Nam Gonzales
When love is strong enough, it can even cause fate to change its course
This quote by PC Cast definitely encapsulates the story of Love Between Fairy and Devil.
Overall the drama is well pace, have great chemistry, and gave us what we always wanted — happy ending for our Little Orchid and Dongfang Qingcang. This also has the best performance for Esther Yu and Dylan Wang, both of which have been accused of Over the top (Esther), and Wooden acting (Dylan). *lol* Xiao Lanhua’s nickname for Dongfang Qingcang is so fitting. LMAO
|Great chemistry and believable romantic development|
Recent dramas usually use the shortcut of love at first sight to establish the plot which is very unrealistic. I liked how LBFAD started Little Orchid and Dongfang Qingcang as reluctant partners with their prejudices, to friends, and eventually to lovers. But from the start, you can already feel the palpable chemistry between the FL and ML because of Esther Yu’s and Dylan Wang’s chemistry. This palpable chemistry is also the reason why we are eager to follow the story of the OTP because we can’t wait for them to be together. It’s also nice that the drama also showed that both the ML and FL both don’t know Love at the beginning — the FL confused gratefulness with love, and the ML removed love from his heart. In most dramas, it’s usually the FL teaching the ML to love but in LBFAD I think Little Orchid and Dongfang Qungcang taught each other to love.
|Well paced plot and no unnecessary court dramas|
Most xianxia are bogged down by unnecessary drama between the deities and never ending reincarnation plot from heavenly realm to mortal realm and back again. What I liked about LBFAD is that they limited the drama to scenes that are actually relevant to the development of FL and ML character and story arc. Their advantage was that they also retained their bodies/memories so they’re not pushed around in the mortal realm because of the limits of mortal bodies. Also we must give the team props for limiting themselves to 36 episodes, because D*ang those other xianxia’s have 40-60 episodes and they can’t even retain our interests in all the episodes.
|Great side characters that actually make the OTP shine|
Other Xianxia’s have so many top billed actors/actresses that they have so many “main characters” that you tend to loose track of who is who and what is happening. LBFAD, even though it’s a Xianxia, knew who the star of the drama is — Little Orchid and Dongfang Qingcang — so they gave just the right amount of characterization to characters that actually affect the story of the 2. I also liked that they gave an arc for Jieli and Shangque but it’s not so complicated that it takes time away from the OTP. I’m a bit torn if I like the arc for Rong Hao and Chidi woman but I guess it is still relevant to make the story move forward.
|DISTINCT key locations unique to LBFAD, beautiful cinematography, costume, and production design|
I only saw an episode of the LBFAD animation, and I can say that the drama did a great job in recreating the world of Heavenly Realm, Cangyan Sea, and Yunmeng Lake. Most xianxia’s maximize the use of Hengdian studio sets so they usually have similar looks/locations. For LBFAD, I like that they gave us the unique Artbiter Hall, they have special “court” and look for the heavenly realm, and the Moon Tribe realm also looks unique. The costumes are lovely and the accessories of the heavenly realm make them more ethereal and the moon tribe more exotic. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s on iQiyi, but I love the color palette they used which is mostly iridescent pastels in the heavenly realm and rich hues in Cangyan sea.
In the end, I think LBFAD is a one of the best xianxia of recent years in terms of chemistry, plot, visuals, and OST. Will I rewatch it as much a my other top dramas (7x for The Eternal Love 1/2/3 or 3x for Love Better Than Immortality) maybe but maybe not as much.
Overall the drama is well pace, have great chemistry, and gave us what we always wanted — happy ending for our Little Orchid and Dongfang Qingcang. This also has the best performance for Esther Yu and Dylan Wang, both of which have been accused of Over the top (Esther), and Wooden acting (Dylan). *lol* Xiao Lanhua’s nickname for Dongfang Qingcang is so fitting. LMAO
|Great chemistry and believable romantic development|
Recent dramas usually use the shortcut of love at first sight to establish the plot which is very unrealistic. I liked how LBFAD started Little Orchid and Dongfang Qingcang as reluctant partners with their prejudices, to friends, and eventually to lovers. But from the start, you can already feel the palpable chemistry between the FL and ML because of Esther Yu’s and Dylan Wang’s chemistry. This palpable chemistry is also the reason why we are eager to follow the story of the OTP because we can’t wait for them to be together. It’s also nice that the drama also showed that both the ML and FL both don’t know Love at the beginning — the FL confused gratefulness with love, and the ML removed love from his heart. In most dramas, it’s usually the FL teaching the ML to love but in LBFAD I think Little Orchid and Dongfang Qungcang taught each other to love.
|Well paced plot and no unnecessary court dramas|
Most xianxia are bogged down by unnecessary drama between the deities and never ending reincarnation plot from heavenly realm to mortal realm and back again. What I liked about LBFAD is that they limited the drama to scenes that are actually relevant to the development of FL and ML character and story arc. Their advantage was that they also retained their bodies/memories so they’re not pushed around in the mortal realm because of the limits of mortal bodies. Also we must give the team props for limiting themselves to 36 episodes, because D*ang those other xianxia’s have 40-60 episodes and they can’t even retain our interests in all the episodes.
|Great side characters that actually make the OTP shine|
Other Xianxia’s have so many top billed actors/actresses that they have so many “main characters” that you tend to loose track of who is who and what is happening. LBFAD, even though it’s a Xianxia, knew who the star of the drama is — Little Orchid and Dongfang Qingcang — so they gave just the right amount of characterization to characters that actually affect the story of the 2. I also liked that they gave an arc for Jieli and Shangque but it’s not so complicated that it takes time away from the OTP. I’m a bit torn if I like the arc for Rong Hao and Chidi woman but I guess it is still relevant to make the story move forward.
|DISTINCT key locations unique to LBFAD, beautiful cinematography, costume, and production design|
I only saw an episode of the LBFAD animation, and I can say that the drama did a great job in recreating the world of Heavenly Realm, Cangyan Sea, and Yunmeng Lake. Most xianxia’s maximize the use of Hengdian studio sets so they usually have similar looks/locations. For LBFAD, I like that they gave us the unique Artbiter Hall, they have special “court” and look for the heavenly realm, and the Moon Tribe realm also looks unique. The costumes are lovely and the accessories of the heavenly realm make them more ethereal and the moon tribe more exotic. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s on iQiyi, but I love the color palette they used which is mostly iridescent pastels in the heavenly realm and rich hues in Cangyan sea.
In the end, I think LBFAD is a one of the best xianxia of recent years in terms of chemistry, plot, visuals, and OST. Will I rewatch it as much a my other top dramas (7x for The Eternal Love 1/2/3 or 3x for Love Better Than Immortality) maybe but maybe not as much.
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