The Starry Love (2023)

A Xianxia filled with love, friendship, disaster, and most importantly, comedy.

If you, like me, did not have your eye on this drama but decided to watch it on a whim, you will be pleasantly surprised by The Starry Love. And understandably so, because the past few years of Xianxias have exposed us to the ‘overuse’ of familiar Xianxia tropes. Fortunately, director Chu Yuibun (朱锐斌) seems to have realized this and decided to add a unique comedic spice to The Starry Love that significantly differentiates this drama from the rest of the modern Xianxia genre. Overall, The Starry Drama is a story of the love between two main couples as well as their adventures with friends, and what it means for the world to love or hate you.

The Starry Love (星落凝成糖) is adapted from the Xianxia novel of the same name by Yi Du Jun Hua (一度君华), and is the last installment of the Honey Trilogy, three romance dramas directed by Chu Yuibun. Therefore, you might notice the vast similarities between color selection, setting appearance, and costume design between The Starry Love and Ashes of Love. The Starry Love also has several actors that also played major roles in Skate Into Love, and its catchy OSTs are once again sung by the talented Sa Dingding and Mao Buyi, as well as Liu Yuning and Shuang Sheng. Here's another thing that may motivate you to watch The Starry Love: the leads voice their own characters, with the exception of Chao Feng. (no need to be worried about the high FL voice this round!)

Once again, the story is established with many of the usual Xianxia tropes. The world is composed of Four Realms, the Immortal, Demon, Mortal, and Beast. However, the Mortal Realm is fully aware of the other realms and works with the other leaders to maintain world peace. The Immortal Realm is again the ‘good’ realm, the Demon Realm is the ‘bad’, the Mortal is the ‘weak’, and the Beast is basically the ‘extra’. The main female leads, Ye Tan and Qing Kui are twins with a sealed fate, which they don’t learn about until later in their lives. Qing Kui is the hailed princess, the girl living everyone else’s dream. She is the destined Heavenly Consort, the future wife of Heavenly Deity Shao Dian You Qin. On the other hand, younger sister Ye Tan is not as fortunate. She was deemed a ‘bad luck star’ from birth, never having experienced the warmth and love from her father and servants. Destined to marry the future king of the Demon Realm, she vows to be a powerful evil being to defeat those who have always down on her. However, the sisters’ wedding carriages are swapped, and they end up in the wrong realms.

As you can see, we’re presented with a pretty unoriginal premise, so what makes this drama so interesting and keeps us on our toes? Well, to say this in the simplest way possible, it’s the way comedic scenes are inserted into the drama at the most surprising of times that makes The Starry Love such a fresh breath of air. One minute, you might be sad or even crying because of a certain scene, and a few seconds later, you are laughing so hard you might even be clenching your stomach. I personally really enjoy this unique addition, as I’ve certainly never seen this before in Xianxias and loved the comedic aspect.

The Starry Love is 40 episodes long, as with many of the new dramas after the maximum 40 episode rule. (in which some dramas divided the series in two parts to bypass this new Chinese law) The drama is well-paced, without many, or perhaps even any, filler scenes, unlike a few of the long dramas. I really enjoyed how there was understandable time spent on each You Qin arc, and how each couple was given enough time per episode to bond and give us the sugar we deserve.

Onto the acting. The acting here was PHENOMENAL, especially when it comes to Chen Xingxu. This man here had to act five totally different personalities. In the usual Xianxias we may get one or two reincarnations, but Shao Dian You Qin here went on a total personality-changing spree. From the cold You Qin, he was also the cute and heartwarming La Mu, greedy but caring Mei You Qing, elegant womanizer Wen Ren, and of course, the You Qin at the end, all of his previous personalities melded into one. Chen Xingxu pulled off his roles perfectly, effectively showing the great contrasts between each personality and making them seem like totally different people. (fun fact: (Mei You Qin) 没有情 means Emotionless)

As I was watching a drama with Li Landi for the first time, I loved her acting and her role as Li Guang Ye Tan. The changes her character experienced were phenomenal, and Landi displayed this through her acting, especially in the eyes. Not only is The Starry Love about the strong love between lovers, but between friends and family as well. Ye Tan and Qing Kui’s sisterly love is a strong relationship that not many others can compete with. The contrast between the two sisters’ personalities was also a sweet treat. Although Qing Kui always received the love that Ye Tan never had in her first 18 years, Ye Tan never blamed her older sister for it. Instead, they were always worrying about the other. While Ye Tan is a girl afraid of nothing, Qing Kui’s pure kindness guided her younger sister to the path of happiness.

The chemistry between both couples was just right. You will be gushing for not one, but two extremely compatible couples. As I was rooting for the Heavenly Couple, I was also squealing for the love story that was blossoming in the Demon Realm. As they say, you’ll always find each other if you’re destined to be together. It’s amazing how each of the characters influenced others to change and become better versions of themselves.

Of course, a Xianxia drama would not be complete without both loveable and hateable characters. Ye Tan, who had never received much care and love in her life, felt so fortunate to have become friends with not only Man Man and Di Lan Jue, but with Qing Heng, Zi Wu, the three senior immortals, and even with her future brother-in-law, Chao Feng. It was so heartwarming to see everyone warm up to this princess, who had always longed for a happy life. On the other hand, we have the power-hungry Immortal and Demon Emperors who put their own power before their family’s happiness. The Heavenly Empress demonstrated her true love for her children before any noble title or riches, while the Demon Empress’s power-hungry eyes not only showed her pure-evil heart but her universal love for her only son. The side couples were all very cute and fun to watch.

