Editorials 
5
47
2
2
1
3
1
1
1
1
1
If you like the funny, then 98% chance you'll like it
‒Review‒
For those looking for fast-paced, light-hearted comedy-comedy, this one is a treat. Based off of novel and donghua, This show is Xianxia parody with a clever twist. The ML is overpowered as usual, but rather than going through the vomit-blood-obliterate-enemy cycles, he uses strategy, ploys, and enchantments to achieve his goals in the safest way possible, while keeping a low profile. It's an impressive combination of actuarial skills and a giant, giant bag of tricks. Remember, it's a comedic parody and donghua-derived, so don't be bewildered by the whimsical elements. The first episode can feel like a bunch of people talking a lot and talking fast; I recommend giving it 3-4 episodes for the gags to drop and to see if the humor, characters, and vibes work for you.
What I Liked
✅ Humor and parody setup - mocking the usual tropes; punchlines and gags are fast and unexpected enough to keep things interesting. ARP and the cast has good comedic timing and delivery
✅ Jedi mind tricks - Overpowered ML is boring, but one that bamboozles his opponents by combining tricks and clever ploys is
✅ Character dynamics - with Junior-sis (Aimi), high-god on vacation, Junior Dragon-lord, and several others; there is romance w/ the FL, but it's definitely not the focus
✅ Visuals - Mostly decent and not cheap plastic looking. And what is cheap plastic looking can just be excused as parody.
✅ The story, gasp - It's a comedy-comedy, so not subject to the same demands on the story. Yet, its plot, character, and worldbuilding is actually more consistent than the average Xianxia, which is consistently awful. Also plenty of twists and turns that are not obvious.
✅ Happy ending - ||Big twist in the final arc, and a happy ending that is genuinely surprising and meaningful. Some call it an open-ending, just because it's not fully played out. Sure, while it leaves open the possibility of a second season, it's still a self-contained story with closure. ||
What I didn't like
❌ Sun Zhenni's acting - She's good in evil or grayish roles, but not as goodie characters. For the whole show, she was doing Multiple-Choice-Acting‒in that she turns every scene into a random selection of the same expressions A-B-or-C. Forget about nuance, you'd think she has at least a 33% probability to produce a directionally correct facial expression. But noooo, the answer is always D-none of the above. Her rendition of the zillion year Holy Saintess is just so hollow, so jarring. Only when she got demon-possessed later, did she connect with me. And then I figured it out, Zhenni is just born with that *yao-energy, and that's what she needs to cultivate. [yao is demon/demoness, but not so abhorrently and irredeemably evil as in the Western context.] So when you stuff her into these holy-goodie roles, it's like the whole Xianxia thing of cleansing her spirit and lifeforce, leaving her an sterilized, imprisoned shell. I know it's a better career move for actresses to choose the light, or freely trans-realm between good and evil. And I'm not yao-shaming her, but just saying...
❌ ARP's acting when serious - he's good in comedic roles, I mean he's basically playing himself. But when it comes to emotionally complex or powerful scenes, you get the same problem as Sun Zhenni. Except ARP's face is not as blank and more contortionary, as he's cycling through different expressions to hopefully land on the right answer. But the mad circling often results in selecting both 'D-none of the above' AND 'E-all of the above', and you end up with a facial paradox. When it comes to ARP, only the fake crying is authentic crying.
That said, the acting issues didn't bother too much as they were fleeting and ameliorated with the action and comedy. It's not JoL1 level funny or nearly as deep. But I would put it in the same category as Guardians of Dafeng, and slightly better in some respects. While not as expansive in characters and world as GoTD, Pull Strings deliver a more consistent pacing and humor, and a more manageable number of plot lines. Come with the right expectations, and this can be an enjoyable surprise.
