Truth or Dare Episode 1

100% Pure Fluff

From the opening credits, it’s clear we are not to take this particularly seriously. It’s light, cute, funny, and has all the weight of a order of cotton candy. We’ve got general who doesn’t want to marry a princess who doesn’t want to marry him. We’ve got a street performer who looks suspisciously like said princess, but she’s about to end up in an arranged marriage with a bandit (not a very good one) due to her father’s debts. This episode establishes Xiao Wan Zi and Mei San Shao fairly well, and lets us in on San Shao’s secret identity. We also get to meet Xiao Bao Ye, who’s being pursued by his chieftan’s daughter, which is why his chief wants him to get a wife. The acting is light and San Shao has an appropriate stick up his butt, though there are some depths hinted at which could provide humor in future episode.The big mark against this series, though, is Lu Ying Yao, the princess whose place Wan Zi will end up taking to further the plot. We meet her only briefly and she’s not fleshed out, coming across as a whiny brat who either does not care about/does not understand the consequences of refusing a marriage arranged by the Emperor. Yes, San Shao’s trying to get out of it as well, but he produces something he things might be a plausible barrier and doesn’t argue when the trick doesn’t work. At this point, Ying Yao seems to be the weak point, along with the fact the two ladies don’t meet by the end of the first episode so we can’t set the switcheroo in motion . I have to wonder if this feather-light plot might be too light for 30 episodes and will we see padding?

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