Production-wise, The Starry Love did a phenomenal job. The special effects for magical spells in all realms complimented their respective backgrounds and were all natural to the look. Like previous Xianxias, the Immortal Realm is given an almost-whitewashed look, while the Demon Realm is a land of darkness. However, the fireworks and magical trees were gorgeous to look at, to name a few magical elements of the drama.

Like Ashes of Love, the OST for The Starry Love includes songs sung by Mao Buyi and Sa Dingding, as well as Liu Yuning and Shuang Sheng, and were epic as always. Sa Dingding once again awes us with her amazingly high vocals managed with immaculate precision, while Mao Buyi and Liu Yuning sing with longing emotion. Shuang Sheng once again displays her lovely voice with a sweet tone. The soundtrack is as follows:

[Theme Song] “The Starry Love” (星落凝成糖) - Sa Dingding
[Opening Song] “Speak with You” (与子成说) - Liu Yuning
[Ending Song] “Flawless World” (天地无瑕) - Mao Buyi (with another version sung by Sa Dingding)
[Additional Song] “Twin Flowers” (双花儿) - Shuang Sheng

If The Starry Love is not THE Xianxia drama 2023, it is one of the best. Although it includes many Xianxia elements used in previous Xianxia dramas, the comedic aspect of this series differentiates it from the rest of the group and will certainly brighten up your day. The emphasis on strong sisterly love is also something that is not to be missed. (there’s eye candy too!)

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Flower Power.

The Starry Love is a divine comedy packed with romance, sisterhood, friendship, adventure, mystical powers, and gut-busting laugh-out-loud moments. It takes dead aim at the tired, cliche-ridden xianxia formula. I was sold on both the drama and the female lead the moment she asks the most relevant question; after thousands of years, does the equipment still work? I laughed so hard that I fell off my treadmill. Be warned; it can be life-endangering to eat junk food or sip wine while watching this hilarious xianxia spoof.

This story rehashes a well-known plot about mixed-up brides where two sisters end up with each other's intended. Born under auspicious omens, the elder, virtuous, and good-natured Princess Qingkui is engaged to the aloof and righteous Shaodian Youqin, Sky prince and protector of the realm. The ill-omened, defiant, and mischievous younger Princess Yetan is to be married to the ominous Void realm, where the unfavored, scheming, and ruthless third prince, Chaofeng plots against his brothers to be the next Void Tyrant. Through a comedy of errors, Yetan ends up in the Sky realm where she turns the world of the pompous Youqin upside down while Qingkui stupefies the nefarious Chaofeng with her goodness. Both couples hilariously discover that opposites attract and two wrongs make a right. All too soon they discover that they are twin flowers born from a sacred tree that can unleash chaos on the four realms. Can their flower power prevail over destiny or will their stories only be remembered by the starry skies?

The more familiar you are with common xianxia tropes, the funnier this drama is. The plot unfolds along recognizable lines, gobsmacking you with unexpected twists along the way. The sisters truly love and support each other and the friendships are genuine and tested by hardship and sacrifice. While there is a healthy dose of the genre-defining angst that made my eyes burn with tears, it is usually short-lived, turning into humor in the blink of an eye. This is a very self-aware drama that pokes fun at the absurdity of tired tropes by acknowledging that even invincible immortals fear death, that the Sky realm is a very boring place and most of the eye candy lives in the Void realm. While it is a humorous fresh take on the genre, the underlying messages about good and evil are all too familiar and there is not much substance to the story.

It is undeniable that the sis-mance and romances are the highlights of this drama. Each sister finds in her mate all the qualities she loves best in her sister! The sisters are loyal to each other almost ahead of their lovers and their men get it and accept that there are more important things than love. Newcomer Chen Muchi gave me palpitations with his sexy and charismatic portrayal of the duplicitous and manipulative Chaofeng. It was a joy to watch Qingkui awaken that spark of conscience that sets him on the right path without losing his air of devil-may-care wickedness. I was initially less impressed with Chen Xingxu's cliched and stiff portrayal of Youqin's stony indifference. But the way Youqin comes alive once that facade crumbles and how he shows us the many sides of Youqin - germaphobe, pyromaniac, mercenary, and playboy; once again attests to this actor's versatility and mastery. Chen Xingxu's and Li Landi's wonderful chemistry and the way they are able to play off each other's emotions and reactions are authentic and captivating. Li Landi is really a young actress to watch. Her Yetan is so brave, naughty, and infectiously bubbly that it is no wonder she had not just Youqin but the entire Sky realm at her feet. All four lead actors have excellent comedic timing and the impressive ability to pull off many simply uproarious lines with a straight face.

The biggest criticism I have of this drama is the overuse of bright lighting and the over-lit Sky realm. It makes for an overbearing visual experience that makes the back of my eyeballs feel like I have been staring down a torchlight. The production values and CGI are not the best and almost made me skip this drama, which would have been a mistake. Because it is addictive from the start and overall well-paced although it loses some momentum in the mortal realm before reaccelerating to the finish. The final arcs take on a more serious and angsty tone and the villains are a bit cliched and too easily identifiable. It also overuses the bad dad trope and some of the rationale of the Sky emperor in particular does not bear close scrutiny. Although many are not pleased with the ending, I have watched enough xianxias to expect something like that so it just made me laugh. I think it was quite comical and oddly fitting with the spirit of the drama. I am happy to recommend this as a very enjoyable light watch. I rate it 8.5/10.0.

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