Tian Guan Cifu Er

Although most gods in the heavenly realm avoid dealing with the forgotten god Xie Lian, Heavenly Emperor Jun Wu holds him in good graces. Xie Lian's luck is otherwise terrible, and adding to his troubles, the gods seem to suspect that Xie Lian's recent companion was the dreaded Ghost King Hua Cheng. Despite what others may think of him, Xie Lian fondly recalls Hua Cheng's promise: the next time they meet, Hua Cheng will appear in his true form.

Jun Wu informs Xie Lian of the unsettling news that a god's distress signal was seen coming from the Ghost City—the most prosperous place in the ghost realm, where the only law is Hua Cheng himself. As Xie Lian has no qualms about stepping into Hua Cheng's territory, he infiltrates the city to locate the lost god. There, the genuine Hua Cheng is already waiting. He is the most feared being across the three realms, yet before Xie Lian, his arrogance erodes. Without revealing the reason for his generosity, he spares no power or means to ease the burdens of Xie Lian's endlessly unfortunate past.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Hua, Cheng Main

Fukuyama, Jun Japanese

Xie, Lian Main

Kamiya, Hiroshi Japanese

Shi, Qingxuan Supporting

Kawasumi, Ayako Japanese

Mu, Qing Supporting

Kobayashi, Chiaki Japanese

Ling, Wen Supporting

Hikasa, Youko Japanese

Ming, Yi Supporting

Mori, Nanako Japanese

Qi, Rong Supporting

Tachibana, Tatsumaru Japanese

Pei, Ming Supporting

Suwabe, Junichi Japanese

Yin, Yu Supporting

Feng, Xin Supporting

Furukawa, Makoto Japanese

Li, Haoling Director

SID Theme Song Performance

krage Theme Song Performance

Lu, Han Theme Song Performance

Reviews

Jan 18, 2024

Fyrebirdi

Recommended

Its always challenging writing an unbiased review of an anime/dongua one is emotionally invested in. One feels a bit disloyal if a review is not glowing. That said, I feel one can still love something while being aware of its short-comings.

If you're reading this I'm assuming you've already watched S1, so a large portion of this review will be a comparison.

The storyline of S2 faithfully follows the novel; we start to see more of Xie Lian's backstory and painful truths start emerging. In other words the emotional angst ramps up from S1. In terms of animation of facial expressions I feel they were able to ... convey this. Xie Lian is way more expressive and shows a much wilder range of emotions. He's starting to feel like a fuller character, no longer just a sweet bishie. Sneak peaks and flashbacks add to his overall character depth. Hua Cheng's infamous gambler's den scene reveals him as mischievous and wickedly good looking. (Yeah, I know we've seen him before, but now its official!) San Lang/Hua Cheng is now also being fleshed out more and we get a glimpse of his teasing nature with Xie Lian. I thought Eming was just perfect. I loved the personality that they were able to give the saber even though they had the limitation of just one eye to animate.

In terms of music setting the mood I feel that S1 did a far better job.
S1 opening had the most exquisite animation and the music pulls at your heartstrings and doesn't let go, leaving a hollow, empty feeling behind. I was extremely disappointed in S2 opening (both music and artwork). Its opening animation was blah and (imo) poorly drawn. Why? Budget issues? The manhua set such a high art standard, did they really think mediocre would be okay? The music was okay, but the heartstrings remained un-pulled.

I watched both sub and dub because speedreading is not my superpower. Dub is surprisingly good. I was better able to immerse myself in emotional moments simply because I was able to watch facial expressions. I enjoyed Xie Lian's english VA, with his buttery smooth, soothing voice and english speaking Hua Cheng felt like he had more sass than his Mandarin counterpart. Some of the minor supporting VA cast was a little iffy; I have issues when female characters sound squeaky. And don't get me started about when they do VA for kids.

Overall I enjoyed S2, it faithfully follows the source material. While animation is still solid, episodes felt like they could be longer, but I felt the same about S1 so I guess it's just a Chinese thing. I still think that those who haven't read the novel will be confused by events and that much of the fan base is comprised of those who have.

I hope that Chinese censorship will not end the possibility of a season 3 because we all know that's when the story really gets good.

For sticking faithfully to source material, 9/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Feb 10, 2024

Mishiia

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (4/12 eps)

I start watch S1 this year. And then S2. Episode 5 for now. I watch the Japanese dub😅 because that's what I usually watch. Maybe I will explore more donghua original later.

I try to watch this because The seiyuu I know is the VA😅 It's my first donghua and I do not read the novels etc. The genre is my fave genre, magic fantasy battle.

The story. Not to hard to follow. But I still can't remember some of their name.
Tried watch the English dub too. But no subtitles. I need English or my native sub.

The animation is nice. The original music is good.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jan 10, 2024

trickeyone

Not Recommended

Preliminary (8/12 eps)

I came to this anime without any foreknowledge about the story. I watched the first series with limited expectations and found it to be bland and dull. So when the second series became available, my expectations were not high.

The story was lacking in consistency and substance with so many holes in the plotline that it makes following very difficult.

For fans of the original work this may not be an issue, but for those coming from a fresh perspective it is very clear confusing and frustrating. Having almost no knowledge of Chinese mythology or history compounds this as it seems that the storyline relies heavily on ... possibly established historical or mythological figures.

If you are not already familiar with the original work, be prepared for a lot of confusion.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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	Poll: Tian Guan Cifu Er Episode 12 Discussion Xealias - Jan 17	34 replies	by Cheonyu »» Dec 8, 11:02 AM
	Poll: Tian Guan Cifu Er Episode 1 Discussion otakuweek - Oct 18, 2023	46 replies	by Cheonyu »» Dec 7, 12:08 PM
	Poll: Tian Guan Cifu Er Episode 6 Discussion otakuweek - Dec 6, 2023	28 replies	by fast2611 »» Oct 2, 2:57 PM
	Poll: Tian Guan Cifu Er Episode 10 Discussion otakuweek - Jan 3	13 replies	by Khashishi »» Oct 1, 7:16 PM
	Poll: Tian Guan Cifu Er Episode 8 Discussion otakuweek - Dec 20, 2023	17 replies	by Khashishi »» Oct 1, 6:21 PM