Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact

Why Did I Watch This Show

I waited so long to watch this drama, but was sorely disappointed!

This show was by far the biggest disappointment of 2024. Having watched the trailer last year, “Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact” was one of my most anticipated dramas this year. A beautiful cast paired with some stunning CGI and a commendable story line, this show was expected to be a win-win situation. Unfortunately, it was anything but that. Spurned by repetitive cliche plots, subpar love stories and no chemistry between the main couple, the drama became boring with each episode that went by. The only reason to trudge through this horrible experience was to write this review. There were moments when I wanted to disconnect, scenes where I fast forwarded the track to get done with the entire fiscal situation and scenarios where I wanted to drop the show entirely. There isn’t much to talk about, so let’s get done with this review in a few words!

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The drama has a fairly simple conflict, making it suitable for passing the time.

Okay. Let me start my review of this drama. The drama essentially tells the story of frequent conflicts between a group of humans and a group of demons. It follows the efforts of a female fox demon, Tushan Hong Hong, who is the leader of the mountain demon clan at Mount Tu, and a human man, Dongfang Yuechu, who has divine blood, both of whom share the dream of enabling humans and demons to live peacefully together. These efforts are challenged by power-hungry demons and a group of selfish humans.

At Mount Tu, there is a magical tree that serves as the matchmaking site for various demons, with the matchmaking ceremony often led by Hong Hong. This magical tree is the source of Mount Tu's power and must be protected. Yuechu’s divine blood can be used to protect the tree, making him a target for many greedy groups.

The main conflict in this drama revolves around uniting the love stories of both demons and humans under the Tu tree. While the tree traditionally only matches demons, many cases in this drama involve humans and demons falling in love and seeking the tree’s blessing for protection. Amid solving these various love cases, the characters also focus on fighting against evil demon forces that crave power.

For me, the story is quite interesting. The moral messages it tries to convey are really good, such as sisterhood, love, sacrifice, friendship, loyalty, and equality and justice for all beings, not just humans or demons. Isn't that great?

Additionally, I believe each actor played their role very well. The characters they portrayed were true to their respective roles. So, the question is, why did this drama receive such a low rating? In my opinion, it's simply a matter of taste. In this drama, you won’t find the cute love stories that most people enjoy these days. Another aspect that many consider a flaw is the very slow pace of the storyline. I agree with that and recognize it as one of the weaknesses of this drama. However, for me, that doesn’t necessarily make the drama so bad as to deserve such a poor rating.

After watching the drama a second time, I understand that the narrative seems to require such a slow pace. Unfortunately, that type of pacing doesn’t appeal to many viewers today, who prefer fast, intense, and tightly-packed storylines. So, for me, it all comes down to personal taste.

Aside from all that, I really, really love the OSTs in this drama, which are great, the beautiful costumes, and the stunning CGI. So overall, this drama is enjoyable to watch in a relaxed way, as it contains a simple conflict and lighthearted story, while also letting you enjoy beautiful songs. Another common criticism is about the chemistry between the two main characters, Hong Hong and Yuechu. Again, I think this is a matter of taste. They both have complex roles, so they don’t have much time to share romantic moments in harmony. Plus, Hong Hong’s cold personality strongly contrasts with Yuechu’s cheerful nature. However, as I mentioned before, it doesn’t seem fair to give the drama a low rating just because of this. Fundamentally, they have the right chemistry according to how their characters were designed. So for me, the downside of this drama is that its story doesn’t fit most people’s taste, not because the drama itself is bad.

Summary:

Weaknesses: Slow pacing and a plot that isn't well-crafted, making some parts quite confusing and requiring rewinding.
Strengths: Good acting, beautiful costumes, great OST, stunning CGI, and a strong moral message.

