This review may contain spoilers
Detective, mystery, supernatural, revenge, bromance, comedy ....
The story crosses multiple genres in intriguing ways and it cannot really be judged by the standards of any particular genre. There is mystery, for instance, but it would seem to fall short in some ways if we judge it according to what we expect from the genre.Despite the somewhat convoluted plot, the assortment of characters, who are comedic at times but also multifaceted enough to be interestingly complex, makes the show a delight. Qiu Qingzhi, as one of the main characters, manages to keep the viewer wondering whether he is a good person right till the penultimate episode (though it does become progressively clear). His back story and friendship with Li Bing (the titular white cat) is beautifully portrayed. One might well ship the two characters.
Quite a bit of the humor, however, is unfortunately lost in translation in Alibaba's misuse of Chinese idioms. (I have to admit that I did not get quite a number of the idioms.) Yet, the approach is quite refreshing and adds to the entertainment value of the series.
One oddity of the series is that it clearly has a supernatural element, with Li Bing being able to shapeshift from human to cat form. Yet, Li Bing is the very character who insists that none of the strange cases he encounters involves the supernatural (simply because he does not believe in the supernatural. This seems a little odd.
At one point, I was wondering if the series would be one of those that would end without a proper resolution and leave the viewer hanging in the middle of nowhere because the plot is getting a little too complicated. However, the story does have a proper resolution even if one may find it a little unrealistic--basically the good guys manage to escape being killed by the villains because they public trusts them and will go great lengths to rescue them.
And while the story does not end with a silly cliffhanger, not all the loose ends are tied by the end of the final episode. Most prominently, for instance, the (female) emperor remains a mysterious figure whose face is never shown. At one point, it is mentioned that she seems to be getting younger and younger; later in the series we see her basically having the height of a child. Given that the central mystery lies in the pursuit of some immortality concoction that can reverse aging, one wonders if she might be tied to all the trouble caused by the pursuit of the concoction. Unfortunately, with the apparent death of Qiu Qingzhi, if there is going to be a Season 2, it may lack a significant character.
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CatMan and the Power of Friendship
Rated= 8~ 34/50 ~ 6.8RPG Scene // Mermaids laughing in the Flower Meadow. Swords not needed.
First things, first.
That CGI cat head, and paws, were ridiculous LOL White haired wigs can be tricky in these sorts of shows but I thought the ML looked really good in his. He has striking enough facial features to carry it well. I wish they had gone with that and some sort of Buffy style vampire prosthetic make up or something because, I was not a fan of the computer cat face LOL Heck, they gave the other guy fanged teeth. That ML actor, with the white wig, teeth and some face make up know how, and he would have looked gorgeous and I wouldn't have had to burst out laughing at the reveal each time LOL
They gave that beautiful face that flowing white hair because of 'shock' and then took it away from me. How dare they. How did he get his natural hair back even though his cat hair is style white? damn them. He should have at least kept the white hair.
Now that I've said that, this is an enjoyable series. Ridiculous and childish but fun. I feel like that may have been the point though. (E.g ML's slow-mo run away from his feelings) There was a lot of slap stick style humour. It was like a live action cartoon. Most of the comedy was very over acted and silly. People falling on floors. One of the character has a bad luck cloud, the overly dramatic one etc etc
The mysteries were good, I thought. I couldn't work them out. There were a few times were information was withheld or the ML just seemed to know randomly, but not too much. And most impressively, I couldn't work out the antagonist's motives either. I honestly couldn't figure him out and that doesn't happen often so touche. I was expecting the Empress to be involved considering her condition but she's never touched on. Also, our main female character is taken out of the plot for her safety and we don't see her again, not even at the end was a little disappointing.
I would also have liked to have heard of more of the lore that is the basis for the plot. How did our Cat God end up in the stone coffin? How long has he been there? I would have liked to have seen more of his story.
I had a hard time keeping up with names in this show. It was a show with so many characters as per usual with c-dramas but we mostly see the main group, which is fine. But when someone's name is constantly brought up and I've only seen their face a few times, it can make following the plot a little hard because I don't know who's being talked about lol
The whole plot is the standard, sieving through the powerful figure heads all the way to the top, but around that, there is a sweet and fluffy theme of friendship and the strengths of those bonds. Nothing too deep. Just simple honest communication with the people you care about.
Music and sets weren't bad but nothing too dramatic. We do spend a lot of time in the same places. I enjoyed the little dramatic singing snippets in the background of fight scenes.
