5
1
"Demon Hunters Tell No Tales."
Demon Hunter’s Romance or Wu You Du is the first serious Chinese fantasy drama based on a novel that I’ve watched since Lost You Forever back in 2022. Frankly, the mass release of episodes and all the fast track nonsense makes it impossible to enjoy CDramas, personally from my side.
I began this on a whim – I am familiar with both the leading actors’ works and this one had been floating about since 2022.
In a nutshell, this is a work that had some significant effort put into the writing and directing department. It’s not flashy, but can hold your attention if you are curious.
Also, I’m happy to know that inspite of my short hiatus from the “official” CDramaland, the writers and creators still do not fail to disappoint me in the ‘Disappointment Department’.
I’ll dive right into my jumbled thoughts.
★ The Story:
Duan Ban Xia, the young daughter from a prestigious family has a secret – she is able to see demons with one eye following a freak accident that occured after she had been abducted when she was twelve. Her ‘accident’ is brushed off by her family as a dream and her visions are purported to be a mental health issue. Following several visits to Physicians and calming balms, her wits come to an end when she realizes that her newly wed cousin’s wife was a demon.
However, fate comes in the form of Jin Xuan Ye, a mysterious demon hunter.
What was supposed to be a transient meeting becomes a tangle of fate when Ban Xia’s father is found dead under mysterious circumstances and she has no choice, but to seek someone who would help her uncover the truth.
— The story is almost well paced and engaging. It mostly dealt with three major demonic mysteries that the team, consisting of Xuan Ye, Ban Xia, and the rabbit demon Chi Xue, came across on their search for truth.
The end of EP2 and the beginning of EP35 is one of the most beautiful scenes I’ve seen in a CDrama, particularly with the lighting and the music.
Why did I mention the word “almost”? If I could divide the drama into three halves, it definitely loses its steam in the middle half, where I personally felt that a case that could've been wrapped up in three episodes got dragged around a lot. If I’m being honest, the trailer focussed on major pivotal scenes that take place in the final bits of the drama, yet it never really took a central role and seems to have been stuffed at the end. Especially considering that its native title translates to Worry Free Ferry, yet we are never really shown much about it except at the final arch and one voice-over conversation.
More about the ending below.
★ The Characters and Relationships:
… are the heart and soul of the story. Not to mention, every actor on screen knew how to do their job well. Ban Xia is not exactly the most powerful female lead, but she was never annoying. Her relationship with her cousin, Ting Zhou (her maid) and Jin Xuanye are the highlights. I had seen Song Zu Er previously as the leading character in Legally Romance and I as not let down by her performance here.
Xuanye was a very subdued character (Ren Jialun seems to pick less animated roles and floats with the power of facial expressions alone) with his fair share of mysteries, but he was honest about his emotions. Their romance was very, very palatable and I found myself grinning like a fool in several instances. At points where I felt to fast forward or drop the drama, it was the characters who made me stick till the end.
The supporting cast was powerful as well. Particularly Wen Jian, Chief Chu Youhuang, and Commissioner Sima Liying. I really liked how natural the rapport felt between the characters. Even the demons had a past and personality of their own rather than being hastily assembled skeletons.
Particular note for the actress, Zhang Zi Xin from Reunion Inn who sounded like Esther Yu. I hope that most of her scenes were done in single or double takes because the amount of neck movements she was performing gave me a crick.
★ Costumes and CGI:
Costumes were unremarkable. But, I did like a few of Ban Xia’s outfits at the end of the drama – they had a cottage core aesthetic and simple patterns without being too flashy. Xuan Ye’s outfits didn’t have any patterns, but they were my favorite out of everyone.
CGI is passable, not too great, but just what I expected from a drama with such an atmosphere.
★ Soundtrack:
My instant favorites:
---- 大梦不醒 - Jason Zhang. [This was just ethereal when combined with the right scenes.]
--- 心之渡 - Sun Yun Ying.
--- 予你人间 by Song Zu Er slowly grew on me too.
The background music was not too memorable, but the instrumental renditions of various songs were beautiful.
★ The Ending:
I am honestly surprised that viewers are surprised by the ending – which is a very, very typical Chinese Fantasy drama cliché ending. I mentioned the Disappointment Department, didn’t I? Well, this is one of the features that the production team ticked off.
Take literally any Xinxia or Wuxia dramas and you get a plethora of half baked endings. So much that people are surprised to even get a proper denouement.
I’ve become accustomed to such finales that I do not care about anything anymore and feel zero emotions when characters are killed off/separated. Because this is lazy writing at its finest. Having such endings once or twice is fine, or even if the author intended the original source to have wrapped up in that way. But, when the same pattern is repeated multiple times, it loses all meaning. Which is exactly what I feel for this drama as well. I titled my review with a hint of what it reminded me of. Is it hopeful? Yes.
But, the entire way how the episode ended abruptly enraged me-- it looked as if they hastily put together scenes and conversations two minutes before the air time.
★ From the Writer's Desk:
An 8.5/10 from me for now, as the rewatch value is personally, not too high. But, this is the first Chinese fantasy drama in a long time that managed to hold my attention and care for the characters. 3.5/5 if it was Douban or a 7/10 if I am being critical, but then I’ll have to revamp my entire dramalist to reflect the change in outlook, but in a site such as this where subjective reviews overtake objective ones, I’ll attempt to bury my bitterness and let this one go.
