Fangs of Fortune

A Must-Watch Drama in 2024

I started watching this drama because of Cheng Xiao and Minghao—two of my absolute favorites! Initially, I thought the main couple would be Cheng Xiao and Minghao, but it turns out that's not the case. Cheng Xiao plays a supporting character, but she completely nailed her role and shines just as brightly as the leads. Honestly, her performance is so captivating that she steals the show at times.

The drama has already secured a spot in my top 5 favorites list, right after The Love Game in the Eastern fantasy. It’s currently in 3rd place! My all-time favorite remains Dashing Youth and The love game in Eastern fantasy in 2024 but this one definitely deserves its ranking.

The story and characters are exceptionally well-written, with every detail pulling you into the drama’s world. At first, I thought it might be a BL/GL drama because they emphasize not just the couples' chemistry but also the connections between Cheng Xiao and Chen Duling, as well as Minghao and Jiarui. Honestly, I’m obsessed with the dynamics between Jiarui and Minghao and love their chemistry even more than the actual couples (Minghao and Duling)!

This drama stands out with its strong performances, stunning visuals, and an intriguing plotline. It’s one of those shows that keeps you hooked from start to finish, and every character feels so alive. Definitely worth watching if you're a fan of complex relationships and beautiful storytelling!

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Massive disappointment due to terrible editing, direction and pacing.

Almost everything about this show was very good. Lovely, talented cast. Great costumes, sets, cinematography, OST. But the editing and direction were just awful. So much over-use of long, drawn-out 'dramatic moments'. Events that should have taken 2-3 minutes to convey were constantly taking 10-20 minutes of screen time! And this happened more and more as the show progressed. The last 4 episodes were ridiculous and barely watchable. You can literally just skip through most of these episodes and you won't miss hardly anything. And the show really just wasted the talents of Chen Du Ling as the FL because her character is nearly useless in most of this story. Not the actress' fault. She's just rendered by this story as simply incapable of doing much other than getting hurt and watching others getting hurt and crying about it all. Overall, very disappointed in this show and don't know how it got such a high rating. I literally wish I had not watched this show.

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Guo Jing Ming’s ambitious tribute to Tsui Hark: How did it turn out?

Having watched it fully and then rewatched this more than six months after it finished airing, I suggest this method to balance utmost enjoyment alongside addressing any quibbles: Absorb at least twenty episodes of what unfolds with no expectations while revelling in the cinematography, intricate embellished costumes, gorgeous BGMs and lush sets accompanying an interesting group of humans and demons. Utilise patience for at least twenty episodes even when noticing any plot-holes, characterisation issues, and details clashing with each other within the first four episodes and beyond.

Tsui Hark’s movies and certain fundamental concepts (1993 Green Snake and 1983 Zu: Warriors From The Magic Mountain) have clearly impacted this drama. At 27:21 for two seconds of episode 30, a certain visual is literally inspired by the final scene of the movie Green Snake. Karma, debt, and consequences are inevitable and unavoidable, given the two movies being referenced in homage to define this world of demons and humans.

Despite the burdens and responsibilities each individual carries, there is humour and camaraderie amongst the team. As the story progresses with each new demon the team meets across twenty episodes, a sense of inevitability is accompanied by hope that goodness will prevail and the team will overcome every challenge.

Drawing on the Classic of Mountains and Seas, Guo Jing Ming (GJM)’s efforts and dedication to exploring emotional ties and repairing relationships between humans and demons are as laudable as his attention to utilising that particular source to create the world of FoF. His flaws pertaining to self-indulgences for certain characters and sub-stories result in the opposite effect equivalent to the game of Battleships blindly sinking vital boats, thereby marring what could have been a unique timeless drama of humans and demons as friends, enemies and more. His sets are beautiful, but the world-building is fuzzy and the extent of attraction relies on the viewer not realising this. Dramas involving demons and/or gods should have clear rules and limitations about the world they inhabit or the realms they can cross into.

