First Episode Recap: Legend of the Qing Qiu Fox

Legend of the Qing Qiu Fox 青丘狐传说 is like the Monster Killer cast reunion sans Wu Xin. Separated into six arcs, the first part is called Ah Xiu starring Sebrina Chen Yao as Hua Yue.

Episode 1 begins with a Zelda-like sequence of lush greenery and upbeat music as a tribe of nine-tailed foxes sprint across the fields of Qing Qiu. Everyone has gathered for the once-in-500-year harvest and it is said that whoever consumes the sacred fruit can gain immortality. 

Suddenly, something or someone takes over Ying Ning's (Xiao Cai Qi in green dress) body compelling her to warn Hua Yue (Chen Yao in red) that they are under attack. As the tribe moves out in defense, a masked woman seizes the opportunity to steal the sacred fruit and a lone Fei Yue (Kiton in purple) runs after the thief to no avail.

Since the attack was just a ruse, Ying Ning and Hua Yue find themselves in a frustrating position of your word against mine while tribe leader Liu Chang Yan (Jiang Jin Fu in middle white) takes the task of finding the real culprit. A hot-headed Hua Yue cannot stand the accusatory eyes staring her down so she leaves her worries behind and heads back to the human world.

Turns out that Hua Yue is extremely popular, living out her dreams of passion and romance and breaking many men's hearts. 

In comes demon hunter Zhuo Yun gliding down from the sky to capture Hua Yue for all the lives that she has ruined. Seriously thought he was Hu Ge (Nirvana in Fire) at first glance, or at least his silhouette anyway. 

A fight ensues but Hua Yue narrowly escapes after she saves a girl named Ah Xiu. Despite seeing that Hua Yue is a nine-tailed fox, the kind-hearted Ah Xiu returns the favor by giving Hua Yue a place to stay and the two easily become friends.

First Impressions: The weird ears are trending and even upcoming cdrama Ice Fantasy sports the same pointed ears. It's interesting though that the show tries to make a distinction between the nine-tailed foxes when Hua Yue says that she is not a seductive demon nor an immortal fairy but somewhat in between called a fox spirit. 

Legend of Qing Qiu Fox goes out of its way to create a magical realm that's very pretty to look at but it runs the risk of being just that, a beautiful but empty casing. 

The opening scenes are fairly rudimentary with an all too simple plot causing an entire tribe of powerful beings to leave their sacred tree unguarded at the most critical moment. The fight scene that follows is hard to take seriously as well especially amidst all the fake lanterns and computer generated background. 

While I have my reservations, things gets more interesting towards the second half when the drama plays up the life aspect rather than the wuxia. Never mind that the concept has been done plenty and the story likely a cliche, yet what I think can make or break this drama would have to be the characters and so far, Hua Yue and Ah Xiu are really turning up the charm such that I want to see what will happen to the two friends once a common love interest comes along. But then again, it could be my heightened euphoria from a Monster Killer reunion that is clouding my judgment.

For synopsis, cast and ratings, see 2016 cdrama listing. 

Legend of Chusen (2016)

Legend of Chusen 诛仙青云志 or Noble Aspirations is a big-budget fantasy wuxia based on a novel Zhu Xian written by Xiao Ding 萧鼎. All the excitement surrounding the drama is largely due to casting where names like Angelababy where thrown into the pot until it secured its leads in Li Yi Feng and Zanilia Zhao Li Ying, two of the most sought after stars today. The genre as a whole is getting a lot of love these days that even c-pop idol boyband TF Boys is appearing in the series, no doubt to cater to younger fans.

Legend of Chusen is about Zhang Xiao Fan, a young man with mediocre skills made up by an abundance in determination to become a martial arts hero of the Qing Yun Sect. Li Yi Feng once again plays a character that has an alternate persona, Sword of Legends much? It really looks and feels like a reboot of himself as Bai Li Tu Su, which is not a bad thing considering the former's success.

On the other hand, Zhao Li Ying hahs been getting flak for not fitting the bill as Bi Yao. I find the backlash unexpected given that she is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful faces in the Chinese entertainment but her first stills with the bangs pretty much says it all.

No wonder people are making comparisons to cosplayer Qiu Xiao Chen and some netizens even took it upon themselves to photoshop their own version of Zhao Li Ying as Bi Yao, the way that it should be. At least the production team seems to be listening since the recent batch of promotional stills have improved by leaps and bounds and this could actually turn out to be good. 

Release Date: July 31, 2016 (eng subs available on Viki) 

If you are a fan of xianxia, you can also check out Chinese to English novel translations on volare.

Source: Newyx, DuiTang, Douban

Legend of Nine Tails Fox (2016)

Legend of the Nine Tails Fox 青丘狐传说 is a 32-episode Chinese drama based on a collection of stories taken from the Strange Tales of Liao Zhai, a classic text written by Pu Song Ling during the Qing dynasty.

It revolves around a tribe of immortal fox spirits inhabiting Qing Qiu and follows their respective encounters in the human world. I have seen more gumiho-inspired stories than I can count and the one thing that it has taught me is that humans and mythical beings can never be. However, given that it is the month of February and with so many lovelines to root for, surely there must be a happy ending. 

The series stars Gulnezer Bextiyar (The Classic of Mountains and Seas), Gina Jin (Monster Killer), Sebrina Chen Yao (Monster Killer) and Xiao Cai Qi. The four ladies who are all born in the 90's make up the new batch of Tangren Entertainment's homegrown talents and are referred to as the four beauties of Tangren.

Other members of the cast include Wang Kai (Disguiser), Jiang Jin Fu (Legend of Qin), Zhang Ruo Yun (Sparrow), Fu Xin Bo (Sword of Legends 2), Tina Tang Yixin (Rule the World), Qiao Xin (Ode to Joy), Mike D'Angelo, Chen Ruo Xuan (Novoland), Kiton Jiang (Love Just Come) and Di Tian Lin.  

Release Date: Feb 8, 2016 on Hunan TV.

Song from the OST:
Don't Make Me Cry 别惹哭我 by Claire Kuo 郭静.

For 2016 Chinese drama recommendations, click here. 

Source: Weibo