Tian Guan Cifu

Chinese animation is on the rise. With anime enjoying an explosive surge of popularity in China over the past decade, it’s a bit of a surprise as to why higher budget, domestically produced works tailored to an older audience have taken so long to appear. Nevertheless, donghua has finally begun to make its mark on the wider anime community, most notably with The King’s Avatar in 2017 and Mo Dao Zu Shi in 2018. Tian Guan Ci Fu is the first donghua that I’ve watched in its entirety - like many others, I was intrigued by its placement in the top airing list, alongside the eager recommendations of novel readers. Unfortunately, thanks to a horrifically executed second arc, almost non-existent character development, and some of the worst editing I’ve ever seen, Tian Guan Ci Fu is a resounding disappointment. Two major arcs occur throughout the course of this series. The first, taking place over the course of a brisk three episodes, is the better of the two. In order to pay off a massive debt caused by his third ascension to Heaven, our main character Xie Lien travels to the mortal world as a Heavenly Official to solve the mystery of the ghost groom at Mount Yujun, accompanied by the hot-headed Nan Feng and Fu Yao. On most accounts, Tian Guan Ci Fu actually does really well with this first arc. The mystery is well crafted – the suspense is built just right, and with some nice action sequences sprinkled into the mix, it does a good job with drawing in the viewer. Much of this introductory arc’s success hinges on a couple of key points. Hardly any of the world’s mechanics are explained: the ascension/banishment process, magic formations, and what actually goes on in Heaven are some of the many details that are barely elaborated on. Character development takes place - mostly on Xie Lien - but is minimal, although this is pretty forgivable since most of the focus is on the mystery. And the resolution of the mystery itself is lacklustre – the rationale behind the apparition’s actions had more or less been deduced by Xie Lien, but for some reason the writers decided it was necessary to have a convoluted flashback backstory written out, something that added little to the overall experience for the amount of screen time it took (kind of difficult to make a character morally ambiguous after they’ve murdered seventeen innocent brides). Addressing these issues was key if any initial momentum was to be kept. Tian Guan Ci Fu doesn’t just ignore the issues, but flat out magnifies them to the point where later episodes are legitimately painful to go through. Recurring characters get ZERO development, and I’m not exaggerating when I say this. Apart from basic character traits established by superficial interactions, we really don’t learn anything about the personalities of any of the characters. The biggest offenders of this would be Nan Feng and Fu Yao. Their sole defining traits are that they have temper problems and that they dislike each other. As a result, they’re also the main source of comic relief, but their antics get old very quickly, and the constant yelling does not help. The world building is awful, with constantly shifting, unconnected settings that largely remain unexplored – a real shame, because the world itself is really intriguing. There’s a critical lack of cohesion here, and everything feels more like an arbitrary chain of incidents stringed together than a natural progression of events. A major reason for all of these problems stems from Tian Guan Ci Fu’s boring and flat-out wasteful dialogue. The second arc is extremely heavy on dialogue, but it’s dialogue of the worst kind: sloppy exposition dumping. So much of the show is spent on a character explaining really minor plot points in intricate detail, usually accompanied by a flashback of some sort. Any time there’s a “twist” or a character feels the need to explain their actions? Flashback. Not only does this feel clunky and unsubtle at times, but it also eats up runtime that would have benefited way more on character or setting development, and it’s also just a mind-numbingly tedious thing to go through. So it’s a double blow of sorts: lazy, boring exposition that has no right to take as much time as it does. The second arc in general is a bizarre change in direction and I’m struggling to understand why this decision was made. Because there’s so much exposition, not much actually takes place over the course of the second arc, and everything moves at a snail’s pace. The majority of the exposition is delivered by San Lang, a mysterious young man who seemingly knows about everything. Well-written dialogue can convey both information and the personality of whoever’s delivering it in a concise manner, but the laziness of the script means that San Lang joins the list of flavourless characters. Apparently there’s supposed to be some romance going on between San Lang and Xie Lien, but when characters with the personalities of wet flannels flirt with each other for no clearly established reason, it’s hard to get invested. Good editing can often save scenes that would otherwise be a slog to get through. But Tian Guan Ci Fu’s editing is just horrible. The editor has this really weird obsession with fade to black transitions when switching between scenes. Due to taking significantly longer than something like a cut, fade transitions have a major slowing effect on pacing. This isn’t the greatest choice, because if an episode spends half of its runtime on information dumping, the last thing you need is something that makes things even more slow paced than they already are. Some conversations and interactions awkward too, with characters regularly reacting in unnatural time intervals. Then there’s the completely inexplicable errors: in episode 6, there’s a shot involving a botched looped animation of Xie Lien walking that has a frame with his mouth open, which cycles for about ten whole seconds. In the same shot, Xie Lien’s mouth movements stop prematurely, and then San Lang’s mouth starts moving while the audio of Xie Lien talking still plays! Speaking of which, the show has a consistent issue in lip flap and audio sync problems, but this segment is the worst offender by far. I also need to mention how this shot happens to involve one of San Lang’s many exposition dumps, so the fact that the shot lasts over ten seconds in the first place is another big no-no. In episode 10, there’s a shot involving a girl dancing to the beat of Xie Lien’s clapping and a person playing the tambourine… except that Xie Lien's clapping very clearly does not match up with the tambourine player. And in certain episodes, the VAs for Nan Feng and Fu Yao stand way too close to the mic, because whenever they yell (which happens a lot), you can hear this annoying distortion effect on their voices. These are really basic errors and the fact that all of them went unnoticed by the editor is mind-boggling. At times the result can be funny, but more crucially it's distracting to a fault. I honestly don’t remember the last time I got this distracted by bad editing. I raise these examples at the risk of coming off as nitpicky, but these are just the ones I can think of from the top of my head. I don’t mind the occasional mistake, but when it happens consistently like this, it just completely takes you out of it. That being said, it’s not like Tian Guan Ci Fu does everything wrong. It has a decent, well-produced soundtrack. The voice actors do a serviceable performance. And, as mentioned earlier, the first arc was great. In fact, earlier episodes in general were fairly enjoyable, benefiting greatly from gorgeous backdrops, fluid animation and well-choreographed fight scenes – qualities that degraded as the episodes progressed but nonetheless remained at a reasonable level. It’s clear that some serious time, money and effort was put into producing this, which makes it all the more confusing why they couldn’t hire a better editor, or …

