Guardians of the Dafeng

one of the most talked-about drama on Tencent Video

At its core, "Guardians of the Dafeng" tells the story of a group of unlikely heroes who band together to protect their realm from dark forces threatening to plunge it into chaos. The narrative is woven with intricate world-building, drawing viewers into a universe filled with mythical creatures, ancient prophecies, and moral dilemmas. The plot unfolds at a brisk pace, keeping audiences on the edge of their seats with unexpected twists and turns. However, while the overarching storyline is engaging, some subplots feel rushed or underdeveloped, leaving viewers wanting more depth in certain character arcs.

The characters in "Guardians of the Dafeng" are a mixed bag. The protagonist, who embodies the classic hero's journey, is relatable and well-acted, showcasing a range of emotions as they navigate the challenges ahead. Supporting characters, however, sometimes fall into predictable tropes, lacking the complexity that would elevate them beyond mere archetypes.

One character who stands out is the enigmatic mentor figure, whose wisdom and backstory add layers to the narrative. The dynamics between the characters are often compelling, with moments of camaraderie and conflict that resonate with viewers. Yet, there are instances where character motivations feel unclear, leading to moments of frustration as audiences try to understand their choices.

Visually, "Guardians of the Dafeng" is nothing short of breathtaking. The cinematography captures the beauty of its fantastical landscapes, from lush forests to sprawling castles, immersing viewers in its world. The special effects used to bring mythical creatures to life are impressive, enhancing the overall viewing experience. The production team has clearly invested time and resources into creating a visually stunning series, which is a significant draw for fans of the genre.

The series explores themes of friendship, sacrifice, and the struggle between good and evil. It delves into the complexities of morality, challenging characters to make difficult choices that test their values. While these themes are commendable, there are moments where the execution feels heavy-handed, with moral lessons presented in a way that can come across as preachy. Balancing these messages with subtlety would have added depth to the narrative.

"Guardians of the Dafeng" is a visually stunning drama that offers an engaging story filled with adventure and fantasy. While it has its flaws, particularly in character development and pacing, the series succeeds in capturing the imagination of its audience. With its impressive interaction metrics and dedicated fanbase, it’s clear that "Guardians of the Dafeng" has made a significant impact in the realm of contemporary drama. For those who enjoy epic tales filled with magic and heroism, this series is certainly worth a watch.

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Dylan Wang's Performance

The show is a compelling addition to the fantasy drama genre, delivering a rollercoaster of emotions across its 40 episodes.Dylan's acting and accent fit Xu Qian perfectly, making him a standout in the series.The comedy can come off as a little too exaggerated for some viewers, making it a love-it-or-hate-it kind of show.While the drama isn't bad, certain character decisions were hard to watch.the series offers a unique blend of fantasy elements, time travel, and historical context.Dylan Wang's portrayal of his character, Xu Qian. bring's depth and charm to the role.

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The guy’s got some serious talent, I tell ya!

Hey there, folks! I just finished binge-watching "Guardians of the Dafeng," and let me tell ya, it’s an absolute gem, eh? From the get-go, I was hooked! The storyline is a wild ride full of twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat, eh?

Dylan Wang, oh man, he really stole the show! His performance as Xu Qian was top-notch, eh? You could feel every emotion he portrayed—whether he was fighting off baddies or having those heartfelt moments. The guy’s got some serious talent, I tell ya!

The visuals? Stunning! The cinematography is like a postcard from a beautiful Canadian landscape, but with a fantasy twist, eh? The action scenes were choreographed so well that I found myself cheering for the characters like I was at a hockey game, eh?

And can we talk about the supporting cast? They brought so much energy and humor to the show, making it feel like a big family gathering, eh? The chemistry between the characters was palpable, and it made the emotional moments hit even harder.

Honestly, I can’t recommend "Guardians of the Dafeng" enough! It’s got everything you want in a drama: action, romance, and a sprinkle of comedy. I’d give it a solid 10/10, no question about it, eh? So grab your popcorn and settle in for a fantastic ride!

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Dylan aka Xu Qian carried the show!