I began this on a whim – I am familiar with both the leading actors’ works and this one had been floating about since 2022.
In a nutshell, this is a work that had some significant effort put into the writing and directing department. It’s not flashy, but can hold your attention if you are curious.
Also, I’m happy to know that inspite of my short hiatus from the “official” CDramaland, the writers and creators still do not fail to disappoint me in the ‘Disappointment Department’.
I’ll dive right into my jumbled thoughts.
★ The Story:
Duan Ban Xia, the young daughter from a prestigious family has a secret – she is able to see demons with one eye following a freak accident that occured after she had been abducted when she was twelve. Her ‘accident’ is brushed off by her family as a dream and her visions are purported to be a mental health issue. Following several visits to Physicians and calming balms, her wits come to an end when she realizes that her newly wed cousin’s wife was a demon.
However, fate comes in the form of Jin Xuan Ye, a mysterious demon hunter.
What was supposed to be a transient meeting becomes a tangle of fate when Ban Xia’s father is found dead under mysterious circumstances and she has no choice, but to seek someone who would help her uncover the truth.
— The story is almost well paced and engaging. It mostly dealt with three major demonic mysteries that the team, consisting of Xuan Ye, Ban Xia, and the rabbit demon Chi Xue, came across on their search for truth.
The end of EP2 and the beginning of EP35 is one of the most beautiful scenes I’ve seen in a CDrama, particularly with the lighting and the music.
Why did I mention the word “almost”? If I could divide the drama into three halves, it definitely loses its steam in the middle half, where I personally felt that a case that could've been wrapped up in three episodes got dragged around a lot. If I’m being honest, the trailer focussed on major pivotal scenes that take place in the final bits of the drama, yet it never really took a central role and seems to have been stuffed at the end. Especially considering that its native title translates to Worry Free Ferry, yet we are never really shown much about it except at the final arch and one voice-over conversation.
More about the ending below.
★ The Characters and Relationships:
… are the heart and soul of the story. Not to mention, every actor on screen knew how to do their job well. Ban Xia is not exactly the most powerful female lead, but she was never annoying. Her relationship with her cousin, Ting Zhou (her maid) and Jin Xuanye are the highlights. I had seen Song Zu Er previously as the leading character in Legally Romance and I as not let down by her performance here.
Xuanye was a very subdued character (Ren Jialun seems to pick less animated roles and floats with the power of facial expressions alone) with his fair share of mysteries, but he was honest about his emotions. Their romance was very, very palatable and I found myself grinning like a fool in several instances. At points where I felt to fast forward or drop the drama, it was the characters who made me stick till the end.
The supporting cast was powerful as well. Particularly Wen Jian, Chief Chu Youhuang, and Commissioner Sima Liying. I really liked how natural the rapport felt between the characters. Even the demons had a past and personality of their own rather than being hastily assembled skeletons.
Particular note for the actress, Zhang Zi Xin from Reunion Inn who sounded like Esther Yu. I hope that most of her scenes were done in single or double takes because the amount of neck movements she was performing gave me a crick.
★ Costumes and CGI:
Costumes were unremarkable. But, I did like a few of Ban Xia’s outfits at the end of the drama – they had a cottage core aesthetic and simple patterns without being too flashy. Xuan Ye’s outfits didn’t have any patterns, but they were my favorite out of everyone.
CGI is passable, not too great, but just what I expected from a drama with such an atmosphere.
★ Soundtrack:
My instant favorites:
---- 大梦不醒 - Jason Zhang. [This was just ethereal when combined with the right scenes.]
--- 心之渡 - Sun Yun Ying.
--- 予你人间 by Song Zu Er slowly grew on me too.
The background music was not too memorable, but the instrumental renditions of various songs were beautiful.
★ The Ending:
I am honestly surprised that viewers are surprised by the ending – which is a very, very typical Chinese Fantasy drama cliché ending. I mentioned the Disappointment Department, didn’t I? Well, this is one of the features that the production team ticked off.
Take literally any Xinxia or Wuxia dramas and you get a plethora of half baked endings. So much that people are surprised to even get a proper denouement.
I’ve become accustomed to such finales that I do not care about anything anymore and feel zero emotions when characters are killed off/separated. Because this is lazy writing at its finest. Having such endings once or twice is fine, or even if the author intended the original source to have wrapped up in that way. But, when the same pattern is repeated multiple times, it loses all meaning. Which is exactly what I feel for this drama as well. I titled my review with a hint of what it reminded me of. Is it hopeful? Yes.
But, the entire way how the episode ended abruptly enraged me-- it looked as if they hastily put together scenes and conversations two minutes before the air time.
★ From the Writer's Desk:
An 8.5/10 from me for now, as the rewatch value is personally, not too high. But, this is the first Chinese fantasy drama in a long time that managed to hold my attention and care for the characters. 3.5/5 if it was Douban or a 7/10 if I am being critical, but then I’ll have to revamp my entire dramalist to reflect the change in outlook, but in a site such as this where subjective reviews overtake objective ones, I’ll attempt to bury my bitterness and let this one go.
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