Nv Shi Zun Zai Shang (2022)

Impressive production quality for a Douyin/TikTok-length series

Nu Shi Zun Zai Shang is Part 1 of a costume micro drama released on Douyin (essentially the same as TikTok). It tells the story of the aftermath of a war between the Demon and Immortal realms. A refugee, played by Wang Zuyi, is rescued by an immortal during a conflict and taken to the Heavenly Realm to be her one and only disciple. He hides the fact that he is avenging his mother's death and is secretly helping the Demon Sect recover a powerful ring in order to fulfill his quest of revenge. But his immortal master also knows a secret: he is half god/half demon -- a being prophesized to bring destruction. Traumatized by his experiences, he is cynical towards the immortals, but his master's unwavering kindness slowly softens his bitter heart.

Wang Zu Yi does what he does best -- conveying wide-eyed earnest innocence with a joyful smile that, like some of his other roles, hides a darker side. He has great chemistry with his lovely co-star (Xia Yidan?) as well.

I always marvel at what people can do with a few minutes if the structure, pacing, story is done well and everything comes together nicely. This is a perfect example. While each "episode" is incredibly short, it is so tightly scripted that the flow is not choppy and there are no glaring holes in logic or jarring scene jumps. I've seen full-length dramas more poorly edited and with bigger plot holes. What makes this even more impressive, is the high production quality, especially considering this is released on Douyin -- not Tencent or iQiyi. The sets (even in the Heavens), the extras, wire work, costumes, music, are all solid and comparable to your average full-length series. Even the classic xianxia special effects are done well. I've also seen much worse special effects in full-length dramas. The only "technical quibbles" would be 1) the slightly uneven audio quality, which ranges from very good to mediocre and 2) the uneven make-up application around the wig hair pieces on the actors. But those are really minor given the rest of the package.

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