Thanks to Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (MXTX) and very devoted BL fans, the MDZS review I wrote is the most upvoted review I have ever written. How could I miss the opportunity for clout by dropping another bomb review? (You can interpret ‘bomb’ as amazing or terrible) However you look at it, MXTX have done pretty exceptional, even with the ongoing court scandals. She hasn’t written many novels but all three of her existing novels have been massive hits. Gaining a huge Chinese and foreign following. As we know, MDZS’s popularity is already off the roof and now comes the TGCF anime. And no, I’m not going to write a review about Scumbag System, in fact, let’s pretend the anime didn’t exist, I want clout but not that desperate. Okay, I’ve hit my intro quota, let’s get dive right into the pit! No need to pull me back up Ruoye. I gave the anime a very warm 6 instead of a neutral score of 5 because I think it is actually an alright anime and go easy on it, not too critical for once, rare occasion. If you clicked in from seeing this ranked 22 (dropped to 67 as I revisited it now, 2 above Fate Zero s2) on the top anime category, you might be thinking what’s this? Why? I will reveal to you right now, read the first line of the review. Story: Not to be that person “THE MANGA WAS BETTER” but TGCF is a one-million-word slow burner type novel, 1,144,742 to be exact. (For reference, The Harry Potter series is 1,084,170). On top, one million Chinese characters is much more than one million of English words due to succinctness of the language. The anime is alright in terms of adapting, due to censorship, some details and story is either cut or been made tame, however, it doesn’t have a major effect on the main body of the work. Okay, so it follows the novel closely, why does it still feel so damn slow?? As mentioned above, the story is a long slow burner, the 11 episode is 10% of the whole world view, we are just hovering on top of the iceberg, haven’t even landed on it. There are so many foreshadows in the anime that is glanced over if you never read ahead which is why it’s dry if you don’t see how it’s a twist later on. Like whom is this San Lang guy why is he so op?? TGCF is another Chinese Xianxia novel, the genre has a lot of lore and terminology which can be difficult to digest for a new watcher. The story itself has lots of lore that isn't explained in the anime, so that’s a double whammy on concept and story. Animation: The section that pains me regarding Chinese anime. Let’s talk about the good part, the animation compared to other Chinese animated series, it’s pretty good. The art for the OP and ED, absolutely beautiful. However, in the sea of good Japanese animations, it is hard to break through. TGCF is pushing it in terms of fight choreography, some frames are subpar. Not to mention that one fight scene in Ep9 that looks oddly similar to a scene in Attack on Titan. Yike Haoliners, that’s low, plagiarising a top airing anime of the season like nobody will notice… Some scenes have 3D incorporated which is a bit off since the eyes can clearly recognise it’s not the same. Ep6 was just bonkers, the mouth flaps don’t match, random loop footage, wrong audio mixing, they fixed it now but if you saw the first upload you would be like what is going on. As for character designs, it has the same problem as MDZS and a handful of Chinese animes. Everyone has the same face more or less. There are only two type of design that exist here, bishie main cast and then ugly commoners, this is actually a good way to see the foreshadow, if the character is drawn like a bishie, they are important, eg. the reveal in Ep11 of that Bishie which apparently nobody recognised because everyone look the same. Before anyone have a go at me how this is Danmei (Tanbi in Japanese), which is a pursuit of two beautiful handsome men in a romantic relationship but come on you want to differentiate the characters too. I’m not the only one with this problem because I’ve seen people in the comment go “omg is this xxx what a plot twist”, no sweaty, I know they have a cape on so you can’t tell what clothes they are wearing because that was the only indication. Sound: The OP and ED are amazing, all sang by very good Chinese singers. The 2nd ED contains acrostic lyrics, which is a neat detail. Voice acting is overall not bad, little stiff for some characters but it’s not big problem. As for music, I’m about to slap the editor. If you watched this on Funimation you won’t have this problem. I watched TGCF on official Bilibili, which has an ad that features a yoghurt at the beginning of the episode after you press play, the ad is animated with Xie Lian saying ad lines with music playing in the back. When there’s an emotional or climatic scene in the anime, they play the same soundtrack, I have been conditioned to associate that specific soundtrack to the yoghurt and it become a reflex reaction and I just go ah full of peach bits, full of love, this yoghurt is the real thing, this takes you out of the scene and you can’t go back. Come on, do they not have budget for this, you took a sponsor, get a new track on that ad please. And the very end: The anime has ups and downs, not a bad watch. Hard on new viewers, you've been warned newbies. Until next time 天官赐福 (Tian Guan Ci Fu) 百无禁忌 (Bai Wu Jin Ji) (What's with the rated 10 reviews written by accounts made two days ago with this as the only review they have written, who paid you to do this, where can I sign up?)

Outstanding, beginning to end. A pity that the end came so soon!, i seriously hope we get more seasons on this. When i started watching this, i did not realise that it was from MXTX, the same author as another of my favourite donhuas MDZS - shame on me!. I had not read the novel prior, but i have now, and cannot wait for more of this beautiful animation to come back. And really looking forward to the extra episode in February. I have not watched near as much Chinese animation as Japanese, but recently, they have nothing to envy the other. This is an example of one such wonders. The story grabs your interest from episode 1, i’m a sucker for historical and supernatural, and this one also focuses on the lore of the gods and the three realms, with a twist, where not all gods and ghosts are what they seem like. It starts introducing the characters that certainly have quite the story behind, cannot help but to be captivated by every single one of them, from the main to the supporting, you just want to continue to get to know more about them. The animation, the voice acting, the expression on their faces, is just great. The action scenes, with an exception on one that uses too much cgi, are excellent. Pleasing to the eyes and ..the ears!! the soundtrack is something else. I love animes that bring sound into the equation, and this one did it beautifully, i have quickly downloaded the ost for further enjoyment. Sure, it is meant to be a BL story, and there are some tiny hints of it on these first episodes, so if you dislike it, be warned. The story is absolutely awesome, being BL or ‘brotherhood’ or whatever you wish. And having read the novel now, because i could not wait to know what happens next!, this is, without a doubt the best love story i ever read, nothing comes near. The story just keeps getting more interesting, action pack, mystery, is just awesome, definitely recommended. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching TGCF, every scene, every detail has been crafted so beautifully and brought to life with such care. Is it deserving the rave? absolutely! There is no doubt in my mind as to this is going to be the first to be dubbed in english next year It may not have been the best year, but thank you 2020 for bringing this jewel to us! xxxx

