It looks better than it is because the competition sucks so badly. But I still love it.
I have such a fondness for Love Between Fairy and Devil. I own it on DVD. I've rewatched it a few times, but I have come to terms with the honest truth; it is not an extraordinary production. There is nothing mind-blowing or unique or of particular artistic merit about it. It is not Lightning in a Bottle. It is just a generally competent production.
The problem is, that is not a bar that most Dramas seem able to clear. By comparison, LBFAD looks amazing, but that's just because it avoids lazy nonsense, isn't insultingly stupid or needlessly convoluted.
Esther Yu is a charming actress, and this familiar, sweet-natured archetype is well within her wheel-house. She's cute, but a little dim until the plot needs her to figure things out. Dylan Wang is not doing anything particularly mind-blowing with his cold Moon Supreme who thaws into tender passion. But, he looks pretty and menacing when he needs to. These are stock characters being adequately performed with decent chemistry. All their emotional through-lines track. The story also takes particular pains to ensure both get generally equal screen time with their own melodramatic issues. Is Xiao Lanhua's part slightly under-written as compared to Dongfang Qingcang? Yes. What happened to her work with the Destiny Books? What about her murdered parents? What's her place in this hierarchy? But she at least has goals and she stands toe-to-toe with her love interest in terms of power. She isn't a passive observing partner in his tragic story like so many heroines. That in itself is great.
Of particular note are the side characters. LBFAD shines in that, again, it ensure that characters are introduced with particular motives, go through an emotional journey and have satisfying conclusions, instead of just disappearing from the narrative when their involvement with the main couple concludes. I really liked Danyin and Chengheng. They could have easily been useless side-characters intended as obstacles and nothing more, but both were allowed to evolve into their own people with their own paths. They are treated like characters, as opposed to satellites to the main couple. All of the acting is fine, no stand-outs, but no weak links. Chidi and Rong Hao's story is particularly poignant, Jie Li and Shang Que's is the weakest.
The cast was also more balanced between male and female then we're accustomed to seeing, so you're not watching a barrage of men doing Plot Things while female characters bully the Female Lead or wring their hands. There was still inequality; just check out the number of male authorities and fathers- but an attempt was made and I appreciate it. Women aren't just here to be romantic objects or rivals. There are actual friendships being formed. The ambient sexism is fairly low, but at least two female characters get fridged.
The plot is also nothing amazing. Here is the Celestial Shenanigans, there is the mortal arc, and then the demon realm and the Big Bad. It all carries on at a decent pace, each arc accomplishing what it intends without overstaying it's welcome. It does not needlessly complicate matters, rely on absurd coincidence or bring up things they don't intend to resolve. Nobody is comedically evil for the sake of being evil. There is balance between the heavy, the light-hearted, the tragic and the sweet. There was silliness, but there wasn't a ton of terrible comedy that made me cringe. They don't invest time in stuff they're just going to dump in four episodes, but they also linger on little moments. The world building is weak; what is the history with the Moon Tribe and why were they at war with Shuyuntian? What was Yun Zhong's whole deal? The cosmology was often very confusing, as were the locations and how they related to each other. On the other hand, nobody was an asshole for no reason. Characters became friends. Relationships were all built, instead of just instantaneously happening. And, importantly, the story wraps up in a way that feels complete and generally satisfying. It's really just workman-like storytelling, but I appreciate the hell out of it.
Unique to LBFAD is that it looks like someone actually did some Art Direction that wasn't just rooting around in the Xianxia Warehouse. There are things to delineate the spaces of Shuyuntian, Mortal World and Moon Tribe in terms of architecture and costuming, as opposed to just lighting and color palettes. Again, this is basic, but someone did it. BTW, gotta love that the Arbiter's Hall set was actually used as five different locations. Talk about economy. The costumes are distinctive and look pretty decent, though I personally think the plastic head and shoulder pieces look cheap more than arresting. Still, when I see Chengheng's armor, I know where it's from on it's own merit, so that has to count for something. Xiao Lan Hua's costumes are also immediately recognizable and distinct.
The CGI is serviceable. It's mostly sparkles, weather, doofy monsters and an evil cloud. The wire-work is on the poor end; lots of dangling people who just hang there awkwardly-BUT, LBFAD avoids an excess of badly choreographed fight scenes, or combat-related posturing. If given a choice, they chose verbal confrontation as opposed to zooming camera work and people flying backwards. Rong Hoa's whip-weilding lackey was one of the few that constantly chose violence, but it looks pretty cool. They clearly put their money in the Arbiter's Hall set and the Cangyan Sea locations; the Shuyuntian pieces are underwhelming, particularly the main hall filled with masked extras and the ridiculous wavering still image of the Xuanwu.
The music includes a lot of Kevin MacLeod's pieces, which is really hard to unhear once you know. I really wish they'd score some of these properly. While the pop songs are nice enough, they are used too much.
