me enamoré al primer capítulo. La trama es muy buena, el desarrollo de personajes destacable, la escenografía te deja sin palabras por su belleza y su ost acompaña muy bien al drama.
Estoy satisfecha con la actuación de Esther, realmente tiene un gran futuro en la industria pero Dylan me dejó encantada con su trabajo, desde las escenas en las que intercambiaba cuerpo con Orquidea hasta la escena que más me emocionó cuando Orquídea muere y el queda en pena llorando y gritando, aunque no tuviera sonido se podía sentir su dolor y entenderlo.
Realmente es un drama hermoso y vale la pena todos los capítulos.

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Fantasia complexa

"Gostei muito desse título por ter tudo o que uma fantasia deveria ter. É divertida, engraçada, comovente e tem uma das construções de casal mais sólidas entre as novelas chinesas. Não é fácil concluir e certamente exige muita perseverança porque o rumo da história muda muito, com vários plots, e isso pode ser bem confuso de acompanhar. No entanto, apesar desses desafios, devorei essa história em pouco tempo e me diverti muito ao acompanhá-la.
A trama é repleta de reviravoltas emocionantes, momentos hilários e cenas que tocam o coração. Os personagens são bem desenvolvidos, com camadas complexas e motivações profundas, o que torna fácil se envolver com suas jornadas. Além disso, a química entre os protagonistas é fenomenal, proporcionando um romance cativante e realista.
O enredo é habilmente construído, mantendo um equilíbrio perfeito entre momentos leves e intensos. Os diferentes plots mantêm o espectador constantemente intrigado, ansioso para descobrir o que acontecerá em seguida. Embora seja um desafio acompanhar todas as reviravoltas, a narrativa é habilmente amarrada, permitindo que tudo se encaixe no final.
A ambientação e a produção do drama são de alta qualidade, criando uma atmosfera envolvente que transporta o espectador para o mundo mágico da história. A direção e a cinematografia são excelentes, capturando belas paisagens e cenas emocionais com maestria.
No geral, essa história é uma joia da dramaturgia chinesa, uma verdadeira pérola para os amantes de fantasia. Se você está procurando por uma trama divertida, emocionante e repleta de romance, este drama certamente vale uma tentativa. Prepare-se para se apaixonar pelos personagens, rir, chorar e torcer pelo seu casal favorito. Uma experiência gratificante aguarda aqueles que se entregarem a essa cativante história!"

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The only drama i have rewatched not just once but so many times

Thats how good it is. The chemistry is superb i thought i wont like the FL at first but the maturity of their character evolved so fast and deeply. Kudos to Dylan Wang for acting so well as Dfqc. His facial expressions are so on point.
The storyline is great. Love, Loyalty, compassion thats what guys should learn from this evil guy 🤭.
Supporting roles are also really good , i like the friendship between dfqc and shang que, frienemies bet. Dfqc and cheng heng. All of them are really pretty and handsome.
The soundtracks are all so good especially Jue Ai and everytime dfqc will appear in a fight.
Just watch it and u will not know what im talking about lols

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"hero will sacrifice their lover to save world but villain will sacrifice world to save their lover"

This was a very hyped up series, but it fell flat for me, and I didn't find it particularly compelling. Xiao Lan Hua's character grew on me, and I was relieved to see her character somewhat grow because I wasn't fond of her childish antics and mannerisms in the beginning. But she doesn't really undergo character development imo. Instead, she suddenly becomes this stoic, mature character when she becomes the goddess again. It felt unnatural and contrived. DongFang Qing Cang was intriguing, and I appreciated his complicated and somewhat morally grey character. The supporting characters were amazing, and their respective stories (including the villain's) were, imo, more interesting than that of the OTP. In general, all characters were complex and not one-dimensional, which was refreshing. I'm really glad that supporting characters were not unnecessarily killed off. Additionally, the special effects were wonderfully done. The plot was quite predictable though, and common tropes were used, albeit reasonably, to drive the story. Overall, I enjoyed it, but I don't see myself rewatching it. As an aside, I really wanted to see a mature, self-aware, intelligent, cunning FL paired up with the typical xianxia ML.

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que final foi esse???

Na minha visão, a série começou bem, apesar da protagonista feminina ser MUITO burra e fofa de forma extremamente exagerada.
De verdade eu achei o romance extremamente lento, eu não sabia qual era a relação deles o tempo todo, e não senti avanço nenhum mesmo quando eles estavam quase se casando, e esse problema do avanço da relação não foi só com o casal protagonista, mas senti isso com o casal secundario também, de verdade eu não pude dizer quando que eles começaram a amar um ao outro.
O final foi extremamente decepcionante e acho que para todos, o que diabos fez o donfang qincang ressuscitar? Ele simplesmente apareceu das cinzas DO NADA e disse "voltei", como diabos eles voltou? O casal secundario também não foi lá muito diferente, no final mais parece que eles só aparecem de enfeite para ocupar tempo de tela.
De verdade, todos o cdramas que eu vi eu posso falar quando que os protas começaram a se amar, e quando que eles ressuscitaram, exceto essa.