Something I have been interested in is non-Japanese anime (or anime-influenced) works, and Donghua (Chinese animation) is one of the fast growing in this sphere. As of the time of this review Tian Guan Ci Fu or Heaven's Official Blessing has a score of around 8.4 on both MAL and IMDB, so I thought it would be worth checking out. Unfortunately it was a bit of a disappointing experience. I should also clarify that I have not read the source materials of the show. Starting off with the positives I will give Tian Guan Ci Fu this: the animation is gorgeous and the production is top-notch, easily compatible with the best anime has to offer in that regard. The fluidity of how the animation flowed in particular was well done, including the actions scenes and op. I can't say I am much of a fan of the traditional opera-style Chinese music, but it did fit the show. While I am certainly not an expert (I took two classes in historic Chinese literature as electives in university) I thought the placement in medieval China was well done. My first gripe with the show was the dialogue; terms along with place and people's names are constantly being thrown about in the conversations the characters seem to be constantly having, with little explanation on the importance of who of what these things are. Again, I did not read the source material, but I think that animation should stand on its own, and I was constantly going to Wikipedia or the MAL page for this show just to understand what was going on. It is also worth mentioning the humor of the show fell completely flat, maybe it was the translation or just different cultural norms, but the jokes the main makes where akin to the ones a friend at the party does but no one laughs, but they don't get the cues and just keep carrying on. Not even the in-universe characters ever seemed even slightly amused, which I guess is supposed to be joke that Xie Lian thinks he is funny but no one else does, only that it is not funny for the audience either. Another problem was the characters, in the first arc of the show had a demon kidnapping bride as they travel to their marriage, so a bunch of rowdy villagers decide to disguise themselves as a bridal party to catch the demon. Some overly pure village girl begs them to stop because she doesn't want them to die. Yet a few minuets later when the protagonist show up, and propose to do what is practically the same exact thing, the same girl decides to help them wholeheartedly no questions asked. That's the worse example, but it felt as a lot of the characters' motivations and actions were inconsistent and haphazard. The plot was also not great, the first four episodes are concerned with an arc that proves to be mostly irrelevant towards the end, it could have easily been condensed to 2 episodes. The magic system is never really explained, and what the characters are capable of seems to be what the plot needs at the time, Xie Lian especially is described as an incapable and weak deity, but it seems every time there is a situation his magical neck bandages get the job done. Lastly a lot of praise I've seen this show receive mention the fact that it is a LGBT romance. I find that a bit misleading for two reasons 1.) maybe I'm just stupid but the male and female gods have such similar character design that it took me a full episode to realize that Hua Cheng was supposed to be a male 2.) there was barely any "romance" in the story, characters engaging in long boring conversations about ghosts and occasionally making eye contact does not qualify as "romance" in my book. Overall while the animation and production were superb, I ended up disliking this show due to the issues mentioned above. It seems a lot of people like Tian Guan Ci Fu, and whatever suits you, but personally for me it wasn't fun or heartwarming in the slightest.

Coming here to review the donghua after completing all 11 episodes. Preface: I am stating beforehand that I have not read the novel of Tian Guan Ci Fu, thus, all my opinions are based on whatever the show depicted. Despite being familiar with the main characters for a very long time (since knowing about MDZS about 2 years back), I didn't have much ideas about the plot of TGCF. All I had been hearing about it is that it has angst and a very emotional setting. STORY As the genres suggest, TGCF features cultivation, martial arts (xianxia) and romance (danmei).The show kicks off with our protagonist, Xie Lan, ascending to the heavenly realm for the third time! Considered a failure for being banished from heaven twice, the reasons behind it are mysteriously unknown. While working to build up his own shrine and reputation in the living realm, he meets a young man named "San Lang", who well, has secrets of his own. Together with San Lang and two subordinates, Xie Lan solves mysteries surrounding spirits and the heavenly realm itself. 8/10 ART The art is beautiful. The backgrounds and the color palettes used are visually pleasing. The art in the opening is perhaps one of the best I have ever seen in all of animated media. The character designs are commendable, but my only problem is that they aren't uniquely distinguishable. Basically, if you swap Xie Lan's hair and outfit with San Lang's, you won't be able to tell the difference at first glance. Unique facial features, in my opinion, are lacking. 9/10 SOUND The voice acting is well done. The voices suit the characters perfectly. I love traditional Chinese music so the opening and the two endings were like a treat to my ears. Apart from that, the background score also blends in gracefully with the visuals. 9/10 CHARACTER There are a heck ton of characters, but the story focusses mainly on the dynamic between the two main characters, Xie Lan and San Lang, who are both very interesting and likable. Supporting characters like Fu Yao and Nan Feng are also uniquely characterized. 9/10 ENJOYMENT I thoroughly enjoyed TGCF. I was always looking forward to Saturdays in anticipation of the next episode. I don't know how the novel readers feel but I felt that the pacing was decent and every episode was satisfactorily executed, keeping the viewers engaged. 8/10 OVERALL 8/10 I loved watching the show and I am very much excited for the second season, which I hear has already been announced. The plot is very promising and I am very excited to see the development in interactions and dynamics between all the characters. The first season raised many questions and there are many past mysteries yet to be resolved. With the next season (seasons?), I hope we'll get clarity and I'd be able to appreciate the series more.