These combined results will keep you eager to continue after 10 episodes, or dropping it before you finish episode 6. You'll survive and enjoy all of it, if you turn off your inner critic. If you don't turn it off, you'll still survive wonderfully if you intend to write a humorous dissection of what did not work. Wordplay in mandarin is hilarious. Wordplay in the bonus episode is anything but hilarious. Fight scene choreography is mostly enjoyable, some fights downright spell-binding such as in episode 8 being heartrending and gorgeous, but at times not lethal or urgent enough and hence unable to convey necessary impact such as parts of the final battle. Over-usage of music for some scenes was unnecessary. Silence would have deepened the emotional impact of certain scenes. Filters for flashbacks were inconsistent. That inconsistency is not GJM's biggest issue for this drama.

Certain scenes would enable viewers to better connect with the characters, if there were a lot less tears and different methods used to convey certain scenes and having them being shot in a different manner. The focus on visuals comes at the expense of enabling the complexity of the characters to come through, resulting in too much telling and not enough showing.

Being character-driven means the plot is as coherent as the puzzle of you trying to figure out how and why obstacles pop up as challenges to the team. Don't think too hard and let things unfold, flowing with the episodes and practising the patience of possibly developing sagehood.

You will definitely find something to like about this drama. Whether you can finish depends on your personal capacity for the constantly-shifting promise which this character-driven drama presents: Distinctly gorgeous visuals and presentation and costumes, short mini-stories wrapping up well enough, under-developed arcs, over-wrought tear ducts, and a FL whose characterisation and overall final edits for the drama is insultingly disrespectful to her efforts as an actress.

The acting is a mixed bag. That said, you'll definitely find at least one or more characters to root for, given the amount of material dedicated to the characters.

For the original story, four writers including GJM were involved. For the directors, three directors including GJM were involved. Six people were involved in the screenwriting. The final decisions can be attributed to GJM, especially the editing. After considering all this while watching, please go with the flow and make your own decisions.

As to how two Tsui Hark movies defined certain fundamentals and details for this drama pertaining to karma and debts and inevitability (or the casting choices plus script choices and issues with the storyline): I do not want to include spoilers in this review, and only in a comment -> https://kisskh.at/755301-the-story-of-mystics#comment-22919316

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One Of The Best If 2024

I am all in with this drama. I see some people are disappointed because it has humor and wanted it to be dark the entire show. You HAVE to have the relief from the darkness to enjoy it when you are traveling through it. Genius director and script writer(s). Episode 9 had me so enthralled that I got irritated at my dog for wanting to go outside to relieve herself. Thankfully I can push pause and miss nothing. The title is misleading because I thought this was about vampires and almost didn't watch it. I can't rave about this drama too much. The guest actors are so great to watch. The leads and 2nd leads including the young boy, make this drama worth your time. I have laughed, I have cried and I want more episodes than just 2 per day. Don't miss this one.

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Too grey,Arty,Corpses' make up . Dullness overload

Really good acting and story line but the director is obsessed with his own "artiness" so much so it destroyed vewer's enjoyment.
Every single frame is like a painting with beautiful scenery and art form sometimes with beautiful music and camera work but hey, 40 minutrs every single episode can kill my endurance .
Everything becomes "flat"with flat speech,flat voice,flat grey light to the point my brain dies and I feel depressed. Everyone speaks in whispery flat voice.
To fit the grey dull "arty" pictures,the actors have ugly overly white thick pasty make up which destroyed their natural beauty again totally depressing the viewers. They look like corpses

So my rewatch rating is zero and I will recommend watching it if you want to cultivate endurance of boredom and depression watching corpses talking in exactly the same tone for 30hours

The diector need to reflect and stop being so Artym this is a drama not a painting so totally one dimensional

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Too depressing for me

I am probably 1 out of 100 people, but Fangs of Fortune didn’t work for me. And I really wanted to like it - I had been looking forward to it for several months - but unfortunately I couldn’t.

The main reason FoF didn’t work for me is that I could not handle its everyone-and-everything-is-doomed vibe - the story is packed with heartbraking events with very few comedic moments that interrupt all the pain and that give the viewer time to breath. If you are into emotional pain, heartbreak, angst and desperation, FoF will be a feast for you and my following complaints regarding storytelling (pacing and character development) will merely be a little nuisance. But for me this drama was simply too depressing to enjoy.

Storytelling-wise my biggest complaint is about the pacing of this story because something about it was off. There simply wasn’t a rhythm I could flow with - I perceived the whole drama as a mere succession of more or less connected events without narrative arcs to guide a viewer through it.