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nagih banget jujur, bikin mau nonton terus

Xianxia pertama aku sebelum akhirnya tertarik sama drama kolosal fantasi kayak gini. Alurnya bagus, nggak bertele-tele. Rasanya pas 36 episode, semuanya terjelaskan dengan baik. CGI-nya keren banget, sangat memanjakan mata dan bikin kagum. Kaget sama acting Dylan Wang disini, bagus dan nggak datar sama sekali. Semua emosi, ratu wajah, sama pergerakan dia itu bener-bener sangat mendalami karakter, sukses peranin Dongfang Qingcang. Dialognya juga pas, nggak lebay dan nggak aneh.

Paling suka sama OST-nya, bikin ketagihan dan langsung bikin playlist khusus lagu-lagu drama LBFAD 🥹❤️

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Movies that are on the list of recommendations for re-watching

I really like this drama, especially in the music section, but I don't really like it when too many scenes are played with music, there are some scenes that don't need music,and the whole of this drama in my opinion is almost perfect, one of the best dramas I've ever watched, but I'm still looking for the title of the flute played by Runghao hahaha, thank you so much for making this drama,If you know the title of the flute played by Runghao, please tell me, I really want to listen to it and include it in my music collection, I think the strains make me feel calm when I hear it

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I really didn't expect this drama to be THIS good! I'm totally amazed.

I don't even know where to start. This is the drama that actually made me sing up to MyDramalist.

I'd been postponing to watch this drama for so long, and oh I don't even know why! When I've seen clips of it before, the CGI held me back, because let's face it, none of the Chinese dramas have top-notch CGI. Although, the rating of this drama really made me think: maybe it's actually good? So, I took a deep breath, and decided to finally watch it. (And Zhang LingHe is in it anyways, so that's already a reason for me to give it a go) And oh boy, what a ride it was!!! I was literally hooked from ep 1. Yes, the CGI is not Hollywood production, but I have to say, it's better than in many of other c-dramas, and the backgrounds are really freaking beautiful at times! The world is amazing, and I loved most of the costumes, especially the ones Dong Fang Qing Cang was wearing. Now let's move to the more in-depth review.

» The Story
I wasn't expecting such a complex story at all. I don't think there were any plot holes either, which is rare. I just loved it overall, it wasn't so predictable - even if there is a tree that showed us some future events and we knew that it all should happen. But oh it did not at all happen in a way I expected to. The whole story kept me thinking and guessing all the time, it was so cleverly-written. I know it's a book adaptation, and it was so well done, that I would love to read the novel in the future if it gets translated to English, or I'll finally be able to read it in Chinese.

» The Characters & Acting
Dong Fang Qing Cang: I LOVED his character!! And Dylan Wang did an absolutely amazing job!!! This was my first time seeing him in a drama, and he did not disappoint me at all. It was like he was made for this role and he understood the character so much. AND also the way he perfectly and hilariously acted as Orchid. I am in love with his acting skills. But yeah, so back to Dong Fang Qing Cang as a character. He had such a beautiful character development. I already really liked him in the beginning and it could be clearly seen that he has a long way to go, but the development happened at a perfect pace and gradually, that it was totally believable. He made me cry and also laugh many times, and I loved him for it.

Xiao LanHua: I didn't expect to like her this much. She's kind of this carefree, cheerful girl at the beginning, and basically turns into a badass by the end and it was just amazing to see. I love that she kept up her positivity throughout the whole story and that even if she played dumb sometimes, she wasn't dumb at all! She was actually quite smart. And to be honest, I've seen some people complaining that Esther Yu wasn't the best choice to play her, and that she had no chemistry with Dylan Wang, but honestly I'm not entirely sure we were watching the same thing then. 😅 She did magnificently as Orchid, I can't even imagine someone else playing her, she portrayed her perfectly, AND their chemistry with Dylan Wang was sooo so good!!

Chang Heng: played by the one and only Zhang LingHe, who is one of my favorite actors. Before I started the series, one of my friends told me that she hated his character, so I was really nervous to see who is he, and what does he do and what's his role in the story. Then I was so relieved to see that he's such a well-mannered, beautiful man, who always wants to do what is right, and even teams up with those who he despises to DO GOOD. I loved him so much, I had second ML syndrome. He deserves the world, yet he was treated so badly throughout the whole story - he had to go through betrayal, and so many other things that break one's heart, yet he's never given into resentment and pure hatred. And on top of that, he's so handsome and his smile is everything, but I'm obviously biased because of Zhang LingHe. I've also realized that ZLH is so perfect to play these kind of prince charming roles, and I love him for that. (But having seen another one of his drama 'Maiden Holmes' I've gotta say I LOVE it when he's a cheeky prince charming, that's what he does the best!) OH and I have to mention that he literally had to play 3 roles throughout the series. One I'm not saying because that'd be a spoiler, but him as Xiao Rui, ahh, it was so delightful to watch, while it was also kind of heartbreaking at times. He played him perfectly as well.

