Fangs of Fortune

Almost perfect

Thoughts:
Fantastic story of friendship, redemption, and forgiveness against all odds. This part of the story is 1000/10. I loved how friendship was THE core of the story, and it was more important than romantic relationships (which is unusual. I don't know if that's why the one romantic pairing had no chemistry, but I - for once - liked that because it meant the friendships could be center stage.) Some small things that held it back:
Dragged after the first arc ended and the plot got confusing and had some unnecessary parts - people kept coming back to life and they had to just kill them over and over again.
I loved all the man tears, yet there was still a lack of emotional depth in some characters (ok, one and a half), and there was also a need for fake tears.

Back to some positives:
I liked Tian Jia Rui's character growth. I was shocked when I started to see him smile. I don't know what triggered it, though. I would have liked a specific moment or event. Maybe I missed it? But it was out of the blue in a way where I honestly thought we were in a dream when I first saw him smile. I was like, "that can't happen, they must be stuck in a dream again."
I loved Bai Jiu. I repeat, I love him! I loved his little shrieks and his joyfulness, devotion, and funniness. However, this is clouded by [Spoiler 1 in the middle of the drama after the first arc that had to do with his character, you all know what I mean] and [Spoiler 2 in the last episode]. It tarnished what I liked about him initially.
Cheng Xiao's brother (and I don't know why. Sibling devotion trumps all?)
THE MUSIC. I WOULD GIVE THE MUSIC 1,000,000/10, especially the one for the fight scenes, the one that's famous for.

I would have put the rewatch value lower, but in the extra episode, I saw that character 2 was wearing character 3's bell in his hair, and I almost cried again. Especially after the present that character 3 gave to character 2. I think there are details like that that would make it interesting to rewatch, but I won't because of the negatives listed above.

Last complaint. Why did half the main characters need to SPOILER? Question for the audience: is this a plot point in most Xianxia?

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Heartwarming Friendship Drama

A great friendship-centered drama with a cast of lovable characters. The pacing felt a bit slow in the beginning but improved as the story progressed. Ying Lei was my favorite character, and the actors delivered excellent performances throughout. The OST was amazing and really added to the overall experience.

Perhaps the drama could have been shortened to around 30 episodes to reduce some of the slower moments, though it’s hard to pinpoint exactly where cuts could have been made. Overall, it was a great drama though a happy ending would have made it even better.

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Still a Favorite Two Years Later

I already watched this in 2024 when it first released, and it was my top-tier favorite then. After being disappointed by several newer watches and dropping or passing on them, I decided to revisit this one, and I have no regrets. It was a favorite in 2024, and it’s still a favorite two years later. There are so many layers to the story that it barely feels like a rewatch. I’m noticing and feeling things now that I completely missed the first time, so this entire experience has been incredibly welcoming.

While GJM isn’t for everyone, he definitely is for me. And although this drama seems to divide audiences, even among people who enjoyed his other dramas or films, I hold this one in just as high regard as the rest of his work. Some people describe it as slow or depressing, but that’s not something I personally connect with. I find the drama very well-paced, consistently engaging, and I’m practically hanging onto every scene. Plus, I find it incredibly funny.

And while the mood can be heavy at times, it genuinely moves me and I connect deeply with it. I see this story as a pendulum swinging between highs and lows, where moments of joy exist alongside hardship. Is this a bright, carefree drama where no one struggles and every day is perfect? No, but that isn’t realistic, nor is it the point of the story. These characters are on a journey to confront and resolve hardships, so naturally they encounter pain and obstacles along the way.

What makes it meaningful for me is the promise that it will all matter in the end, and that they find love, comfort, and support through the friendships and bonds they build with one another. This is only one chapter of their lives; another story will begin once this one ends.

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Beautiful, ambitious, and emotionally exhausting—but somehow, I couldn't fully connect with it.

I really wanted to love Fangs of Fortune more than I ultimately did.

On paper, this drama had almost everything I usually enjoy: fantasy, demons, mythology, a morally gray male lead, a found-family dynamic, beautiful cinematography, strong character relationships, and a story that looked much darker and more ambitious than the usual fantasy romance.

And yet, somewhere along the way, I realized I was watching the episodes without really feeling them.

This is a difficult drama for me to rate because I can absolutely see why it received so much praise. Visually, it is stunning. The costumes, cinematography, color palette, action sequences, CGI, and overall artistic direction are easily among its strongest points. The OST also fits the atmosphere beautifully.

And then there's Hou Minghao as Zhao Yuanzhou.

He was probably my biggest reason for continuing. Zhao Yuanzhou is such an interesting character—powerful, unpredictable, emotionally complicated, and carrying so much loneliness underneath his playful exterior. His relationship with Zhuo Yichen and the rest of the group became much more compelling to me than the actual romance.

The found-family aspect was also one of the best parts. Watching these very different people slowly become a team gave the story some genuinely beautiful moments.

But despite all that, I struggled with the storytelling.

The pacing felt uneven, and there were moments when the drama seemed to stretch emotional beats longer than necessary. There was so much tragedy, suffering, sacrifice, and crying that eventually I became emotionally numb instead of more invested. Ironically, when everything is constantly trying to make you feel devastated, the emotional impact can start to wear off.

I also found myself becoming more interested in certain individual characters and relationships than in the larger plot. Li Lun, for example, had such strong "final villain" energy that I genuinely thought he was being positioned as the ultimate antagonist—only for his story to end much earlier than I expected.

And Wen Xiao... unfortunately, she was probably my weakest point with the main cast. I kept waiting for her to become the kind of strong female lead I usually gravitate toward, but her character never connected with me as strongly as the others did.

What surprised me most, though, was my own reaction.