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Most of the them are top lead handsome and beautiful cast, amazing costumes and make up, The story is about
A MISSION TO ESTABLISH PEACE AND EQUALITY BETWEEN HUMANS AND MONSTERS & THE OBSTACLES :
In a world where humans and monsters are constantly in conflict, Tushan Honghong (Yang Mi) played a role as the righteous leader of TuShan Fox Clan who responsible to protect all the Fox Clan in Tushan and the bitter love tree of Tushan, and Dongfang Yuechu (Gong Jun) as an orphan of the human from Dongfang family who was rescued by Tushan Honghong, Tushan Honghong gave young Yuechu a shelter and taught him cultivation, Yuechu was very grateful of Tushan Honghong but he couldnt figure out that Honghong original intention of taking him to Tushan because of the bitter love tree was eroded by dark power of the darkest shade, and only Dongfang spiritual blood family could completely solve the problem, he had to sacrifice his blood to the bitter love tree if needed, fortunately the bitter love tree was stable, and not yet needed Dongfang spiritual blood.

LOVE STORY & THE CHALLENGES :
For 16 years Yuechu lived in Tushan and as time passed by Yuechu grew up as a teenager, but Tushan Honghong's face looked as same as the first time Yuechu met her, she was still beautiful and young, and he began to fall in love with Tushan Honghong, even though she was strict and seldom smile, but he couldnt help himself to love her, while Tushan Honghong as the leader of Tushan and the whole fox clan in her whole life just only thought of her responsibility to protect Tushan, never thought to look for a love

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Such a bad ending, makes you feel so empty.

The costumes, makeup, and CGI in this drama are absolutely stunning. The cast is full of eye candy, and each couple has their own unique charm. However, I struggled with the main couple’s dynamic. The female lead comes across as too cold toward the male lead, making their relationship feel frustratingly one-sided. This type of pairing just isn’t for me. Despite that, I pushed through to the end because I’m a fan of Yang Mi. Unfortunately, the ending left me deeply disappointed - it felt rushed and unsatisfying, making me regret the time I invested in this drama.

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LOVED IT!!!!

It's an experience of pure comfort from start to finish. I've never witnessed such an impressive lineup of handsome actors and stunning actresses in a Chinese domestic TV series before. Gong Jun's portrayal of Dongfang Yue Chu is particularly outstanding, showcasing a completely different character compared to his previous role as Prince Han Ye. Each shot of him captivates, revealing the actor's undeniable charm. Beyond their looks, every actor delivers a performance that feels incredibly natural. Simply put, when a drama can hold your attention right from the first few scenes and leaves you eager to keep watching without the urge to switch channels or fast-forward, it's a clear sign of success. This drama achieves just that.

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Really disappointed in FSMM execution

Hi I am writing this review and from comments on the page this there is a general consensus that possibly this drama not delivered

I have watched 8 and a half episodes and feel that cannot continue. Not really enjoying watching it and the progression of the story and chemistry is really poor.

The acting I guess is just satisfactory but I am not feeling it from Yang Mi or Gong Jun or Miles Wei for me to keep on watching.

I have in the last 3 days watched the entire anime on YouTube and feel that this version is not sticking to the fundamentals of the story. It is really doing its own thing. The anime series is actually quite simple and friendly for viewers to follow, target audience would be younger viewers.

I also believe that the characters are all suppose to be younger as in the anime they are all teenagers. That really could of been a way to bring in the anime fans so they can relate to the characters. Yang Mi and Gong Jun have been in excellent dramas before but not sure if fans of the anime will accept them in these roles. This last comment is a matter of opinion which I very much could be 100% wrong.

