Wonderful, Dylan nailed it
Overall it was a wonderful surprise that I was not expecting to enjoy. Dylan really nailed the acting: the humor and the serious parts. The characters were all wonderful and felt like they had more depth than what could be expected for this genre. The brotherhood, friendships, and family bonds were really touching. I can't wait for Season 2I'm mainly lowering my rating because there were parts that were rushed and glossed over: I feel like there were parts such as the introduction of Lin'an and that whole fiasco that could have been drastically cut in favor of fleshing out some of the later parts.
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Funny, fresh and entertaining
This was one series I could not stop watching! It was funny, creative, and best of all—Dylan Wang was the star of the show!Ever since Devil and Fairy, Dylan has continuously impressed me with his acting. This series felt more lighthearted and super entertaining with minimal love line, which I do not mind!!! The summary posted by MDL is pretty accurate, so I am not going to mention what it's about.
Things I loved about the series:
• The side characters – This is what I love about wuxia! You meet so many characters and end up falling in love with some of them along the way. I was screaming and shouting when the Bronze Brothers were back together with Brother Yang!!!
• The slapstick comedy – The humor in this show is amazing, and Dylan nailed his character so well! It felt so natural that I honestly think this is just how he is in real life.
• The family relationships and the teams he forms – By the end, you just know he’s a beloved guy. Everyone felt he was worth saving, even turning a blind eye to what he took to carry out the righteous “revenge” for Mr. Zheng
Why I knocked off a few stars:
• The build-up was a bit slow for me. It also took me a while to get used to the idea that he was from a different timeline and universe. But once I said "Screw it, let’s just enjoy the show for what it is without judgment" I started loving it even more. I highly recommend keeping an open mind—don’t try to make it make sense, just enjoy it!
• The ending!! I was screaming, not even realizing I had reached the last episode. It was that good… but it ended on a note I did not expect. I demand a Season 2 or a super long movie to conclude a happy ending!!!
Overall, I highly recommend watching it if you’re a big fan of Dylan and enjoy wuxia. There are some sad parts, but you’ll find yourself laughing, shouting in joy, and feeling like you’re on the same journey as the cast.
8/10
Rewatch value: 8/10
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This review may contain spoilers
Intriguing Plot and Strong Lead Actor, but a Rush to the Finish Leaves Unanswered Questions
Out of all the dramas I’ve watched, this one has been the hardest to rate. On one hand, it checked all the right boxes with beautiful costumes, a star-studded male lead (Dylan Wang), a talented cast, and stunning special effects. The story was captivating, drawing me in with its intriguing premise. But despite all of this, something about it just didn’t quite hit the mark.The plot kicks off with Yang Ling (played by Dylan Wang) and his colleagues stumbling into a gaming arcade after a night of drinking. When he wakes up, he finds himself in the body of Xu Qi-An, an orphan raised by his uncle and aunt. He later becomes a Guardian of Dafeng, part of an elite imperial investigation bureau filled with skilled fighters. As the drama progresses, Xu Qi-An grows, mastering skills, defeating enemies, and solving complex crimes. But things take a darker turn when he becomes the vessel for Shen Shu, a powerful spirit with extraordinary abilities. With Shen Shu's power at his disposal, Xu Qi-An's journey to uncover the truth becomes more complicated than he ever imagined.
Dylan Wang’s portrayal of Xu Qi-An was a departure from his previous roles in Love Between Fairy and Devil and Unchained Love, where he played dignified, proud characters. Xu Qi-An, in contrast, was goofy, money-minded, and far from the usual heroic type. It was only as the story unfolded that the righteous side of him began to surface, eventually transforming him into a more typical hero.
As for the female lead, Princess Lin-An, I found her a bit underwhelming. She was cute, but her character came across as somewhat dim-witted, which didn’t quite fit my idea of a strong heroine. I could have accepted her as a quirky second lead, but as the main protagonist’s love interest, it detracted from the drama. I personally would have preferred if Huai-Qing had been given more screen time, as she felt like a more fitting match for Xu Qi-An.
However, one actor who really tugged at my heartstrings was Feng Hui, who played the governor Zheng Xing Huai. His performance was nothing short of heartbreaking when he described how much he loved the city he had devoted his life to, only for it to be destroyed by the villain. Worse still, he was framed by the Emperor he served and ultimately tortured to death. His story was a powerful portrayal of a man whose entire life’s work was erased, a tragic miscarriage of justice that stayed with me long after the episode ended.