--Category Ratings--
- Overall - 7.5 --> 8.0 MDL
- Plot - 7.5
- Theme / Concept / Impact - 8
- Acting - 7.0
- Visuals - 7.5
- Audio / Music - 7.5
- Rewatch - 7.5
- Cultural/Topical Accessibility - 7.5
- Subtitle quality - 8.5
For those looking for fast-paced, light-hearted comedy-comedy, this one is a treat. Based off of novel and donghua, This show is Xianxia parody with a clever twist. The ML is overpowered as usual, but rather than going through the vomit-blood-obliterate-enemy cycles, he uses strategy, ploys, and enchantments to achieve his goals in the safest way possible, while keeping a low profile. It's an impressive combination of actuarial skills and a giant, giant bag of tricks. Remember, it's a comedic parody and donghua-derived, so don't be bewildered by the whimsical elements. The first episode can feel like a bunch of people talking a lot and talking fast; I recommend giving it 3-4 episodes for the gags to drop and to see if the humor, characters, and vibes work for you.
What I Liked
✅ Humor and parody setup - mocking the usual tropes; punchlines and gags are fast and unexpected enough to keep things interesting. ARP and the cast has good comedic timing and delivery
✅ Jedi mind tricks - Overpowered ML is boring, but one that bamboozles his opponents by combining tricks and clever ploys is
✅ Character dynamics - with Junior-sis (Aimi), high-god on vacation, Junior Dragon-lord, and several others; there is romance w/ the FL, but it's definitely not the focus
✅ Visuals - Mostly decent and not cheap plastic looking. And what is cheap plastic looking can just be excused as parody.
✅ The story, gasp - It's a comedy-comedy, so not subject to the same demands on the story. Yet, its plot, character, and worldbuilding is actually more consistent than the average Xianxia, which is consistently awful. Also plenty of twists and turns that are not obvious.
✅ Happy ending - ||Big twist in the final arc, and a happy ending that is genuinely surprising and meaningful. Some call it an open-ending, just because it's not fully played out. Sure, while it leaves open the possibility of a second season, it's still a self-contained story with closure. ||
What I didn't like
❌ Sun Zhenni's acting - She's good in evil or grayish roles, but not as goodie characters. For the whole show, she was doing Multiple-Choice-Acting‒in that she turns every scene into a random selection of the same expressions A-B-or-C. Forget about nuance, you'd think she has at least a 33% probability to produce a directionally correct facial expression. But noooo, the answer is always D-none of the above. Her rendition of the zillion year Holy Saintess is just so hollow, so jarring. Only when she got demon-possessed later, did she connect with me. And then I figured it out, Zhenni is just born with that *yao-energy, and that's what she needs to cultivate. [yao is demon/demoness, but not so abhorrently and irredeemably evil as in the Western context.] So when you stuff her into these holy-goodie roles, it's like the whole Xianxia thing of cleansing her spirit and lifeforce, leaving her an sterilized, imprisoned shell. I know it's a better career move for actresses to choose the light, or freely trans-realm between good and evil. And I'm not yao-shaming her, but just saying...
❌ ARP's acting when serious - he's good in comedic roles, I mean he's basically playing himself. But when it comes to emotionally complex or powerful scenes, you get the same problem as Sun Zhenni. Except ARP's face is not as blank and more contortionary, as he's cycling through different expressions to hopefully land on the right answer. But the mad circling often results in selecting both 'D-none of the above' AND 'E-all of the above', and you end up with a facial paradox. When it comes to ARP, only the fake crying is authentic crying.
That said, the acting issues didn't bother too much as they were fleeting and ameliorated with the action and comedy. It's not JoL1 level funny or nearly as deep. But I would put it in the same category as Guardians of Dafeng, and slightly better in some respects. While not as expansive in characters and world as GoTD, Pull Strings deliver a more consistent pacing and humor, and a more manageable number of plot lines. Come with the right expectations, and this can be an enjoyable surprise.
--Category Ratings--
- Overall - 7.5 --> 8.0 MDL
- Plot - 7.5
- Theme / Concept / Impact - 8
- Acting - 7.0
- Visuals - 7.5
- Audio / Music - 7.5
- Rewatch - 7.5
- Cultural/Topical Accessibility - 7.5
- Subtitle quality - 8.5
Was this review helpful to you?