Eh, to be honest, it isn't that great. Don't get me wrong, it's good, but not gonna lie here, it's not that great, at least not as great as everyone is raving about. I was never a huge fan of the original novel, but some of the problems of the original are exemplified even more here. Let's start with the good stuff: the animation is really pretty. Sometimes there are mistakes, but most of the time, it's amazing. I love the art style, and the animation is super smooth and the subtle clues included in the animation is enough to make these kinda bland characters feel a lot more 3 dimensional. Sometimes the CG is pretty shaky and worryingly bad, but at other times it's included almost as well as MDZS is. The music and soundtrack is also impeccable. The songs are all beautiful in their own right, and the vocals and instrumentals haunt my dreams. There's not a huge variety, as most of the songs are romance songs, but they're all so good that I can ignore it. Some characters and plot points I love a ton. The lady in green and black that show up in episode 7 and 8 are mysterious and may lead to some great character development. Nan Feng and Fu Yao are amazing support characters, as well as being funny, cute, and integral to the plot as well. The monsters are really well animated, and some of the themes of this novel also run through the donghua too quite well, arguably better than the original because the original really didn't flesh out the themes that much. Sometimes, I really do like Xie Lian and San Lang. They're cute at times, charming even, and sometimes the things they say and their actions have genuine emotional impact. I really don't care for their characters most of the time, but at some points, the jokes they make or the sequences they do really hit me Now onto the stuff I don't like. First of all, the story is very "monster of the week." In MDZS, the story has a natural flow and progresses in a natural way, but that can't be said for Heaven Official's Blessing. In between arcs, we get these really fan service and pointless scenes of XL and SL at Puqi Shrine essentially doing nothing. It's like they go on a mission, solve a random mystery, fight some monsters, and then they return to XL's home/shrine and everything returns to the status quo. It doesn't have that same tension and flow as MDZS, because we kind of already know that XL is going to get out of the situation and return back to his shrine for more domestic fan service and trash collecting. Now, because I’ve read the novel, I know everything that is going on, but for those that have not read the novel, the storytelling would be atrocious. None of the xianxia/fantasy elements are explored or explained. The settings are hardly developed on after the arc is over, and the character development is pretty much nonexistent. Although I loved Nan Feng and Fu Yao from the novel, and still enjoy them here, their constant use as comic relief and only that gets really grating pretty quickly. XL and San Lang have some character development, but not enough to convince me worthy of an entire 1st season. And info dumps everywhere. I usually don’t have as much of a problem with info dumps, but this anime/donghua does it ALL THE TIME. Explanation needed? Flashback/exposition dialogue info dump. Backstory needed? Flashback/exposition dialogue info dump. Literally the only way this show knows how to explain is by flashback info dumping, which is what the novel does too, and it gets kinda annoying. There's a lot of fan service in this anime/donghua. It's not as rampant as the novel, but it really is there. There are fans out there that don't mind it, but it really serves to show how much this donghua puts romance over plot and characters, at points neglecting the plot for more fan service, which feels really jarring to me. MDZS had some hugging and implicit fan service, but at the same time, those are sort of afterthoughts from the main plot. In Heaven Official's Blessing, the romance is the main plot, and considering how much I don't care for the main pair, is an issue for me. Others may not have that issue though And also I have a ton of issues with the main pair. San Lang is probably the worst out of the two, as he is not only shallow and one dimensional, but also a Mary Sue. His entire life revolves around XL, and besides loving XL and being a total asshole, he has no other character traits. No other character traits besides being a Mary Sue. He is all knowing, all powerful, and good at literally everything but handwriting. This really deflates the tension as you know he'll have the answers to everything, and he's also capable of scaring ghosts away with just a single glance, and you really just begin to wonder "why are we going on these missions anyways if San Lang can just beat everyone up and that's it?" Also, he falls in love with XL enough to live 800 years for him, despite only being caught by him once and barely ever interacting. The logic feels kinda shaky to me... Xie Lian is slightly better. He has some character depth, but none of the forms of media have made me convinced that he loathes himself and he's really that deep. I enjoy his inner conflict about putting himself in danger, but he again feels like a Mary Sue. He has no weaknesses besides being "too nice" and "not valuing himself enough." He has this solve all problems pet ribbon, Ruoye, and is also very smart, strong, and kind. He is literally a flawless human being and besides being "kinda insecure", he has no moral wrongs. I wish we got more internal dialogue/monologue of him thinking about how he deserved to be alone for 800 years and the self loathing the novel really wants you to believe, but it really isn't there most of the time. Let's end on a positive note though, the side characters are super endearing. The emotional arcs that truly hit the hardest are still yet to come (no I'm not talking about book 4, I'm talking about Qingxuan's arc), and more and more amazing characters will continue to be introduced. While I didn't like the original novel, I think the donghua has potential, and I hope it realizes that potential by toning down the fan service from the novel and using better characterization.

Beautiful anime with terribly translations and confusing storyline. Storyline goes between dragging and tons of characters and plot being introduced within 1-2 minutes. Story: 5/10 - Mediocre and confusing. Goes between dragging and break-neck speed plot development wise. Art: 8/10 - Very good. There are parts with 3D animation that looked low quality/like they're from the early 00s Sound: 9/10 - No complaints. Characters: 5/10 - The series really isn't long enough to delve deep enough into their backgrounds for real character development, but from what was able to be developed, was okay. Nothing amazing. Enjoyment: 5/10 - Mediocre. Honestly I feel like I wasted my time. Overall: 4/10 - Decent but only because it was well animated. I wouldn't actually recommend this to anybody looking for a BL anime because it feels like the idea of one but it just never comes to fruition despite having the ability to. SPOILERS: If you're looking for a BL anime where there's any kind of confession of love/a kiss/any real romance in it, this isn't it. Not even slightly. The closest they get is sleeping next to each other. Nothing physical ever happens between them, nor any verbal exchange of their feelings. Not even an inner monologue of their feelings about the other. Would not recommend for anybody looking for a BL anime.

Disclaimer: I have not read the original source material and am fairly new to this genre. So I just finished the last episode of this donghua and... I really had no idea what was going on most of the time. I continued watching because I'm a big fan of Mo Dao Zu Shi (or The Untamed for the drama series), and as this is a story by the same author I had high hopes. Unfortunately it just got more confusing instead. The art was pretty though, and I enjoyed the characters and how they interacted with eachother (the bl moments were cute too), but I felt like the story... wasn't really going anywhere? The latter half especially felt kind of pointless. I wanted to learn more about San Lang/Hua Cheng, and what his history with Xie Lian was, how he became the demon king or whatever etc. Same with Xie Lian, like how did he manage to get cast out of heaven twice? None of this gets explained! I feel like I still don't have a grasp on who these people are and what their deal is, even after 11 episodes. I think this donghua is mostly interesting for the people who've already read the source material, I don't think it would've been so high on the rankings if it wasn't. If there's gonna be a second season I'll probably watch it because there are a lot of elements that I'm curious about, but all in all this first season was (for me) kinda disappointing and a mostly confusing mess in a pretty package.