This show is a lighter version of Joy of Life and Sword Snow Stride mixed together, with a whole lot of laughs, drama and nice fight scenes. It has politics, lessons on cultivation, the justice prevails over all else theme and a bit of romance here and there.
Dylan Wang with his cute family and gang of bronze, silver and Gold Gongs won over my heart. I also like that the underlying theme of the drama is consistent throughout the show, also the writers take on what it truly means to live your life. The part where Xu Qian has to defeat the Heaven sect avatar and when he is stuck in the formation with never-ending cycle of his sad life and stuck in hospital, that part was great, also those were the scenes that I laughed at the most. I'm pretty sure it was Dylan more then Xu Qian character throwing questions at the Heaven sect guy and making him so confused that his Avatar was split in half lol.
Even though the show is focused on Dylan, there were some great side character growth arcs. Xu Qian relationship with his teacher/ master was shown really well, the genuine love between Mr Wei and his naughty disciple and the teacher saving Xu Qian arse everytime the Majesty/King tried to take his head 😆
I did skip some of the romantice bits cause I was way too invested in the part about the mysterious robe guy and Mr Jiang having a fight of their own, and the last reveal!

Episodes 38-40 were really EPIC! Truly broke my heart and made me cry fr! Awesome acting from Dylan, the Gold Gongs and Mr Zheng. As Xu Qian said - he was there to redress the wrong, to serve justice to the fallen people of Chuzong and Mr. Zheng and his family and let the people of Dafeng hear the truth that idiot Emperor was trying to cover up.
Really good cliff hanger and ending to a good series !
Fingers crossed we get a Season 2 soon!!

Rewatch value - 10/10 !

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Crazy, Hilarious, Addictive, Unexpected Ending

When I first started watching Guardian of the Dafeng, my immediate reaction was, “What the heck is going on?” The drama is an eclectic mix of genres—modern-day elements, wuxia, xianxia, dark magic, mythical creatures, palace politics, and even a kind of cell phone system. It’s a potpourri of ideas thrown together. However, once I got the hang of it, I became hooked. The sheer craziness and humor made it an enjoyable watch. Dylan Wang is hilariously over-the-top, and even his cringiest moments are amusing.

The story follows Yang Ling, a modern real estate agent who time-travels to a fictional ancient dynasty called Dafeng. He finds himself inhabiting the body of Xu Qi’an, the nephew of a low-ranking government official. Xu Qi’an regains consciousness in prison and soon learns the dire circumstances surrounding his incarceration. His uncle, responsible for escorting government funds, has lost the money, resulting in his imprisonment and impending execution. Meanwhile, Xu Qi’an faces exile, and the female members of his family are condemned to a brothel.

Determined to change his fate, Xu Qi’an leverages his modern scientific and technological knowledge to uncover the mystery behind the missing funds. His ability to think critically and adapt to his new environment helps him navigate the challenges ahead. Additionally, his partial knowledge of ancient poetry—highly revered in that era—becomes a powerful tool in gaining recognition. His quick wit and ingenuity propel him through the ranks, ultimately leading him to become the Da Geng Ren—the Guardian—charged with protecting the kingdom from dark forces and crimes.

Xu Qi’an’s journey is akin to Forrest Gump, where misfortunes turn into opportunities, and luck seems to follow him at every turn. As he rises in status, he gains supernatural abilities, mastering dark and celestial forces, and accumulates immense wealth for his family. His adventure is wildly entertaining and filled with comedic moments.

Characters and Acting
Dylan Wang’s performance is outstanding. He effortlessly transitions from looking silly and exaggerated with pouting lips to delivering intense, piercing stares in serious moments. The entire cast, including the antagonists, is well-developed and humorous, with each character possessing distinct strengths and weaknesses.

What I Liked
One of the highlights of the drama is the way Xu Qi’an strategizes through situations. His thought process is audibly represented in thought bubbles, showing viewers the best course of action in any given moment.

The drama’s blend of the impossible and the possible, the insane and the logical, the outrageous and the acceptable, is what makes it so uniquely entertaining. I also enjoyed Xu Qi’an’s relationships—his bond with his cousin, who is righteous yet stubborn, his loyalty to his two best friends, and his dynamic with his superior, who always watches out for him.

Furthermore, Xu Qi’an’s approach to justice resonates deeply. When the proper channels fail to serve justice, he takes matters into his own hands. This aspect of the drama connects with real-world frustrations over injustice, making it even more engaging.

Final Thoughts
The ending is unexpected and somewhat abrupt. Xu Qi’an seemingly disappears, which makes sense since he originates from the future. However, at the same time, he exists as a member of the Xu family, leading to a puzzling contradiction. The identity of the mysterious figure, which remained a mystery throughout the series, is finally revealed in a surprising twist. However, the convoluted nature of the ending leaves several questions unanswered. Notably, Xu Qi’an doesn’t return to the future as Yang Ling, leaving an open-ended feeling, as if a continuation might be in the works.

Overall, Guardian of the Dafeng is a wild, entertaining ride filled with humor, action, and unexpected twists. Despite some narrative inconsistencies, it remains a highly enjoyable watch.

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All alone in a foreign land, I am twice as homesick on this day. / Fear not the lack...

