Kaifeng Strange Tales: This Lord Bao is Not That Great

Kai Feng Qitan is a historical series following Governor Bai, a government official in charge of a small region in ancient China. Alongside Bai, an advisor and a guard help him manage his daily tasks and uphold his flawless standards in surprising ways. They encounter enemies and peasants who require their ruling verdicts to resolve conflicts. How do Governor Bai's daily activities unfold? Story & Characters: 5/10 This series follows a casual and nonchalant approach to story and plot progression. There are no overarching goals or lingering problems for Governor Bai to address, making this series more fun and casual. However, this isn't necessarily a strength. Atseveral stages, the story develops behind a facade of awkwardly arranged plot events hidden behind dense comedic sequences. By the end of the series, most of the story development felt underdeveloped despite its attempt to end on a more serious note. These parody series often have this problem, where the series is 90% satire but when it tries to delve into dedicated plot progression and story conclusion, it feels forced and lacking. It could have remained 100% satire or taken a more formal approach to narrative development rather than switching tones in the epilogue. The characters were memorable due to the unhinged and slow-burn comedy they portrayed. Characters like Swordmaster Bai and Guard Zhao especially portrayed many drama series protagonists with a subtle hint of closet BL, but the execution was more about taking a hit at the demographic itself rather than developing a convincing connection. The characters outside of Governor Bai's group felt very expendable and unmemorable, often referred to by their roles like thief, bandit, etc., which saw the series throw away potentially interesting characters for the future. Character development was expected of a gag comedy series despite its genuine and satirical attempts. Art & Sound: 5/10 The art is of decent quality for the release period, but the animation tanked the series hard. It's no wonder a scene and dialogue were dedicated to mock the exclusion of fighting animation between a thief and Guard Zhao. As expected of a parody series, it did well in terms of diversifying the scenes with bright and showy displays of text, background, and character designs despite the lack of animation consistency. The sound design was mediocre and passable by modern standards. The voice acting, soundtracks, and sound effects were all executed as expected of a smaller-budget series. Overall & Enjoyment: 5/10 I enjoyed this series; at certain stages, the comedy felt a bit forced, and the dialogue dragged out some slow-burn jokes for too long. Overall, it was an average watch, with nothing too outstanding despite its many pop culture and anime references.