MUST say this first but if you're homophobic even the slightest bit, I won't recommend this. Now, it is soft BL and does contain references of it being there, however it shouldn't affect your overall watching experience and if you think about it, just think of it as them being super friendly as they aren't in an intimate relationship yet. Now onto what I think. (I've been meaning to write this for a long time but just never had the time to so here I am with a very late review...) I freakin' love this anime!! My rating says otherwise only because I am craving for more. Clearly this season left me a good amount of questions such as how Xian Le became a lowly ranked individual when he was once a god, despite that we do witness for a couple short seconds of how much he was loved when he was a god. So I am hoping that the 2nd season will reveal the history a little more (and 2nd season is ongoing as I am writing this which I cannot wait to binge watch!) I totally did not know what to expect when I first began but just wanted to watch it out of curiosity. For example, my first soft BL was Mo Dao Du Shi. However, I was a little disappointed...I don't know whether the story was not captivating enough or what, but it left me a confusing impression towards the very end. Then I came across Tian Guan Ci Fu. Not knowing at all whether this will leave the same impression or not, I continued to watch. Till the last episode, I was in love. In love with the story; the characters; the music; the animation. Practically everything. I've rewatched this probably 3 times now and it will be the fourth time once I begin the completed 2nd season. I was truly captivated by the main characters and was quite interested in their history and background. There's so much more to them than meets the eye and I hope to see further development in the story (and not going to lie, our two boy's relationship). Just an extra little note for myself I want to leave behind *slight SPOILER*: MY HEART BROKE WHEN HUA CHEN SAID HE WAS UGLY! WHEN WE GOT HIS FACE REVEAL AT THE END, I PROMISE I WENT NUTS AND KEPT COMPLAINING HOW THIS GUY IS FUDGING BEAUTIFUL!! (Then again, this man is in love so~) I EVEN THOUGHT TO MYSELF, I WISH THERE WAS A GUY THIS GOOD-LOOKING IRL TOO! HOW MUCH I WANTED TO DIVE INTO THE ANIME ITSELF TO SAY AND SLAP HIS HANDSOME SMUG FACE THAT HE'S FREAKIN' GORGEOUS AND HE SHOULD BE MORE CONFIDENT IN FRONT OF THE PERSON HE LOVES!! (But apparently he's well aware of his good looks...then again, him showing such a docile side to himself is very cute...)

Way too many people calling this series BL, but I call BS. Yeah, I admit there's some pretty sus scenes. But it's not like the MCs are swapping spit or giving each other reach arounds. It's not really the driving force behind this show. It's awfully tame in that regard. That being said, more people really need to give this series the chance it truly deserves, and not listen to the drivel being spewed about it. The artwork is simply beautiful and that is reason enough to recommend this title. But there's lots more. This is probably the best animation I have seen come out of a Chinese studio. It's not perfect, BiliBili swung for the fence, and lined a double off the wall here. There is a lot more to appreciate than denigrate. The character designs aren't just pretty, but have some depth and they grow as the season progresses, The plot at first seems thin, but I recommend giving this one at least 5 eps to cook before coming to any conclusions. The story is very, very good and keeps getting better with each episode. I'm usually not one for dubs, but this English cast is nothing short of fantastic. They could have drifted off into corniness, or fake homo-eroticism, but they don't. They play things straight up as sentient beings, not some kind of stereotype. I am sure the director had a lot to do with that. He really does a nice job of keeping this series heading in the right direction, and not letting it slide off into the dismal swamp of cliches. It's official. This is a series that deserves your attention. If I was grading it, I'd give it 93/100; as high an A- as I could provide. If the animation had avoided some of the shortcuts that were taken, this would definitely be 10 material for everything else it brings to the table.

The production and animation quality is stellar, if not for some underwhelming character designs (*cough* Hua Cheng *cough*). The pace and writing, on the other hand, is a glaring issue with this adaptation. The original TGCF book is one of my favourite pieces of fiction ever, by far the best romance story I've ever read, and I was a bit underwhelmed with this. The pacing was very strange, making the story's opening even more scattered than it was in the book (which is by far the weakest arc already). I haven't read the first arc in a long time, and even watching the donghua, I had a very hard time understanding what was happening. I think it should have been rewritten to be clearer and more engaging for the viewers, because we don't have the book narration to guide us through some plot beats. Xie Lian was handled extremely well in this adaptation, but all the other character introductions were lacklustre. They had a golden opportunity to expand on this world and go all out with these unforgettable characters, but the opportunity was wasted and instead, they wasted too much time on the Peis in my opinion. Secondly, the music was very nice but equally as distracting, cutting the tension of moments and just breaking the flow of the scenes. The fight scenes were quite good, but their weird placement caused a very bad flow as well. Every piece of action was slowed down suddenly for exposition, misplaced flashbacks, and scene transitions that weren't executed well. Finally, I was extremely underwhelmed by this version of Hua Cheng. They were able to do wonderfully with characters like Xie Lian and Banyu, but not the main love interest. For a character with such a huge presence, charisma, and notoriety, they weren't able to emphasise any of it. He's a ghost whose name causes Gods to shit their pants, and instead every time he was mentioned in this version, it felt like passing gossip. His design was more on the basic side, which is a capital crime considering how he's depicted in original art and in the manhua. I don't understand why they made him shorter, or why he looks like a black-haired version of Mu Qing's "subordinate", and why the stupid braid was THAT stupid, but I'm just nit-picking now. Overall, definitely a decent adaptation, but I hope they rework the script for season 2 to make it more digestible. Also, Hua Cheng doesn't look bad in the trailers, so I'm excited about that.

i just watched it this year, it's a really impressive visual masterpiece, only one thing is lacking.. if xie lian was made as a woman it would be perfect.. i speak as a man.. when there is a romance hub in both of them my heart flutters imagining that he is not a man.. really very beautiful and great.. despite all that I hesitate to continue even though I like it so much.. thanks to the original author and crew for making this masterpiece.. and hope to find more with such interesting story and connection should 🙏🙏☺

