Aug 22, 2020
As a huge fan of historical dramas, romantic anime and supernatural stories, I definitely could not pass by this anime, which promised me a mixture of all these genres. Animation also caught my eye. However, after a few episodes I got conflicting feelings about this show.
To start with, I should say that Tong Ling Fei is definitely enjoyable and easy to follow. I do not regret spending an evening with it, though the show has a whole bunch of significant drawbacks. Nevertheless, I will not put it a high grade for the reasons I explain below. To watch or not to watch – it
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is up to you. If you expect something really cool and exciting or if you are looking for a serious title with a great twisted plot and lively characters, I guess you should try something else. If you are searching for something simple and lovely just to relax after a long day, probably, this anime is for you.
The plot is very simple and predictable. In the best moments of this anime the story reminds of an old fairy tale like 1001 Nights or a Disney princess movie – you know, where the plot goes, but you still enjoy it. However, the weaker parts of the series are childish and boring. The main action starts approximately in episode 10. The majority of the series introduces us personages and demonstrates main heroine’s character.
The characters’ personalities are very confined and stereotyped. All personages of this anime are either kind or evil, moreover, each of them (except for the main heroine) has only one personal trait and behavioral pattern. Male characters disappointed me most. They have charisma of a cardboard box and emotional spectrum of a spoon. Hence, the romantic component is rather weak in this show.
The male lead’s relationships with his love interest are merely shown, so all potential drama of the love triangle is killed from the very beginning. It is very sad, because Qian Yunxi’s rival in love could make the whole story much more exciting (like it happens in Palace/Goong – dorama with the similar setting). Although Lord Ye’s actions and his growing attraction to Qian Yunxi look reasonable, his character is so poorly developed that you cannot empathize with him.
The main heroine and her background are curious. Qian Yunxi is the only lively character of the series. She can be nice and mean, funny and serious, strong-willed and childish. Although, the way she interacts with male characters seems to me very artificial and illogical. I understand that the authors of this story tried to show us a strong woman, but why, why she has to literally fight every time to demonstrate her determined character and stubbornness? Not only does it spoil Qian Yunxi’s positive image, it also makes all relationships between the main heroine and the guys false and iterative.
Because of it, I just cannot believe that almost every man falls in love with the female lead. Well, I suppose that there are a few worshipers of tsundere love style. But Qian Yunxi is never ‘dere’, she is only inadequately rude and physically cruel to her admirers. Romance doesn’t work this way. I see only two logical reasons for guys’ favourable reactions on Qian Yunxi’s violence: either Qian Yunxi is so good-looking that every man likes her from the first sight, or all guys have got brain concussion after those hits and have lost their minds for the rest of the series.
Supernatural component of the story is pretty bad. It serves like deus ex machina in the plot twists and undervalues Qian Yunxi’s merits, because all hard work is done by the spirits. I think that the story would be better without these Disney-style ghost companions.
Comedy is quite good here. There are some funny jokes, especially those with the references to the modern world. Plus I found a few hilarious animation failures. The animation is far from flawless, but, in general, it looks quite appealing.
In conclusion, I would say that though the conception of Tong Ling Fei was very promising, realization turned out to be slightly above average. This show is still pleasant to see, but I doubt that you would ever want to see it again. I should also notice that for a Chinese anime Tong Ling Fei is very decent and demonstrates a rapid increase in quality of Chinese anime production.
P.S.: I will not comment that psychedelic opening. You have to see that.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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