I wasn't bored because the drama was necessarily bad. I think I was simply burnt out.

I've been watching C-dramas almost nonstop lately, jumping between different platforms and different genres. By the time I got deeper into Fangs of Fortune, I noticed myself wanting to scroll through my phone or watch a short mini drama instead of immediately starting the next episode.

And that's probably why I don't want to judge this drama too harshly.

Maybe I watched it at the wrong time.

Because I can recognize how beautiful and carefully constructed it is while also admitting that I wasn't emotionally present enough to appreciate it the way many other viewers did.

So no, I wouldn't call Fangs of Fortune a bad drama.

Quite the opposite. I think it is one of those dramas where I can understand the high ratings even though my personal experience didn't completely match them.

For me, the strongest parts were Zhao Yuanzhou, the group dynamic, the mythology, the visuals, and the emotional relationships between the characters.

The weakest were the uneven pacing, overly prolonged emotional beats, and a story that eventually became more exhausting than absorbing for me.

Maybe with a different mood, a different watching pace, or simply less C-drama burnout, I would have connected with it more.

For now, though, I'll remember it as:
A beautiful drama that I admired more than I loved.

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Absolutely Love this drama, and especially TIAN JIA RUI !!!

I’ll be honest—I started watching Fangs of Fortune purely because of Tian Jia Rui, and I have zero regrets. He completely stole the spotlight for me. His screen presence is magnetic, and every scene he’s in feels elevated. Beyond just being incredibly attractive, he brings a certain intensity and charm that makes his character impossible to ignore.

This is only his second drama, but his acting is mind-blowing. He nailed the role with such talent and confidence that it’s hard to believe he’s still early in his career. I love him so much—he’s truly gifted and has the potential to become one of the standout stars of his generation.

The drama itself has its ups and downs, but Tian Jia Rui is the reason I kept hitting “next episode.” His expressions, the way he carries himself, and the subtle emotions he conveys make him the highlight of the entire show. Even when the plot slowed down, his performance kept me invested.

If you’re considering watching Fangs of Fortune, I’d say do it for Tian Jia Rui. He’s hot, charismatic, and absolutely worth the watch.

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moral ambiguity done right

I put this on just because recently I've been interested in Hou Ming Hao's work, I had the expectation that this drama is just about hunting demons, friendship and that it will be a comedy. Damn was I wrong and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Although it definitely is about friendship, they do hunt demons and there is humor, it is much much more deeper than that.

I'll start with my favorite part which is that finally moral ambiguity is done right. Most of what I've seen, xianxia/costume dramas have this boring/simplistic framework where good is pure, righteous; evil is demonic, corrupt and redemption is love fixes everything lol. This drama established from the start that humans can be cruel; demons are capable of love, loyalty and sacrifice, and evil is a consequence of suffering, fear and survival not identity. Humans and demons are treated as fundamentally equal - capable of the same kindness and the same brutality. That alone makes the story feel far more mature than most dramas in the genre.

Because of this, I genuinely consider Fangs of Fortune a masterpiece. The way the characters are written carries the story more than any romance ever could. In fact, I do think the drama falls short on the love aspect, and initially I wasn’t particularly keen on Wen Xiao’s character. But the more I thought about it, the more it clicked: love is intentionally secondary here. Wen Xiao is meant to feel insufficient. I think I am conditioned by dramas to expect love to heal trauma, redeem pain and provide emotional resolution. This story refuses that comfort. Love doesn’t fix everything and because of that, Wen Xiao feels incomplete, limited and sometimes frustrating… but also human.

I have to single out Zhao Yuan Zhou's character, he is neither hero or antihero. He is someone who has lived far too long, is tired and sees the world with clarity. He does not distinguish between humans and demons morally. He understands that suffering is systematic, that compassion is rarely rewarded and that goodness does not triumph simply because it exists. He is not softened into a romantic archetype. Instead, he remains exhausted, self-aware, and principled in his own quiet, devastating way. Characters like him are incredibly rare in dramas.

You don't watch this for twists, surprises and salvation, this story is for watching how tragedy unfolds and why characters make the choices that they do.

The humor worked so well, too. It didn't break the immersion and it felt like people coping, not just like writers inserting jokes haha, it was so well done.

also have to mention that the music was hauntingly beautiful
an absolutely fantastic atmospheric watch

💔

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Beautifully painful

I gave everything a 10 except for rewatch value because of how much crying there is. If you're looking for an uplifting watch, this is not the show for you.
There is pain on pain on pain; almost every episode is a slow burn of tears rolling down cheeks. There's very little relief for the heart.
That being said, the production is beautiful and ensures that each character is loveable and has their own developed arc.
The cases that the crew tackle all illustrate great storytelling, are rooted in creative mythology, and all make sense when woven into the bigger picture.
10/10 drama

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A very dramatic show that focuses on its characters

If you're looking for a very dramatic show that might make you cry every other episode then this is for you. Great cinematography and great music, what is more great is that it is shove up to your ear every other second LMAO

The show doesn't only explore romance but also friendship and familial love, I noticed that the show focuses more to it's characters. To Pei sijing with her brother, the useless goddess, Zhu yan's backstory, zhou yichen's hatred for demons and how they made him understand it, Bai jiu and jing lei, even the villain Li Lun. For me, I truly enjoyed watching the show digging up each character's story. It's very refreshing for me to see that each characters interacts with each other.

I enjoyed every tragic story of side characters, the water ghost and especially fei and qing geng's (I am not moving on from that).

If other shows tells you that fate can be altered, then this show says otherwise. A tragic show yet so beautiful.

Let's all act that the ending didn't happen, but still I'm kinda satisfied that they stick to killing Zhu Yan.

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