Watching an anime in chinese was honestly tougher than I thought... It was at times hard to follow because of it's speed so I especially recommend watching it for your own understanding now Story: The first episodes had some pretty high pace which I'm absolutely not oppossed to - but my problem with TGCF was that it did not use it's limited time that well. Usually the first episode(s) is/are there to introduce the characters, explore the mechanics or explain the world they were in. While TCGF introduced us (a bit) to our protagonist Lian Xie it did not do that as well in the other criterias I've mentioned - as an example I would've liked to know the structures of "heaven" or it's relationship to the mortal realm - I think that alone would've made things clearer. Same as the role of our protagonists whose goals or place I still don't really get. This is for sure the biggest problem with the show because the lack of information makes it often hard to follow... especially because it feels like this show has a lot to tell Also what happened to the ghosts...? Like they were there for a bit and then disappeard completely LIKE WHERE DID THEY GO Later when things slow down and we mostly follow Lian and Hua (who just appeared all the sudden) around it becomes way better as their relationship is the best part of the show so while I wrote more about the negative stuff this part overshadows it (for the most part at least)! Characters: FIRSTLY lets talk about Yao Fu and Qing Mu and how their only characteristic is that they are strong and always easy to provoke... maybe it's just not my thing but that type of humor was for sure the most annoying part the show. And while that alone wouldn't be that bad them interrupting important scenes like personal dialog between Lian and Hua made them for a good part of the show insufferable. Idk this "GRRR I'M SO MAD AND I WILL BEAT YOU UP" thing is pretty cheesy no? but now to the good stuff: Lian is a pretty compelling protagonist who is soft spoken, strong, intelligent and overall just pretty pleasent to watch. He not only makes the viewers interested in him because of his mysteries but also has the best dialog. For Hua Chen I have similar feelings as he is this seemingly all knowing dude that just randomly appears to have a massive crush on Lian... Sometimes their romantic teasing is a bit cliche but their dialog makes up for it - also hope he doesn't just become the cliche protective bf Art: It's good! Not anything mega special but the designs are pretty and the animation is fine. It's not as colorful as I expected but that also sets a certain tone Sound: As with the art the music isn't anything mindblowing - but it is perfectly fitting for the chinese themes of the show... but as a little complaint - what are these "DUMP" sounds everytime something dramatic happened that made me cringe a bit lol Fazit: Story is pretty messy but it's worth to watch for our main boys. But god damn proper world building would've been soooooo good

I understand that this animation was based on a novel series, I'm also not overly familiar with Chinese animation. Just a preface. Story: Having delved into MDZS a little (the live action, the animation didn't impress me), I had a general expectation for TGCF. Mythic romance, very serious world-building, character driven action and a hit/miss ensemble cast. I was pleasantly surprised by how TGCF drew me in right off the drop, where MDZS had left me a little underwhelmed. The introduction to the world and characters was straight forward and rational. The story, what little we get of it throughout 11 episodes, is reasonably good. As such the story is kind of hard to judge. TGCF is very much about its characters. Fortunately these characters are quite able to run the show themselves. Their interpersonal conflicts make for a lot of fun banter whenever any of them are together. Art: The art is quite good. Falls off a little towards the end of the series, and they do use some 3D that looks hugely out of place next to such good 2D animation/art. I have no real complaints about it outside of that. Sound: Didn't notice a thing about the sound design, though the voice acting... good grief. I admit I am not a connoisseur of donghuas, but I'm sure not all the characters have to have the same tone when speaking. Our lead voice actor is especially breathy and non-emotive. Xie Lian is obviously very stoic but there are scenes where he is clearly meant to react (shock, anger, fear), and he just... doesn't. Whether this is a problem with the cast or the script, I'm not sure. This significantly bothered me throughout my viewing. EDIT: I have since switched to the dubbed version, which is yet another case of the dub being surprisingly well-done. Much better direction tbh. Gives the characters the flavor I expected them to have. Characters: Enjoyable. Got a kick out of the main 4 and their banter, even the side characters were interesting enough to hold attention without being annoying or obvious red shirts. As mentioned earlier, the characters are written in such a way that their conflicts and motivations aren't necessarily spelled out for the viewer. Makes for a fun little mystery, trying to decode why some don't get along, some do, and how they all relate to one another. Overall: 6/fair. Held my attention, nice art, passable animation though some parts were lackluster. Some minor nitpicks: intro and outro are way too long, actual episodes too short, I also feel they did not utilize their 11 episodes to their maximum capacity. Glad they didn't rush the story, but there IS such a thing as dragging your feet.

Sience my first language is not English, there may be some mistakes in this review. So, my journey with this donghua started when I saw drawing of the main pair on Instagram. I thought they looked great together and was curious where these characters came from. Unfortunately, the hashtags didn't help me find the source material (because I'm stupid) and I forgot what I saw for a while. And then a video with this couple appeared in my recommendations on YouTube! I watched it, looked at the comments and finally found out that they're from the Chinese animation Tian Guan Ci Fu! So I quickly started watching. Yes, my first attempt at this donghua was blind. I didn't really know what was going on and I was lost in names, especially being completely unfamiliar to the Chinese language. However, it didn't change the fact that I ate the whole series like a hungry animal and I really, really liked it. So I decided to read the novel to find out what will happen next. And then my life changed forever... Story: 10 So yes, I am well aware that this donghua is not perfect and has its flaws, as well as the novel. But well... I can't help but be a hopeless romantic and the whole story is just wonderful to me. Lots of people who watched MDZS came here for something similar, but the fact is, they won't find it here. Of course, a lot of things happen and the plot is divided into arcs, but romance is a big part of the story nonetheless. I would even say that this is by far the most romantic of the MXTX's novels. It is true that the animation just touched the tip of the iceberg that is the whole story. Therefore, for people who are unfamiliar with the source, everything that happens seems pointless and actually nothing is happening there. No wonder, as this is literally the very beginning. Fortunately, the second season has already been confirmed, so hopefully it'll be a bit longer than the first. Art: 9 The styling was... clean. This is probably the best word I can describe it. I have the most to write about character design and animation. The characters are drawn in a way that I like a lot so I have nothing to complain about. Honestly, I like donghua's character designs more than manhua's (even if the manhua is a real work of art). San Lang especially looks wonderful. As for animation, it has its ups and downs. Overall it's good, but in some scenes the quality drops a lot, not to mention the moments when 3D is used... Sound: 10 It was absolutely breathtaking. Opening and ending were beautiful, both in terms of music and grafic. They also perfectly matched the tone in which the story is kept. The most memorable, however, is the song from the end of the first episode - One Flower One Sword. I literally listened to it in a loop for days. Character: 10 Well... someone wrote it before, but yeah - San Lang is Mary Sue. You can see it, hear it and feel it. And usually something like that bothers me, but in this case... I couldn't care less. Really. It didn't bother me for a moment, and it didn't stop me from loving him with all my heart. This only proves my theory that any pattern can be pleasant if solved in a thoughtful and enjoyable way. I like Xie Lian a lot too. He is the type of character who only wants to do good things and protect those who cannot protect themselves, but is punished by the world at every turn. At the same time, he is not as pure and spotless as it may seem. This adds a lot of depth to his character. I also liked Shi Qingxuan and, in the later development of the story, also Mu Qing and Fang Xien. But I don't want to go into details to avoid possible spoilers. Enjoyment: 10 Before reading the novel, I very enjoyed it and even though I was confused, it didn't take away any fun. But it was only when I watched it again after reading the source that I could fully appreciate how the creators perfectly portrayed the atmosphere and characters. Honestly, the second time I watched, I cried half the time, alternating between sadness and joy. Overall: 10 I'll end this review only with the words: love it. I'm in love with this story and can't wait to watch its sequel.