Apart from that, I also had issues with the character development or better the lack of it. At some point I felt that the lead characters had morphed into a collective of more or less interchangeable units that were all willing to sacrifice themselves for the whole entity. I assume the story provided the moments where those characters reached the emotional turning points where they formed a deep bond of love but for me these moments where either so fleeting that they never stuck with me or they drowned in an ocean of heartbreak. Therefore, the bonding of the lead characters was something that I just had to accept eventually without emotionally understanding it from a storytelling perspective. FoF relies heavily on the self sacrificing trope and the majority of the characters have martyr syndrome. However, I felt that for very few of them their martyrism is based in the narrative.

So, why did I torture myself and hate-watched all 34 and 1/2 episodes instead of dropping FoF eventually? The answer is Hou Ming Hao. He‘s magnetic. I have no better explanation. He pulled my gaze to the screen and locked it there, so I had to watch every single episode of FoF, no matter if I wanted to or not.

And there is one thing that I loved about FoF - the closing credits. This madness of letting the actors, fully in costume but NOT in character, break the fourth wall while performing a happy group dance appeals to my taste.

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Give me more of this please, but...

I dont even know where to begin

Yeah the story is good and very easy to follow. The acting is all spot on and well cast, besides Baize goddess. It’s all really good stuff. Even with the little mishap, I enjoy the show. Still a solid 9/10 or 8.5/10. I really enjoy the bromance. I won’t forget to mention how visually pleasing and pretty this show is. Its a gorgeous show with a gorgeous cast. Anyways I would love to see this type of show without the forced “romance”, idk if I can even call it that honestly. Give me more of this please, but without characters that seem to have no purpose besides having the plot on their side.

Bainze Empress is not good imo. She takes me out of the scene, her acting is not believable in the slightest, I cannot take her seriously. She really struggles with one-on-one scenes with her counterparts, she drowns; the other lead just will steal the show. For instance, her and mr demon Man are already is a fun light-hearted, deep backstory character

I really do not know what her character is supposed to be, is she serious, is she supposed to be a baddie, is she supposed to be tragic? I mean all she is in the show is just pretty. She plays the same expression in every episode, literally jusst :), and then she gets bonked or something and then it is :( or :0. I guess she is good at having tears in her eyes, but I see nothing in her eyes, like no emotion at all. LIterally for a whole episode girl was on the ground, like on her side because mr demon man was acting upon his demon ways (he can’t help it, he really is babygirl), anyways she’s in that same position, with the same expression on her face, saying his name repeatedly… I cannot.

Also, are we supposed to ship her with mr demon man because I really can’t tell. Personally, I do not ship them, I do not think we are supposed to because they have no romantic chemistry. I see them as friends, but because of fate or something they have to fall in love, but that just seems so forced. Mr demon man will tease her but she just gives the same expression of :), there’s not banter. On the other hand demon and Mr.Zhou have loads in my opinion. Demon is constantly teasing him, almost every scene they have, and Mr. Zhou really gets flustered, like he can’t take it but in a tsundere way; it is quite good stuff imo.

In short I ship either demon with Mr. Zhou or him with Li Lun (other hot demon, aka his past lover). Why?

Starting with Li Lun, they go way back. They’re back story is really good, we see more and more of it as the drama progresses. They are good friends, both understanding the misfortunes of being demons, but they both have a different outlook on life. They are foil characters I’d say, demon man sees the good in people, even when humans fear, and want to kill the demons, he has sympathy. Whereas, Li Lun is full of hate, he has no sympathy and is really at odds with all humans, they have a falling out. The show is pretty much Li Lun reaking hovic, trying to get demons to be integrated in the human realm, but in a way where demons would take over everything. Demon is part of the demon hunting troop or something, so they cross paths, but it’s so complicated. They’re feelings for eachother clearly are complicated. They have really good diaologue, and the visuals both go hard. It is tragic that they came to be on different ends of the same stick, really it is. Anyways, I could go on and on, but yeah, they have boatloads of chemistry, with the whole past life brotherly bond thing, to the recent “hating eachother” and trying to get one to understand the other.