Now, I hadn’t read the original novel, so I rated the drama based on its own merits. The overall experience was a bit of a mixed bag, with plenty of room for nitpicking. For one, the humor often felt forced, relying mostly on making characters look stupid. This style might appeal to some, but for me, it didn’t quite hit the mark. There were moments, like when Xu Qi-An mistook Princess Lin-An for her rival and swore allegiance to Huai-Qing, that made me chuckle, but these moments were too few and far between. This subplot stretched on too long, and often Xu Qi-An’s convoluted schemes backfired in ways that felt more contrived than funny.
The pacing also posed a problem. After episode 10, I was about to drop the drama altogether, but a friend suggested I try watching at a faster speed, so I bumped it up to 1.25x on WeTV. Suddenly, the pacing felt much more manageable, and I enjoyed episodes 11 through 39 much more. If I were to rate those episodes at the faster speed, I’d give them a solid 9.5.
Episodes 1 to 10, on the other hand, felt like just another average detective story, something I’d probably rate around a 7. It wasn’t until episode 11 that things started to pick up, and the cases began to tie into a larger conspiracy. But even then, the drama left me with more questions than answers.
The final episode opened up a Pandora’s box of new mysteries, leaving me wondering about Xu Qi-An’s father and his true intentions, whether Wei-Yuan would be resurrected, and who Shen Shu really was. The Emperor’s role in the story remained largely unaddressed, with only a public self-confession to his wrongdoings—nothing substantial. And the whole arc involving Xu Qi-An’s forgotten existence felt a bit underwhelming. The drama started with a mysterious gaming arcade, yet that thread was never fully explored, leaving a sense of unresolved mystery.
The Emperor remained largely unpunished, his defiance at his brother’s statue and his actions in the temple felt disconnected from the main plot. The drama seemed to hint at a deeper political or philosophical commentary, but never fully delivered on that front. It felt like the story was building up to something grand, but then rushed to an unsatisfying conclusion.
While I would have loved a sequel to explore these unanswered questions, there’s no word on one, and given China's track record with sequels, it’s unlikely. So, with the drama leaving me with a sense of unfulfilled potential, I have to rate it a 7 for the first 10 episodes and a 9.5 for episodes 11 to 39. Taking into account the lackluster ending, I’ve averaged it out to an 8.5, which feels more generous than my kisskh rating.
Despite its flaws, I’d still recommend this drama, especially for die-hard Dylan Wang fans. With Tencent’s promotional effort and his massive fanbase, the drama certainly garnered attention, and for fans of his previous work, it’s worth a watch. Just don’t expect a perfectly polished story.
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Great show with promising storyline
This is the second show i saw with Dylan Wang, the first had been Evernight, which he didnt disappoint. Despite the criticism that I read for his role in Evernight, i thought he did a good job in accordance to the novel.The show is about ML who got immersed in a game that he was playing with his friends in modern time. When he started playing, he went right into the game, playing the ML Xu Qi An, a somewhat low rank policeman in Dafeng. He rose through the rank and martial skills as he met with numerous significant people along the way, captivating them with his poetry, investigative skill and no nonsense persona.
I must say this ML is quite a character. I especially love his handphone-like gadget (complete with earbud 😂) when he got involved in the heavenly-something guild. I particularly love the relationship he had with his family, which didnt sound good before but improved after he got into the game. Love how they built his working relationships too, progressing from hateful superiors to loyal ones who would jump in to save him in a blink of an eye.
I didnt really want to mention FL much cuz i thought that her character was absolutely unnecessary. Had she not have that relationship with Princess Pingyang, which provided somewhat backstory information for ML’s investigation, she really doesnt function at all. The romance is totally negligible and unnecessary cuz this show is more to investigative/martial/comedy type. I feel squat spark between them, nada,zero. Honestly speaking, i thought ML has so much stronger chemistry with Cai Wei and consort of Zhenbei, even Princess Huaiqing! Whenever ML and FL got on screen, all i see is sibling vibe rather than a couple. And because FL’s character is so damn annoying in the earlier episodes, i ended up fast forwarding her scenes later on. Although this character progressed for the better towards the end after she discovered the true fate of her best friend Princess Pingyang, i still fastforward all scenes with her especially the romantic ones.