It's an absolute masterpiece of an adaptation. I fell in love with the novel earlier this year and upon finishing, I've spent countless hours rereading it. Then I heard that the donghua adaptation was dropping this year and I honestly got so excited. Finally, the first two episodes dropped on Halloween and my god, it definitely went beyond all my expectations. The voice acting is on point (no disconnect between what you would picture while reading the novel and what you actually get), the animation is incredibly smooth (especially during the swordfight scenes and when they animate their robes getting blown by the wind), the art is absolutely gorgeous, the musical scores will make you want to cry, and speaking as someone who's read the novel too many times to count, the story is going to absolutely blow you away (the donghua adaptation has been incredibly faithful to the novel). The donghua perfectly incorporates humor with mystery, to the point where I'd find myself laughing at some joke that was made one second, and getting absolutely absorbed in the plot the next. 100/10 recommend this donghua to everyone, please give it a chance and if you're interested in knowing more, there is a manhua that is a bit more ahead, and a novel that is completed (with the English translation fully done as well).

In the continuation of never ending quest to watching everything animated that is written by Mo Xian Tong Xiu we come to Tian Guan Ci Fu or Heaven's Official Blessing, the third novel. The first is Scumbag System and the second is the much beloved Mo Dau Zu Shi/Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation better known by it's live action name, The Untamed. Story - 8 Story wise, this is not as gripping as the beginning of Scumbag System or Mo Dau Zu Shi. It starts with a god on his THIRD Ascension to Heaven, being sent back to Earth to investigate strange occurrences. The God's history is slowly revealed throughout the series, in multiple flashbacks. It is part of an overall, larger, multi layered mystery where the first pay off is in Episode 13, the Season 1 special. It's interesting enough to get the viewer engaged, but those not familiar with Chinese history or mythology may be confused by many of the concepts in this story. Art - 10 What can I say except it is gorgeously animated. Everything is on point. The "Ribbon" weapon looks and moves like an animate ribbon. The martial arts is well depicted. The clothing is beautiful and the characters are good looking, even better than I pictured. In the ED, there is one particular part where the light passes over the umbrella and you see the silhouette of 2 figures ... that is just *chef's kiss* perfection. Sound By far the weakest part of the series. The ED is memorable and both are animated well but the sound is not outstanding for a series of this caliber. This needed some kind of "hook" like the flute song in Mo Dau Zu Shi, or some memorable love theme to elevate this to the next level. Character Wow, the 2 main leads are fully fleshed out and fantastic. I love them both. I'm not even very mad about the other frustrating, meddling, bureaucratic, back stabbing gods as they make us root for the main characters even more. Enjoyment This was a very enjoyable watch that I binged over several days. If you're a fan of historical epic fantasy with a touch of understated friendship, that we can watch slowly evolve into a romance, this is the series for you. It is beautiful, and has a multi layered mystery story attached to it, where bits of a larger conspiracy are revealed as time goes on.

Heaven Official's Blessing, a.k.a Tian Guan Ci Fu, a.k.a. TGCF is my first "donghua" ever. I haven't heard of it before, hence I realised it was very reasonable I haven't heard it before cause appearently it's considerably something new. I have a strange story about discovering it though. I had seen some pictures, fan arts on the internet of it and they were really great - so great that almost enchanted me. Then I kept seeing other arts too and I was really curious about what they were all about. Hands tight up in a red thread, floating lanterns everywhere, flying silver butterflies all around, a couple seem to be - very committed... I almost felt a strange connection to it, I was kinda hooked even before I saw it - just because of the arts. The power of art is such a strange thing, really... Then I realised a couple of them were actual - official arts, concept arts for the donghua or from manhua. Then I decided to watch it and I knew I was gonna like it before I even started it. I didn't just like but loved it. The more I watch, the more I love it. Even after the first episode, I realised it had such a great story behind it. A story full of history of more than 800 years... Luckily, I found it just right after the first season was finished. So I didn't had to wait for a new episode - not for a while at least. After seeing the whole show for three times, now I can say that this show can be a true masterpiece. The story is so deep that is full of every emotion a person could have, so much that it made me cry and laugh at the same time. The whole story of Xie Lian, the Crown Prince can be considered tragicomic. His past is like such a sad song, so captivative that you can't just stop to listen,but also admire its beauty. Then there is Hua Cheng, another sad story. And when you combine them, a more beautiful story takes the place... I captivated by the story so much that I started to read the novel and I can say I haven't read a story that catches my heart this deeply for a long time. The story is already good, the soundtracks are good, the art is good... I have such high hopes for this show. About my "overall" 9 stars, I wanted to give it a 10, I even would like to give it 11 because that's how it made me feel. But the only trouble is about the animation. When I saw the opening, I thought I have never seen such a beautiful opening before, but after I saw some battle scenes... Well, they need to work on that part. But if the upcoming seasons will have a better animation, then I guess this show would be one of the best animations ever. Oh and, why all of the characters look the same?! Especially the martial gods in communication array... And all of the characters have like 3 different names? It can be confusing sometimes but still... It really touched my heart, I even started to translate the novel into my native language. Cause more people should be reading and watching this story.