Now. Despite all that, you should absolutely watch this. It's Drama doing tons of things right. It might still be flawed, but it's a highly enjoyable ride.
The problem is, that is not a bar that most Dramas seem able to clear. By comparison, LBFAD looks amazing, but that's just because it avoids lazy nonsense, isn't insultingly stupid or needlessly convoluted.
Esther Yu is a charming actress, and this familiar, sweet-natured archetype is well within her wheel-house. She's cute, but a little dim until the plot needs her to figure things out. Dylan Wang is not doing anything particularly mind-blowing with his cold Moon Supreme who thaws into tender passion. But, he looks pretty and menacing when he needs to. These are stock characters being adequately performed with decent chemistry. All their emotional through-lines track. The story also takes particular pains to ensure both get generally equal screen time with their own melodramatic issues. Is Xiao Lanhua's part slightly under-written as compared to Dongfang Qingcang? Yes. What happened to her work with the Destiny Books? What about her murdered parents? What's her place in this hierarchy? But she at least has goals and she stands toe-to-toe with her love interest in terms of power. She isn't a passive observing partner in his tragic story like so many heroines. That in itself is great.
Of particular note are the side characters. LBFAD shines in that, again, it ensure that characters are introduced with particular motives, go through an emotional journey and have satisfying conclusions, instead of just disappearing from the narrative when their involvement with the main couple concludes. I really liked Danyin and Chengheng. They could have easily been useless side-characters intended as obstacles and nothing more, but both were allowed to evolve into their own people with their own paths. They are treated like characters, as opposed to satellites to the main couple. All of the acting is fine, no stand-outs, but no weak links. Chidi and Rong Hao's story is particularly poignant, Jie Li and Shang Que's is the weakest.
The cast was also more balanced between male and female then we're accustomed to seeing, so you're not watching a barrage of men doing Plot Things while female characters bully the Female Lead or wring their hands. There was still inequality; just check out the number of male authorities and fathers- but an attempt was made and I appreciate it. Women aren't just here to be romantic objects or rivals. There are actual friendships being formed. The ambient sexism is fairly low, but at least two female characters get fridged.
The plot is also nothing amazing. Here is the Celestial Shenanigans, there is the mortal arc, and then the demon realm and the Big Bad. It all carries on at a decent pace, each arc accomplishing what it intends without overstaying it's welcome. It does not needlessly complicate matters, rely on absurd coincidence or bring up things they don't intend to resolve. Nobody is comedically evil for the sake of being evil. There is balance between the heavy, the light-hearted, the tragic and the sweet. There was silliness, but there wasn't a ton of terrible comedy that made me cringe. They don't invest time in stuff they're just going to dump in four episodes, but they also linger on little moments. The world building is weak; what is the history with the Moon Tribe and why were they at war with Shuyuntian? What was Yun Zhong's whole deal? The cosmology was often very confusing, as were the locations and how they related to each other. On the other hand, nobody was an asshole for no reason. Characters became friends. Relationships were all built, instead of just instantaneously happening. And, importantly, the story wraps up in a way that feels complete and generally satisfying. It's really just workman-like storytelling, but I appreciate the hell out of it.
Unique to LBFAD is that it looks like someone actually did some Art Direction that wasn't just rooting around in the Xianxia Warehouse. There are things to delineate the spaces of Shuyuntian, Mortal World and Moon Tribe in terms of architecture and costuming, as opposed to just lighting and color palettes. Again, this is basic, but someone did it. BTW, gotta love that the Arbiter's Hall set was actually used as five different locations. Talk about economy. The costumes are distinctive and look pretty decent, though I personally think the plastic head and shoulder pieces look cheap more than arresting. Still, when I see Chengheng's armor, I know where it's from on it's own merit, so that has to count for something. Xiao Lan Hua's costumes are also immediately recognizable and distinct.
The CGI is serviceable. It's mostly sparkles, weather, doofy monsters and an evil cloud. The wire-work is on the poor end; lots of dangling people who just hang there awkwardly-BUT, LBFAD avoids an excess of badly choreographed fight scenes, or combat-related posturing. If given a choice, they chose verbal confrontation as opposed to zooming camera work and people flying backwards. Rong Hoa's whip-weilding lackey was one of the few that constantly chose violence, but it looks pretty cool. They clearly put their money in the Arbiter's Hall set and the Cangyan Sea locations; the Shuyuntian pieces are underwhelming, particularly the main hall filled with masked extras and the ridiculous wavering still image of the Xuanwu.
The music includes a lot of Kevin MacLeod's pieces, which is really hard to unhear once you know. I really wish they'd score some of these properly. While the pop songs are nice enough, they are used too much.
Now. Despite all that, you should absolutely watch this. It's Drama doing tons of things right. It might still be flawed, but it's a highly enjoyable ride.
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