Mr. Zhou is a great character. Maybe we are supposed to ship hiim with the Baize goddess? Idk they bring it up a bit, how they have known eachother since childhood and he is her protector or something, but honestly, you can’t really tell, like I can’t see it with the relationship that is being presented to me. Anyways, he’s great, a scene stealer. Ooh and I just got to a part with him and Li Lun! They really have great tension! I think they are filming a show together and I WILL be tuning in. They’re trying to kill eachother and its just really good.

Cheng Xiao is actually really well fit in her role. I’ve seen her as the lead in a few dramas and like Baize goddess, she can’t hold up to her opposite. In this show though, she’s a strong, quiet yet compassionate fighter. The history she has with her brother is beautiful (they sing an ost together i think) , yet tragic, and I actually enjoy watching her here. She’s really good.

Now for the little doctor (Xia Siniaka baby chu wanning for immortality). He is one of the top 3 actors here I’d say. His performance is spot on. The kid keeps up with the adults, and adds something to the show. LIttle doctor and Mr. Zhou have a great dynamic. I love the little brother, big brother thing going on. Teen mountain god is good too. His costuming is so fun. I want to watch him in some other stuff too. He’s great as well.

Lastly, the character of the drama itself, the main demon. He is great. I love how charasmatic he is. The comedy he brings is great, bouncing from character to character with his teases. He has a tragic backstory. Simply, he can’t help it when he torments others, something possesses him it seems and holds a lot of guilt for that. He’s misunderstood, but still brings a smile to the team. A scene stealer of a character and oh so interesting. The actor’s portayal of this character is spot on. He knows when he’s not supposed to be taken seriously, yet has a nice balance when we do need to take the guy seriously. I will have to watch more of the actors in other shows, cuz he eats this role up!

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Not All Demons are the Same

So far this has been a captivating drama and I recommend it if you want something different from the run of the mill dramas. The cinematography and production is excellent, it feels like you are watching a big budget movie even though its a drama series. It is DIFFERENT and breaks from any box that I tried to initially put it in. The female lead characters are not the cutesy ditsy ones you typically see in Xianxia fantasy dramas. It has an eye catching young cast who are doing well with the character portrayal that has some grown up themes. They each carry the weight of the character's burden of loss and regrets. You feel like you are watching something that is digging deeper emotionally where the characters are forced to look within to grow in their journey together. There isn't much romance so far although it is alluding to it with the demon ML and the goddess FL. It focuses on the fantasy mystery of a group of individuals who are as diverse from each other as they can be who have conflicting goals and a camaraderie that develops with the life and death situations as they fight demons and unravel the mysteries in the demon and mortal worlds. The one thing that I am kind of meh on is the comedy they try to inject in, sometimes its a bit jarring when they switch from a moment where it seems serious to one where its supposed to be funny.

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THREE GOOD MAIN LEADS

This is the best drama of Neo Huo - character that bring the best of him. The 3 main leads are amazing, they're good looking, great acting, beautiful costumes, great setting, excellent cinematography, facial movement is spot on with the emotion/feeling that very moment. The best part is Neo Huo character did some trick that hasn't much done on C-drama "blew his finger and puff.....people fall down". This is the kind of drama that physical excises (fighting scenes) without sweat. Surprisingly I like this drama.

Things that I pay attention to:
Although this is the kind of genre that's not my favorite but I like Neo Huo, Chen Du Ling & Tian Jia Rui characters; very subtle, little humor, nice collaboration. The three of them has chemistry. Neo Huo has mesmerizing eyes, mix of amuse and kill intent and a smile that can charm a snake. Tian Jia Rui has the innocent air while Chen Du Ling has quietness of superiority.

The boy Lester Lin (Bai Jiu) is acting fake and very squeaky, jumpy, scream like a little girl, wearing heavier make up than the other 2 female actress with so much dangling head-pieces. His character doesn't speak volume....just a lot of squeaks and hide behind someone else. I think he's ruining the whole drama.

Darker site of settings, probably it's a paranormal genre. Slow motion scenes and sad music inducing emotion from demon's recollection past memories as to why/how/when they committed killing sprees. Like those demons want to justify their crimes so far it's all about reconcilable love.

Guess Stars are equally beautiful/handsome and good. This drama is calling in all talented people to support (maybe they came from the same production/agent?); Riley Wang, Ryan Cheng, Wang Duo, Peng Xiao Ran. They're the addition characters that help with development of story. Very nicely done.

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