Overall, I did enjoy this show for what it was. I laughed, I felt pity, I was intrigued and it had a sweet and fluffy ending to conclude. I didnt feel anything too deep or sad about this one. The 'big' death, and a second death, I had been expecting from about a third of the way into the series and the rest were the usual collateral damage.
My standard ratings are usually a 7 or an 8, I did have fun watching this but I'm not sure if I'd watch it again. There's a lot of cheese but I'm not sure if that was part of the humour or if it was just set up that way to keep things light hearted. And then there was the cat head, which I have mentioned. I think if I were to rewatch, it would be to just simply have something light hearted in the background.
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The bond that ties us
Man, it’s been a wild ride for the gang. There’s been laughter, heartbreak, betrayal, more heartbreak, reunion & then finally happiness. If you’re expecting a fast paced drama or romance, this IS NOT for you. The cases are built slowly, which delves into the characters past & what made them do what they did. As the story goes, you’ll see how connected these cases are, which sometimes surprises me. This drama has been rollercoaster of emotions. You can never guess what’s coming next. We got Li Bing aka the cat & kind hearted Chen shi who came to shendu to look for his brother, but got involved in a case, which later led him into staying in the court judicial review by LB. The bond between LB & CS is soo adorable, LB can’t seem to let go of CS cos of how attached he’s grown of CS.This drama got everything you’ll want, from comedy,investigation, fantasy to martial arts. I’ve been watching this show soo many times, I’ve even lost count.
The members in the CJR share bonds & have proven countless times why they always stick together/ help each other out. The times LB left them out( he did it to protect them), they always helped him in their own way.
This is my first time watching Ryan ding’s drama & I gotta say, he’s really caught my attention with how expressive he is.
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An intriguing mystery!
If u want a good investigative story with a heavy male lead..this is for you! I got hooked by the mysterious killings of a demon cat on the 1st episode and I've not regretted. I'm just waiting for the final episode to finish before I binge on it till the end.Great male cast as each character have their own unique personality! Looking forward in anticipation for the next few episodes.
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True menhua feel
Superb. What makes it different to other mystery dramas is the way the characters retain the comic book qualities in their acting, lending the series slightly goofy and a very uplifting vibe. It is so refreshing!! The fight scenes are pretty good and aplenty :) Loved Ding Yu Xi having fun with his cat impressions, nailed it - retained the kitty vibe instead of being too fearsome like a tiger or a lion. His friends and foes also got their characters spot on, the only one I feel a bit unsure of is Ren Min - her delivery was a bit flat, trying to come across as strict and uncompromising but with a good heart…. Alas the role didn’t work for her in this series. It is funny to see how many people got confused by this series, so used to standard wuxia / xianxia scripts, totally forgetting that this is manhua and unlike the usual series, it actually sticks to the comic book feel of things. Bravo ?Was this review helpful to you?
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A story about true brotherhood, friendship and justice
How can you not like a plot like that? I'm even overwhelmed by how much I liked it. I couldn't stop watching.It touched my heart.The story is so mysterious, funny and exciting.
6 totally different man with different abilities find a way to work together and try to solve the ongoing events. Working out theories while investigating lots of murder cases, is what makes the story so exciting.You find yourself in the middle of all of it, theorizing, planing and trying to solve the cases.
Antagonists happen to come along the way a lot. The one lasting antagonist seems to be General Qiu Qing Zhi, who once was best friends with Li Bing. You ask yourself what events must have happened that a childhood friendship like Li Bings and Qiu Qing Zhis didn't last.
Lots of things that happened in the past of those 7 man find their way up to the current time. After exposing many things, you can see a red thread winding through the cases, each charactare exposing more of their past.
The whole series was so exciting though it started a little bit slow. The music is very good, the actors are really great.
I absolutely recommend this show, I never skipped a scene.
Absolutely worthy watching it!
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Refreshing Twist for a Historical Series
Bravo! This series conquered 2024 for Period/Comedy/Mystery/Fantasy drama series for me so far.Ding Yu Xi truly can shed tears tears with no qualms. Feng Man, WA Er, Zhang Yi Cong carried the comedic part well. Ding Jia Wen, Zhou Qi, Wei Zhe Ming, Ren Min, ang He Feng Tian eloquently played their characters. The rest of support actors did their parts well contributing to an adorable fantasy, period drama.