Other supporting characters are all great. All costumes are so nice, the uniforms/armours are smart and cool, and the female costumes are apt and not too flamboyant.
What did i dislike about this show? Well some of the comedic scenes are just over the top and extra. The final showdown was too short and i believe since they plan for season 2 (based on the post credit scene), the cliffhanger is somewhat a downer.
Although this show come close to Joy of Life vibe, it still falls short of it. Still a good show though, and i especially love ML’s powers and upgrades here. Overall it’s an enjoyable show and i hope season 2 wont take 4-5 years like JoL 😭 anyway, im off to read the novel since the series provided no proper ending.
Edit: ive just reached the arc where Xu Qi An beheaded the traitors Que and Cao in the novel, and as expected, novel Xu Qi An isnt as stupid as the series Xu Qi An who easily got duped by the second princess posing as Imperial Princess. Thats the one flaw of the series that doesnt compute with Xu Qi An’s intelligence. It’s impossible that he cannot deduce that Second Princess was an impostor with that many tell-tales shown. Even before reading the novel, I’ve felt that production somehow dumbed down Xu Qi An with that Second Princess. Glad i dont have to read so much of Second Princess in the novel. They shouldnt have changed this character and made her the FL. What a pointless character. Btw I liked the book’s version better than the adaptation cuz there was no memory erasing of Xu Qi An on the population at all. Everyone remembered him as a hero and the despicable Emperor was forced by his ministers to issue self reproach which exonerates Official Zheng and Xu Qi An of any wrongdoing. Wow what a satisfaction to read that part in the novel. I wonder why didnt the show follow the same line. Why make everyone forget XQA? Just for the sake of cliffhanger?
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I read the entire novel
Well first of all, the timeline and many plots got scrambled and sometimes they merged 2 storylines which make absolutely no sense to me (I speculate they just want to just keep some key details without dragging the plot), however if you read the novel, there just reasons to why the author make it that way.The character is there and quite good and subtlety different from the novel which honestly a good feature in my opinion. Although it is very different from the novel, for instant it feels like MC only love interest seems to be Lian princess and if you read the novel, it basically a harem, despite he did end up living the rest of his life only with her.
Also, I saw many criticisms on the MC accent, and since he is a person from the future, the novel did state that he sounds very different from everyone else since that what he used to (which is the only details I enjoyed but make y'all hate it lol).
I also have to confess I haven't finished the series since I can't cause the film pissed me off sometimes. I know it's unfair, but the characters' appearances aren't portrayed very well, for instance, Wei Yuan and his lover (the Empress), despite their age, they are highly regarded for their beauty, manners and attitude which I just can't see it through the screens.
Overall, I would recommend it cause the fighting scene just an absolute treat to watch and generally it is pretty funny.
Also, this is a COMEDY DRAMA; I love the comic and the novel mostly for the detective scene and Xu Quian supposes to be a police/detective in his previous life (in the novel), IN THE MOVIE HE FELL THE POLICE ASSESSMENT EXAM!!!! And become a real estate agent or something (don't quote me on this) so he would sometimes show good communication and persuasiveness, but I can't see why they changed that detail one bit. Therefore, if you expecting a crime solving masterpiece, there aren't, just some good logical thinking and attentive to details.
PS: I said this already, but I HAVEN'T finished watching the film since my mental health right now just cannot handle it, although I might comeback. Just some small details triggered me since one more thing I really like about the novel is that some small details and decisions made most of the times are influenced by an event or some other small details WHICH YOU CAN'T JUST CHOOSE TO EXCLUDE THEM COMPLETELY FROM THE MOVIE.
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A must watch
I think this is Dylan Wang’s best work. The acting from main and supporting cast is exceptional, the writing was tight and thrilling, the comedy was hilarious - there were times we had to pause the TV to stop laughing because we couldn’t read the subtitles. I cannot WAIT for season two - please have the same cast and HURRY!!!!Was this review helpful to you?