I found out this is another one of my favorite authors works so i was curious and watched it ,and i didn't regret it. The story is unique, very original ,just love it. At 1st i didnt know about the plot of this donghua but i fell in love with it just from watching one episode. Well, since i love spoilers so i tried looking it up on the internet and it was seriously awesome. Trust me , u should watched it . Even though it's a china's anime it has it's own charm please don't compare it with japanese anime. Everything exists because someone likes it.

Beauty Among Blessings In Disguise °8.8° °Outstanding° S1 episodes 1-13🔍 some minor spoilers A newly reinstated son of Heaven's emperor has a mission on earth to clear out an evil spirit that is nabbing and killing brides. He sets out with two lesser-god/warriors. One thing leads to another and they end up in several skirmishes while meeting a variety of characters while encountering a mystery or two, to-boot. This is the most popular offering of Haoliners Animation League. They are faithful to the style and feel of Japanese anime but the show also has the elegance that is strictly Chinese. The voice acting is exactly like a Chinese live-action fantasy piece, and China does some of the best fantasy in the world. I have a preference for dubbed anime because I usually like the English-speaking dubbing more than the original acting, which tends to be alittle monotone for my taste. HOB's voices are a pleasure. When spoken by professional actors, the Chinese language is lilting and melodious. It is very beautiful. The opening credit visuals and music are arrestingly gorgeous. The shows that find me watching the opening and closing credits every time, no skipping, are mostly Chinese with a couple of Japanese animes in the mix. HOB 's artistry is wonderful. People are drawn with simplicity, but realistically, and backgrounds are artistically beautiful and detailed. The best fantasy takes place on the road. Xie Lian is on the move for most of the show. He gets into one scrape after another along with his lesser-deity sidekicks. He picks up a stranger (Hua Cheng in disguise) around mid-show. He knows his new friend is mysterious, but he also trusts him implicitly. Together they unravel a viperish mystery and correct a longstanding wrong. The thrills just keep coming. I'll just quote HOB Wiki on the characters and their backgrounds, as once I read this content, it became hard to leave it out: "Hua Cheng is the male lead of the novel. As one of the Four Great Calamities, Hua Cheng is known as the richest and most dangerous of the three Devastation class Demons. One learns to fear the silver butterflies and blood rains for they are the heralds of his presence. He is charismatic and intelligent, with a nonchalant attitude... Eight hundred years ago, Xie Lian was the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Xianle. He was loved by his citizens and was considered the darling of the world. He ascended to the heavens at a young age; however, due to unfortunate circumstances, was quickly banished back to the mortal realm. Years later, he ascends again-only to be banished again a few minutes after his ascension. During the inaugural years of his divinity, his kingdom experiences upheaval and war, due in part to drought and a terrifying new disease. Going against the edicts of both the heavenly realm and of fate, Xie Lian involves himself in the affairs of the mortals who have always loved and supported him, hoping to achieve peace and relieve suffering in his kingdom. Unfortunately, his appearance in the mortal world only amplifies the conflicts between his people, and their desperation leads to the dramatic and abrupt downfall of Xianle, as well as the downfall of Xie Lian. The people destroy his temples, statues, and shrines, abandoning him as their most respected religious figure and earning him the reputation of a God of Misfortune... Now known as a peculiar, peripatetic scrap-collector with perennially bad luck, Xie Lian is ridiculed or ignored by most other heavenly officials. Nevertheless, he retains his good-hearted nature and only wishes to fulfill his duties as a god. Now, eight hundred years later, Xie Lian ascends to the heavens for the third time as the laughing stock among all three realms. On his first task as a god thrice ascended, he meets a mysterious ghost who rules the ghosts and terrifies the heavens, yet, unbeknownst to Xie Lian, this ghost king has been paying attention to him for a very, very long time... By the time of his third ascension, Xie Lian is a kind and gentle person... He never holds his status above others and treats people equally, disregarding status as a sign of one's worth. He is a compassionate man who's willing to offer his help, being indifferent towards opinions of others. Although he does not care for reputation, he still finds himself often caught in situations that make him unsure whether to laugh or cry, usually when faced with moments that cause him embarrassment or feeling awkward..." Along with kindness, especially to the powerless, and the courage to do right, "Shatter all taboos." is the Theme. There is an understated romance building between Hua Cheng and Xie Lian. They actually do a mock wedding walk in the early episodes, while on a mission, though it feels real when the show looks back at the ritual later. Love does not come to fruition in S1, but there is a sadness and longing that appears to run deeply in Hua Cheng, as if he's been taken with these feelings for centuries, while Xie Lian seems to have no memory of Hua Cheng. It's rare for China to feature a same-sex romance. They usually wipe it from the story, like they did in The Untamed, so they are loosening up. China had a 1 child per household rule for an extended period of time towards the latter 20th. It resulted in millions of forced abortions and a shortage of women as girls were routinely aborted or adopted out to the West. One has to wonder if a shortage of women is playing a hand in the changes we see in such a traditionally conservative censorship-prone government. "If you can't find a reason to live, then take me as your reason to live. If you can't find the meaning of living, then take me as the meaning of your life." Xie Lian chuckles as he recalls what he told somebody long ago. It's obvious to the viewer that he must have said it to Hua Cheng, who looks soulfully sad that Xie Lian has forgotten so much. Right now, S2 is not available without a Crunchyroll subscription. I will be opting for that before too long and plan to see what they get into in S2. HOB is truly otherworldly. 〰🖍 IMHO 📣9 📝8 🎭8.5 💓6 🦋6 🌞5 🎨9.4 ⚡6 🎵/🔊8 😅3.5 😭6 😱5 😯4 😖4.5 🤔5 💤0 🔚? Re-📺? Yes Originally 〰️🖊 3/2024