Most period drama seems to include romance to hike up ratings so I get more enthusiastic with series that did well without it. I am biased to mystery, period and fantasy series so having them all minus romance made ecstatic.
My only disappointment is not adding VM Shengguan (Ren Min) back towards the end.
Entire production did well with the scene sets, wardrobes, and props. Fight choreographies were done and executed well.
I watched this in iQIYI as a paid subscriber.
I highly recommend this series.
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This review may contain spoilers
Must watch!!!!!!
This is one of the best drama I ever watched. Also I can it's my first suspense, crime, thriller, investigation genre I watched. I have been never into these genre and I could never complete the series due to lack of interest. But this is different. I m so glad that I decided to watch it and I never regret it. The story, the characters, their acting, intro song, their foolishness their bravery everything is sooo awesome. General Qiu's death really made me emotional and cried. I already had instinct that qiu is good and never go against li bing. He should have lived. That's the sad part for me in this drama. Overall it's a must watch. U won't regret watching. Hope the directors bring moreee dramas like this rather than bringing romantic dramas. Friendship bromance dramas are sooooo good to watch and it touch u more than these romantic genres in my opinion.Was this review helpful to you?
If you like shounen manga like Naruto and jujutsu kaisen you’ll like this show
The drama is really good but I think it’s really good at what it set out to do. I don’t think it’s a traditional Chinese drama in a way. At least for me from the start it felt like I was watching a live action of a shounen manga/anime. From episode 1 the way the setting was established and characters were introduced it had a anime/manga quality about it. So from the get go I had to re-adjust my watching standards and enjoy it the way it was intended . I’m not watching a drama but a live action shounen anime like Naruto. It kinda brings be back to when I was a kid and I enjoyed the shounen genre of anime. I liked it and enjoyed it a lot. I think the music really matches the drama. Loved the opening and the ending. I played the ending song on repeat when I get out of work. It’s fun and it really brings me back to when I was a kid when I had a lot energy and childlike optimism (esp towards friendship). It’s definitely really good but for those who didn’t grew up watching anime they might have a hard time accepting this type of genre. It might seem like there’s a lot of instances of childishness, stupidity, goofiness and it’s not for them. I think people should give it a try. I really liked the gang Chen shi, wang qi, and alibaba. lol ? I laughed so hard when alibaba said his name was alibaba. I wasn’t expecting it at all. For those who reads reviews before they watch they’re going to miss out on that part of the comedy. I enjoyed it a lot and I hope others do too. It’s my first time watching ding yuxi. From the moment I laid eyes on his expressive big eyes I feel like he’s a different league of actors. He’s got a lot of potential. I can tell from the way he portrays his characters he’s a serious actor and he loves acting. There’s something really contagious about his performance. Sometimes I think he might be a little exaggerated but most times his expressions are so good and on point. I used to see him as a neo hou-look-a-like. I knew about him because he acted with a lot of other rising stars who I watched before, but I never watched anything that has him in it. So I used to see him as another idol actor, but no I was so wrong he’s got a lot of potential. Performance is embedded in this guys dna. He’s going to be really good when he finally gets a role that establishes him as real actor. For me, he’s like zhang ruo yun, who loves acting/performance and it’s embedded in these type of people’s dna. They type of people who has a lot of raw talent in acting. He should get better roles that hones this guys performance like serious dramas and not idol dramas. I never get bored watching his performance. He’s so interesting to watch. He doesn’t use bland, common, and predictable expressions. He has his own acting style if that makes sense.Was this review helpful to you?
?“Whiskers of Mystery: Unraveling the Enigma in ‘White Cat Legend’” ?
??White Cat Legend” follows the footsteps of YouKu’s “Judge Dee’s Mystery” and delivers an absolute joyride. The show boasts an intriguing mystery, adventure, and a dash of comic fantasy. Here’s why you should dive into this captivating drama:From the mysterious Li Bing to the sweet and naive Chen Shi, each character has their own charm. The handsome foreigner AliBaba (yes, I can’t help but think of “Alibaba & the Forty Thieves” every time I hear his name) and the overthinking Wang Qi add to the ensemble.
? The costumes and cinematography transport you to the past era. Keep an eye out for Li Bing’s cat form – the CGI is commendable!
? The mysterious killings by a demon cat in the first episode will hook you. It’s a mix of comedy, mystery, action, and case-solving, all wrapped in friendship.
? The male-centric casting, with Ding Yu Xi as the selling point, makes this drama a must-watch for his fans.
