Aug 8, 2022
Xian Wang de Richang Shenghuo is a well-colored, pleasingly animated mess. In fact, this show is a great indicator of how to NOT write a compelling show story. There are no stakes, the characters aren't even two-dimensional, and nothing of value is learned (despite the show insisting that there is). That being said, Xian Wang de Richang Shenghuo is an interesting show because of the potential that it demonstrates.
The premise of the show is that an extremely powerful boy must conceal and suppress his godly powers or risk ending the world. This is actually quite a refreshing take on the overpowered MC: his character
...
is most interesting when he is trying to hide his power. Unfortunately for us, this also means that the main character has no character traits (his one trait is liking crispy noodles). The show tries to, quite cleverly, address his lack of character in the end. Even though their reasoning is sound, this doesn't really make up for the big fat nothing character-trait burger of the entire season prior to the reveal.
We might assume, then, that the promise is in the side characters. Not so. Even in 15 episodes, we somehow learn nothing about each empty character. We see plenty of flashbacks that will say the same thing over and over e.g. "be a man", "be upstanding and rich", "be a fatty". These quotes are demonstrative of the characters - there is no further fleshing out. Oh, and there's also a frog-dog that is reminiscent of Naruto.
In fact, one thing this show is full of is references. Reaction faces, sound effects, visuals - nearly every episode can be counted on to cram in some pop culture. I remember one particularly jarring instance of an Assassins' Creed leap of faith reference that made me do a double take. I am curious how dated this show will seem even five years from now.
At this point, it may seem like I hate the show. It certainly is awful. The plot is at times indecipherable, the pacing strange, the characters near meaningless. Yet I can't say I hated it while I've hated far better executed shows. Why then, did I actually enjoy the show? Perhaps it's the flashing lights and colors that numbed my brain into oblivion. If TikTok was an anime, this would be it. It flies along at a breakneck pace, without stopping. It constantly feeds you action, humor (references), and failures of emotional moments. The animation captures your attention and nothing can get stale because nothing is developed.
If you have ever watched a Youtube video aimed at kids - the one's with overacting, yelling, and strange sexual refences (Spiderman and Elsa, anyone?)- then you've seen this anime already. The truth is, there is something in us that enjoys trash as long as the trash is having fun. This show, at least, can do that.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
