🎶❣ I want to live
❣ I want to give
❣ I've been a miner
❣ For a heart of gold
❣ It's these expressions
❣ I never give
❣ That keep me searching
❣ For a heart of gold
❣ And I'm getting old ❣🎶
Bad demon. Kong Hongjun entered the mortal world. Now he has to die, even though the deity acknowledges that he has a good nature (besides, he did a GOOD deed).
LoE, a 2020 release that is rated 7.74 on MAL, is adapted by Tian Bao Fu Yao Lu from the 5vol Novel by Fei Tian Ye Xiang. It is 2 seasons consisting of 13 20-minute Mandarin speaking English subbed episodes, but I only had access to S1. As I just wrote for another review: You're in for a treat. Mandarin is spoken beautifully by Chinese actors. It is a massage for the ears.
Criminal charges aren't the first charges Kong Hongjun receives. His adopted father charged him to go to the mortal realm and assist the CoE - Court of Exorcism. Mount Taiheng is the only place that Kong's ever been to, so the mortal world sounds scary, but here's his chance to see a new place. His directives from dad: 1. Find his birth-father's murderer. 2. Eliminate the Black Jiao and its spies scattered all over Chang'an. 3. Return the Heart Lamp to a descendent of the Chen family.
Kong bungles things immediately. When he meets capt Li Jinglong, he stumbles and the mystical Heart Lamp slips into the captain's body. The captain doesn't even sense it is there! Kong is unable to retrieve it. When he arrives at his new "official " gig, the CoE, Li Jinglong ends up stationed at the court on assignment as well. Kong will be able to focus on retrieving the heart lamp much easier, now. He will have to be stealthy about it.
As for the rest of the team, Qiu Yongsi is a scholar but also a scaredy-cat. Mo Rigen is the incarnation of the Grey Wolf and a fierce fighter. A-Tai is a Persian prince and full of surprises. Zhao Zilong is a small creature who hangs with Kong and basically fulfills the role of C3PO: Always nervous, scared, and mindful of the protocol, but quite helpful at times. Many characters harbor secrets. Kong Hongjun must balance them all while trying to complete his mission.
When they arrive, the court's grounds are in shambles. The buildings are rundown and falling apart. A HUMAN has been put in charge. While they are trying to reattach the front doors, they get their first assignment! Eh, it's merely to find a missing cat for the Beauty House (brothel). Li is insulted. Capt. Li is also duty bound. They're charged with finding a 🐈 so that's what they do. One thing leads to another and they uncover a nest of demons and other nefarious plots. At the close of S1, they remain unaware of the most nefarious plot, to resurrect the Devil himself.
Not all demons want the devil to be reborn. The demon king and his comrades fought the black dragon years ago, but they lost. If they don't finish the job, the devil will be reborn and the world will plunge into misery and chaos. The demon king wants none of it. He already lost his brother (Kong's father) to that dragon and was forced to raise his fatherless nephew.
The last 3 seasons of The Dragon Prince have the most beautiful animation I've ever seen... until LoE... The art is simply stunning. People are drawn with CGI in realistic detail. The characters look like walking porcelain figures. The backgrounds remind me of Maxfield Parrish and Thomas Kinkade works. They are mythical realism and very beautiful.
There's a steady influx of light-hearted air flowing into LoE. Grins and smiles abound. There's also a budding romance between the captain and Kong, but it is only hinted at in S1. The feel is exactly like live action Chinese fantasy, but even better. China makes the best fantasy in the world despite their sometimes clunky special effects. Things like the use of talisman, powered jumping from the ground onto rooves and running on them, landing so forcefully that the pavement crumbles, the brothel/ hospitality house, elaborate weapons, demons and gods... this is all boilerplate stuff in Chinese fantasy. If you are a fantasy fan, you are missing some of the best works in the world if you aren't checking out the Chinese catalogue.
In order of lite&trite to heavy&serious, you might like:
🎎 -
C🇨🇳: Overlord 8.4,
Under the Power 8.6,
The Rebel Princess 9.1,
The Sword and the Brocade 8.6 (in ancient Chinese opera style),
The Rise of Phoenixes 9
🔮🐉-
C🇨🇳: Love Between Fairy & Devil 8.9;
Douluo Continent 9.4;
Handsome Siblings 8.7;
Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber 9-Kung-fu!;
Ancient Love Poetry 8.6;
House of Flying Daggers-8.5,
Love and Redemption 10,
Bloody Romance-7.3 - very dark and brutal.
🔮🐉anime-
The Eminence in Shadow 8.8,
Trollhunters-9.5,
Assassination Classroom-9,
Chaika The Coffin Princess 8.4,
Reincarnated as a Sword 8,
Hunter × Hunter-10,
Jujutsu Kaisen-9.5,
Made in Abyss 9,
Watership Down-8.5,
Violet Evergarden-9.5,
Demon Slayer 9.3,
Fullmetal Alchemist-10,
Psycho Pass-8.6,
Akame ga Kill! 8.6,
Castlevania-8.4,
Death Note-8.8,
QUOTE📢
No matter how the world looks at me, that's not me.
〰🖍 IMHO
📣8.7 📝8.3 🎭8.5 🎨10 🎵/🔊8.3 🔚 ▪ 🌞5 ⚡8.5 😅3 😭😱12 😯3 🤢3 🤔4 💤0
Rated TV-PG-13: Parents Cautioned
Offshoot productions: Prequel Tianbao Fuyao Lu Legend of Exorcism
Re-📺? Yep.