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Not what I was expecting

After watching first few episodes all I can say is that the CGi, costumes, and over all production looks good but...when it comes to story...it lacks a lot. First of all the age difference is giving me weird vibes. I know it is xianxia and age doesn't really matter when we talk about all those immortals and stuff but man... I just can't think of the story with them being a romantic couple, especially after watching that little one with Yangmi's character. (He was amazing by the way). It would have worked great if they were just mentor and disciple...it doesn't have to be romantic to make it more interesting. Their chemistry look forced and Yangmi in her character looks like a beautiful mannequin without much expression, who is just there to look pretty and I am saying this despite being a big fan of Yangmi since ten miles of peach blossom. Gongjun to me has become a sort of actor who really struggles to outshine his earlier roles like the one from the world of honor. Partly it could be the direction or maybe the understanding of the character by the actor himself but I don't feel much emotions from him in any of his recently aired dramas. He looks handsome and all but his acting just doesn't look natural or believable. I am still waiting for him to get back to his game but this one is just okaish for me. Other characters in this drama are not bad but again not the best to keep me engaged. I found myself skipping most of the scenes. I sometimes think CGI looks all good but it takes away so much at the same time or perhaps they overdid it in this one. I am not sure if I would be continuing this drama and I am seriously worried for the other parts as well. This one atleast for me is one time watch at most.

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Not The Best

I guess the disappointment is equal to the hype..

I usually love Yang Mi, I find her face and expressions interesting but not in this drama. In this drama there are only visuals and better side stories. For the people who say she was limited by the character she was portraying which is meant to be stoic and solemn, I think in addition she was limited by her skills/commitment to the character, and most of all limited by the overambitious and overpopulated story. I’m going to focus my ire on Yang Mi’s acting choices, the editing and the storytelling. Actually some of the greatest acting opportunities come out of still/silent/handicapped/emotionless or apathetic roles, the actor is given the challenge to connect to her audience through unconventional use of skill which has sometimes birthed brilliant performances but perhaps Yang Mi was disinterested or uninspired in this particular role because it was giving stolid and impassive throughout. Perhaps the directing also has something to do with this. The backbone of every stoic main character is the storytelling, for every nonplussed reaction of the actor the audience must draw empathy from believing the backstory or inner angst of the character! Flat acting will not lead to this. Overexplaining and underexplaining plot points will not lead to this.

Lucid storytelling that is balanced plus nuanced acting work hand in hand to deliver dramas worthy of applause or plausible enjoyment.

The visuals are beautiful, Yang Mi took my breath away in the promotional artworks every. single. time.
However when I would go to watch, the same YM wasn’t believable enough to draw me into the story, causing the expectation generally to be left cold. The writing is not worthy of the investment, it is just there I guess they needed a script, and a shaman. The editing is also choppy, disorienting and perhaps doesn’t showcase the acting or story to its full merits.

As for the coupling of YM GJ: Yang Mi does her best with her stoic ‘I’m sitting on an iceberg with fire burning inside me’ routines, while GJ is always more lively and expressive but somehow never feels sincere. I’m vaguely curious of the behind the scenes whether any genuine connection or chemistry was captured? Does Yang Mi like Gong Jun? These are my petty questions but I can’t care enough to search.

Is Gong Jun a good leading man in any romance drama with a strong woman lead? I’m doubting this more and more with each drama. Last time I saw chemistry from GJ was WoH (which I dropped because I found the story unoriginal) and Advance Bravely (which I enjoyed him in). He seems to naturally play a naughty boyish character that is the same in every drama I’ve seen him in, but more subtle in Begin Again which I wandered away from by episode 15 and just started watching other things. I think the twinkling boyish vibe in him can mainly suit comedic dramas with bright and breezy storylines and witty heroines which may cover for any lag with chemistry. As for this Fox Spirit drama… not a good pairing IMO. Cheeky characters have always been paired with phlegmatic beings to create magic from contrast, in this case it just seemed bizarre, and that’s coming from someone who enjoys noona, shifu and age gap dramas. I even found GJ’s bickering relationship with Tushan RongRong more interesting to look at in the first few episodes, than his potential passion for the love of his life.

This drama exhausted my tolerance for mismatched couples. I could not wait for Zhang Linghe and Chen Duling to come up, I ended up watching their story on iQIYI YouTube, it just got uploaded and I enjoyed all 26 minutes of it.

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