Guardians of the Dafeng is humorous and yet meaningful drama that made the beginning of my 2025
Watching this was such an interesting and compelling journey. I like Dylan's works in the past, so I've decided to check this one too. What I didn't expect that I would love it as much as I did.Guardians of the Dafeng is one of those dramas where you have to watch carefully since the beginning in order to truly appreciate it. The story delivers and connects with characters in humorous way, which I enjoyed. I find that may be because of contrast between funny moments I was able to appreciate serious and dramatic moments.
Guardians of the Dafeng crafts characters beautifully. I love how every part of cast and supporting character is given the stage to shine. Xu Qi An and his life as a protagonist represents what normal person life should be, with importance towards family, friends, love partner and colleagues. I find this very refreshing.
I love Xu Qi An's righteousness. He is not perfect and definitely has flaws but consistency in building his character as someone who will stand for the weaker ones is admiring. I connected with him instantly, I love his quirkiness, sarcasm and positive attitude towards life. Dylan did an amazing job portraying Xu Qi An.
I loved romance storyline, though it was not central, Xu Qi An and Lin An were beautiful.
Overall, this is a great drama with great visuals, great OST, great CGI, great cast and great story. I can't wait to see Season 2.
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There are things that are more important than life
Breath of fresh air in Chinese dramaland. What starts with epic humor is able to deliver serious thought provoking themes in the end.What makes one a decent person? Is ordinary and mediocre life is considered a meaningless one? Should we stand up for weak ones or conform? Is it better to take things slowly or act rashly? There are no simple answers but Guardians of the Dafeng tried to provide some insights.
I am writing this as I have ended watching this, so emotions are very fresh. I cried so hard at the last episodes, and it solidified its brilliance to me. The fact that we were presented with light-hearted comedy as a way to portray and present characters is making it even more painful.
I want Season 2 so badly. Music, acting, production, script - everything was great about this drama.
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Wang He Di's great comic timing, physical skills and now in his true voice!
Great watch for fans of adventure-fantasy. I liked it a lot without being totally on top of the plot all the time, but I was happy to tag along for the ride. Great cgi etc, wuxia/time-slip/superhero, with a well-balanced script (from a webnovel, so with pretty good structure) and cast.In the opening 21stC scenes, when I heard He Di as the ML clap back at his co-worker dissing his provincial accent, I was all in. I really loved the comic actors who make up The ML's family, and especially that his (We He Di/Dylan Wang's) performance with them was just right, not over the line of the heroic personality of his character but drawing on the actor's own innate skills: comic timing, excellent physical skills and now, his real voice! Which turns out to be a great comic instrument, a little hoarse, a little opinionated and down to earth.
And also, just romantic enough to feel honest.
One of the great duels, with a humongous semi-transparent Vajra avatar, ended up being partially conducted in the minds of the combatants where the ML drew on that voice and some truly annoying persistence to break through a 'negative mental formation'. It is very very very funny.
There are lots of other cool little scenes. And a motley band of martial arts master-allies to boot. One of the coolest things is that the hero does not become the king...metaphorically speaking. More I cannot say...
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Great
You wouldn't be able to quit this drama after watching 2 episodes, every episode got me hooked 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜Was this review helpful to you?
My Favorite C-drama of all time
No way in my wildest imagination I thought I will love this drama this much when i started it. It started as a fun and humorous drama but the the more I watch the more I was falling for these characters & story. For me, Guardians of the dafeng is all about character dynamics & their relationship with each other. The drama explore all kind of relationships & make me invested in every storyline. It has comedy, silliness, comaderie, family bonds, mystery and many more. XQA, the protagonist is the heart & soul of the drama whose bravey & courage inspire and touch many viewers. At the end, I was left with tears and awed at the performance of Dylan wang as Xu Qi An because this story was much more than goofy non serious dramaWas this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Guardians of the Dafeng was a surprisingly brilliant watch
I am not usually into male-centric dramas, but this one I enjoyed so much. I love how heart-warming and complete relationships of Xu Qi A with his family, I think this one accept deserves a lot of praise. It's rarely we see that family relationship are portrayed that well in Chinese dramas.Acting, visuals and storyline were all great. Guardians of the Dafeng is very similar to a game, where you start without understanding much, but once you move to the next level - some truth unfolds.
On the rewatch, I noticed so many details I haven't noticed on the first one which solidified GOTD excellence to me.
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