Dan Yin: I don't want to say too much about her, but I have to mention her here. I really liked her character. She's going through quite much during the series and her character development is really good, I've grown to love her by the end!

Rong Hao and Chidi: writing about them together, because I don't want to write too much about them. Rong Hao's actor is a beautiful man, and I liked him at the beginning, BUT I definitely didn't at the and. I also didn't care much for him by the end, I just wanted to got over their scenes with Chidi. Chidi, while she was portrayed as a good person, it felt like she was just a small part of the story, even though she was literally there every episode, even if it was mostly for mentions. And honestly, I wasn't really a fan of her.

Xun Feng: Oh boy, this boy. I wasn't really fond of him at the beginning, but he's just so precious. 🥺 He had gone through so much and I loved his character development. I feel like that besides Dong Fang Qing Cang, he had the most character development of them all. And Zhang ChenXiao's portrayal - flawless.

And laaastly Shang Que and Jie Li: Ohhh, first off - the one and only Shang Que, my dear Black Dragon, 黑龙大哥, he was the biggest surprise for me in this show. Firstly, I didn't expect him to have this much screen time, but THANK GOD he did. I am in love with him, he's just so perfect, caring, loyal, cute, funny at times, handsome, and everything you can ask for. His character didn't go through a huuuuge development but I just couldn't help but love him. I had a huuuge smile on my face every single time he was included in a scene. Also, this is my first time seeing Lin BoRui in a drama, and I can't imagine anyone else playing Shang Que. He understood the assignment, he has the looks, you look at him, and he's just the perfect little Black Dragon. And now then, Jie Li. I really liked her character, and Hong Xiao did an awesome job playing her. Her character has become very interesting by the end of the drama, and I really liked the plot twist with her character.

Oh, and honorary mention - Si Ming: !!! I adoooored her! She had soo so little screen time, but I think she's such a loveable character, and the actress playing her really fits the role!

» The Music
IT'S ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. I got addicted to so many of the OSTs, even before I started watching the drama because they are just so good, and the instrumental versions which we can hear playing in the background just give so insanely much depth to scenes, that it brought tears to my eyes so many times. And also, we have Liu Yuning singing one of the OSTs, and we all know he's the best, you can never go wrong with him. Music is very important to me when it comes to any kind of TV show, and this show delivered on that front. I loved it. ( Especially the piano version of "The Other Shore" lives rent free in a special place in my heart because it's just heartbreakingly beautiful)

» Overall
I truly believe that this is one of the best dramas I've ever seen, and it's gonna be hard for other dramas to surpass this. The story, the characters, the music, everything was just so good. I didn't at all feel like the ending was rushed - as I've seen many criticizing it, I'd rather say that I probably would have made a couple of scenes shorter in the last 4-5 episodes (for example... Rong Hao's scenes, I'm sorry but I really just wanted to be over that storyline). And the only reason I didn't give it 10 stars is because it's just gotten a liiiiittle too dramatic by the end for my taste, and some of the scenes felt like they are going on forever. ALTHOUGH, it's a Chinese drama, so what was I expecting tho. 😂 But yeah, that's the only reason it's not a 10/10. Otherwise, don't hesitate to watch it y'all, because it's a beautiful and surprisingly complex story, which is very cleverly-written, without plot holes, amazing characters and a satisfying ending!

» Content Warnings
I feel like many Chinese dramas have some triggering content, and it's not emphasized enough, so I decided to include a little content warning session.
This drama includes:
- A lot of deaths (but a moderate amount of blood), losing a loved one, and a couple of suicides, so BE WARNED, because it's been talked about quite much in the story, and honestly my little heart needs some processing because a lot of it is happening at the end, all at once which can be emotionally challenging to watch.
- It has a character who's getting possessed by another "character" and she acts kind of like a schizophrenic with bloodlust, who looses her mind and has little control over her actions from time to time, and it's presented in a very disturbing way - this was also a bit too much for me for example, but just keep this in mind and be wary about it, it's not like a horror movie or something, but it can be triggering.
- It also has child abuse, and toxic family relationships, manipulation and emotional abuse.
- And it overall does have a lot of emotional scenes, we can see a certain characters dealing with past traumas and trying to navigate through them, but to be fair, that is presented more like in an inspiring way, but it can still be triggering for some.
I feel like that I have to add that these content warnings, taken out of context might sound scarier than they actually are in context! So please please please, don't get discouraged by it, just simply keep these in mind! It's overall a very beautiful story which is soooo worth watching!

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