... of friends as you go along! There cannot be a connoisseur not loving your song

These verses are all about the protagonist, Yang Ling, a salesman with great social skills, playful, funny and imperfect, but possessing a deep sense of justice and care for the people around him, projected (via video-game) in the isekai-fantasy Dafeng world, with a new identity: Xu Qi'an, a low constable and nephew of a middle-poor commoner Xu family, destined to progressively become the greatest hero of that empire. He has no time to dwell upon the new environment because he immediately finds himself in danger, imprisoned, facing the task to detect the truth behind the accusation of silver robbery with death sentence pending upon his uncle. A strong start (with excellent camera-work) for a highly engaging plot which will gradully depict the Dafeng, the relevant characters, build up relations (friendship, camaraderie, love and attachments...) and branch out interesting twists and subplots, while keeping you constantly at the edge of your seat or loughing like crazy.

The Dafeng world resembles the parallel universe of Joy of Life: Guardians of GotD and Overwatch Department from JOL have similar tasks and objectives (intelligence, investigation, keeping in check power undercurrents...). Its head Wei Gong develops a strong attachment with XQ, similar to Chen Pingping's towards Fan Xian. Although the genres of two dramas slightly differ (being GoD more isekai, more comedy and less angsty than JoL), Xu Qian and FX both basically "rise up the ranks" through merits/tasks they've accomplished. Heroic vibe is also highly similar (relaxed, not taken too seriously, with a lot of comedy). XQ and FX are both righteous (well, that's why they are heroes) but they also both possess certain "rebel" traits, because of their intollerance towards injustice. Finally, both heroes smartly use Chinese classical poetry, though this use serves also to strongly differentiate one from another: while Fan Xian is a poetry nerd, capable of reciting hundreds of them in just one night, XQ barely remembers two verses of each (as most of the people do, I assume), mixes them up (as he mixed the verses in the title: the melancholic Wang Wei's "Nostalgia for My Brothers on the Double Ninth Day" with encouraging Gao Shi's couplet from “Farewell to Dong Da” - wherever one goes, he/she will always find friends and people able to appreciate his/her value), flows that make this streetsmart, thoughtful, practical, perserverant and competitive character even more relatable.

The scriptwriting is excellent both on plot-development and characters-building side, and it skillfully interweave comic moments, deeper thoughts on human relations, magic and subplots into a (gradually, more) complex tapestry story. There are no dull moments and a viewer feels various pieces of the puzzle dropping at the right moment in the right place, hinting towards the shape of a "bigger picture". It isn't a 10, only because the last third of the drama feels slightly rushed (but this is due to the 40-episodes limit for C-productions) with a few things happening off-screen. Deng Ke's direction is a full 10 and many moments, actions and thoughts ("equivalent exchange", "take it slowly"...) will remain deeply impressed in your memory, inviting you to rewatch them (as well as wishing a S2!). The comprehensive aesthetics and (non invasive) music are also well chosen. All the actors deliver perfectly their characters with a few of them having a chance to stand out brilliantly, not only delivering but becoming the character they were performing.

I invite you also to rate this drama positively after watching it, if not for other reasons... as a (minimum) equivalent exchange for the wonder and lols it provided you. It will make you Dafengers and when you'll hear: "Do no wrong!", you'll be tempted to reply: "And fear no Guardians!"

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Dylan Wang’s Performance??✨

I loved how the characters evolved throughout the series. It felt like I was on a journey with them, especially with Dylan Wang’s character. His growth was so relatable!

The storyline started a bit slow, but it really picked up! Each episode brought new twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't stop watching!

Dylan Wang absolutely nailed his role! His charisma and ability to convey emotions made the character so compelling. I was rooting for him from start to finish!

The cinematography was stunning! The fight scenes were choreographed beautifully, and the scenery added so much to the overall experience.

The interactions between the characters felt so genuine. The humor and camaraderie added a delightful touch to the intense moments.

I didn’t expect to get so attached to the characters! There were moments that truly tugged at my heartstrings.

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Awesome till the end!