?? With no dull moments, “White Cat Legend” keeps you eagerly waiting for each new episode.
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Bery good story and cast
I will be completely honest when I say I dropped this drama mid-episode 2 because of the really cheesy childish antics. But something told me to return to it and listening to my instincts and asking some people who kept watching, I did just that. And I'm very glad I did because this is one of those very few cdramas that actually got better with each episode especially after 5 or 6. So I'm very glad I trusted my instincts to finish watching. It was friendships formed through intertwined meow-stries. See what I did there? ;)Pros: At first it seemed each of the cases were separate but as you continued to watch, you understood they were all connected to the original case and story from three years back and LB losing his father to some unknown organization of mask wearing assassins and being turned into a cat. The story revolves around him and his group of subordinates (SB, WQ, CB, and Alibaba) in the CJR with an extra kid (CS) who becomes LB's little brother of sorts plus QQZ who used to be LB's childhood best friend but due to a misunderstanding those 3 years ago that is only really resolved in the second to last episode they appear on opposite sides. In reality QQZ infiltrated the organization that's trying to gain immortality through murder and to overthrow the Empress. Favorite character is hard because the main gang is great plus QQZ who I wish appeared in more episodes so they could have properly fleshed out his and LB's friendship. CS knew of LB being a cat first (not counting QQZ of course though he didn't know or ask for that to be done) and it didn't bother him and then towards the end when the others found out about it, they still stood by him calling him a "Cat Hero", which was so awesome.
The old fart society, though they were the main villains, you also had YZH who though started out just as helpless as anyone was fed to some demon cat but got the upper hand and became a demon cat himself, morphed into a sociopathic loony that killed people, turned LB into a cat, caused the domino effect that got LB's father murdered, and ultimately killed QQZ just for a stupid game in his own mind. Same went for CS's brother CJ aka Black Rakhasa who was the actual murderer of LB's father as he was hired by the old fart society because though he cared for his brother, after being bullied in Shendu, instead of helping others, he chose to be a predator. LZS got karma not once but twice; got killed once, brought back by the old fart society, used until he no longer was needed and killed by them for his blood. Whoopsie; now thats seriously cold karma.
This show had many layers that you had to peel back like an onion to understand. People did come back to life but none were immortal save for YZH and LB; though LB gave the only antidote to YZH as a deal for his testimony at the old fart society's trial which was before his own. QQZ wanted the antidote for LB and he essentially died for it. I did tear up because the way LB keened over QQZ as they finally made amends officially--though LB had long suspected that QQZ didn't really turn bad--just before he passed was only seen when he lost his father. When finding out just how much evidence QQZ had found out on his own even before LB's father was killed and his father knew QQZ had successfully infiltrated but didn't tell LB. Maybe if he did, then their misunderstanding wouldn't have happened upon his murder; LB was very smart even back then and he would have left him alone.
But in the end it was CS who saved LB and the gang; the kid that started out illiterate and very naive, brought the city folk together to save his best friends through the haunting final words of the now gone QQZ copied hundreds of times and distributed to the people of the city.
Wow, I feel like I've fallen back into the story. Let's move on. The costumes (save maybe the Walmart wigs and beards of the foreigners from Alibaba's country), OSTs, scenery, fight scenes were really great, plus appropriate comedy was all very nice and fit everything.
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The Best Friendship and Bond
I want to tell those who watched the first episode and felt it wasn't for them: keep watching until episode 5; it gets much more interesting. I also paused after two episodes, thinking it might be a cheap, childish story. However, it really picks up in the second half. After episode 25, the pace quickens to the point where you can't stop watching. The earlier events and mysteries start to get resolved beautifully. It was truly fascinating. Cheers to the best drama and their friendship!What makes this drama great is how everyone overcomes their pasts and traumas and grows together. Without unnecessary romance, the friendship and comedic interactions at Dali Temple are heartwarming. The characters are unique and lovable, supporting each other and deepening their bonds, which touched me deeply. Especially the bromance between Libin and the General was incredibly wonderful. The lead actor, Ding Yuxi, was truly fantastic and charming! It was the best!
Here's a spoiler for the ending!
The General's death at the end shattered my heart. I had a feeling he might die as the story progressed, which is common in Chinese dramas, but I couldn't help hoping otherwise. My wish didn't come true. I cried out loud, it was so sad. I want him to be brought back to life. If there's a second season, please use the cat's power to revive him.
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