Shelfleigh

*The Legend of Shen Li* was EXACTLY what I wanted: a sweeping, romance-centric story about two people deeply in love. Shen Li and Xing Yun are incredibly easy to root for, and their connection feels profound and genuine. The obstacles keeping them apart make perfect sense, and I love that they handle their situation with real maturity. Because they are both so intensely powerful, their union could upset the balance of their world, which makes their initial hesitation to be together completely believable.

The dynamic between them is exactly what so many Western fantasy romance authors strive for, but executed perfectly. You have a genuinely badass warrior woman who can decimate a battlefield, paired with an equally powerful partner who sweeps in to carry her away, care for her, and fiercely love her. Crucially, he does this without either of them ever feeling diminished or unequal in the relationship.

The supporting cast rounds out the world beautifully, and I really appreciated the lack of a distracting secondary romance. The narrative is 100% dedicated to the main couple. While a few of the CGI elements were a bit cheesy (looking at you, CGI birds), the special effects hit perfectly during the massive, climactic moments.

I also absolutely adore that we get an entire episode just to wrap up the story, with the main conflict completely resolved an episode prior. So often, these epic dramas get five minutes or less to show the aftermath, but this show said, "screw that, let's do 45 minutes of wrap-up," and I loved every second of it. Let's normalize that, China!