This went so HARD!!!!! From beginning to end, the story, the actors, the action...it all gave 300%. I laughed, I cried, I sat in wonder at such a well-crafted drama. It's not a drama where you have to "think" to ponder the character's emotions, because you can feel them immediately. The portrayals are so raw, you will have this visceral reaction to the good, the bad, and the evil in this drama. And hats off to Dylan Wang for his great acting in making Qi'an a character we all understood and all wanted to win by keeping him relatable and utterly human, yet heroic in the face of adversity...in a story that gave him superhuman, ultimate, level-up powers. He wasn't perfect, he was just decent and kind, and that kept us wanting him to win through each battle. It was lovely to not watch people be mistreated for 40 episodes with no recourse or hope until the very end. It was lovely to see intelligent, strong women and soft, protected women in the same show characterized appropriately. They weren't just props and we got to watch them all either be active participants or learn and grow. It was lovely to see how camaraderie and family could not only be built, but made stronger. Liu Yi Jun...was a powerhouse. I could go on forever because truthfully, this entire cast embodied the characters they played so well. I could write a dissertation on all the good things in this drama, and not because it was deep, philosophical, or thought provoking, but simply because it was a great story with amazing actors, and I had a great time watching it. I have already started re-watching it! This is a 10 out of 10 and a banging way to start off the new year!

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An amazing show is all I can summarise this as.

This was such a cohesive plotline with an actually interesting storyline. The entire show was embellished with priceless comedy, but what really spun me for a loop was how serious it got in the final quarter. It wasn't done abruptly, but it was rather that the innocence of the show got more.... well... less innocent.

Stuff got serious, and real problems like deaths of innocent lives occurred. This forced Xu Qi' An to take a more serious role.

What was really intriguing to me was the continuity of the use of a poem that got him a place with the Guardians; "You're paid as a court official. You live off the people's resources. You can easily oppress the common people, but you can't fool the heavens". The gravity that this had within the show became more and more apparent, the more that matters unfolded. It also reflects the sad truth of real life tbh.

All in all, great scriptwriting, great acting and a great OST.

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Can I just say this broke all the limits I thought were possible.

Okay, I admit it, I loved it. So let’s start from each aspect of everything I love about this drama because I am sure you guys read the plot line before coming here.

1. Gotta be acting!
You know I loved Dylan Wang in the drama Love between fairy and devil but not so much after that (I don’t hate him, he is an amazing actor, his dramas just did not match my style after that) and after that I came here and stayed forever. To say his acting was terrific would be an understatement. Not just him, everyone else was amazing. The acting, expressions, delivery, my god I can’t complain. I am sure I fell in love with two characters more than twice in this show, Xu Qi’an and Yang Yan. I am pretty sure if I ever made a list of best (and hottest) actors they both would be on top.

2. Story
When you think of an engaging murder mystery plot, you almost always imagine blood, stress and tension but this drama said “F*ck that we are doing it different boys!” And you may ask different how? Different by humour. I laughed almost every episode. You think the situation is stressful? Let’s switch it up. Even till the end when the stress was at its peak it managed to ratain its GOOD HUMOUR (emphasis on the good please). The story was just the perfect blend of suspense, humour, (and no I am not counting this as a romance) action, politics everything. I am pretty sure the emperor would’ve killed me thrice by now if I was in the place of Xu Qi’an… hehe… (Oh and advice, get your popcorns ready because you won’t get up once you sit down, this thing is more engaging than a screw on a wall.)

3. Music
Soundtrack? Fire. My playlist? Dominated by one song. Opening and ending? Unskippable (of course unless you are too excited and skip to find out what happened because the director loves cliff hangers more than my patience.) Do I need to say more? The music was something I enjoyed. The bgm, OST, everything was so well done that it ruined some of the other shows broadcasting with this.

4. Can’t forget the CGI can we? This show was advanced. The CGI was one of the best I have seen in recent dramas. Comparable or I dare say better (I don’t mean others are bad, my pfp is of MM) to Moonlight Mystique, Blossoming love and any other major drama you can think of.

5. And lastly my love for Yang Yan, I swear I bit my lip everytime he came on screen. He was just too hot and cute. Sorry Xu Qi’an, maybe next season!

So, guys buckle up, pull out your popcorn, and just enjoy this ride. You’ll never be bored, exhausted, annoyed (okay the FL was a bit annoying in the beginning but she changed!), depressed, stressed (because unlike me you won’t have to wait a day or two). I promise you all that you might regret reading my overly self centered but factually correct review, but you won’t regret watching this masterpiece of a drama. See you in Seaosn 2.

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“But you can't fool the heavens”

A corporate slave is transmigrated to a world inside the book and becomes a detective, making allies and adversaries at every turn.

Strengths
• Compelling storyline with strong audience engagement.
• Outstanding performances, especially impressed by Dylan Wang.
• High-quality action choreography and a memorable soundtrack.
• Unique protagonist who succeeds through personality and wit rather than just physical strength; sticks to his principles even in the most unfavorable situations.
• Strong opening and conclusion with potential for a second season.

Weakness
• Pacing issues in the middle sections.
• The comedy at times might come off too forced.

Overall, a very good watch. Recommended if you like watching a drama with anime-style hero narratives.

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