Psychic Princess

As a huge fan of historical dramas, romantic anime and supernatural stories, I definitely could not pass by this anime, which promised me a mixture of all these genres. Animation also caught my eye. However, after a few episodes I got conflicting feelings about this show. To start with, I should say that Tong Ling Fei is definitely enjoyable and easy to follow. I do not regret spending an evening with it, though the show has a whole bunch of significant drawbacks. Nevertheless, I will not put it a high grade for the reasons I explain below. To watch or not to watch – itis up to you. If you expect something really cool and exciting or if you are looking for a serious title with a great twisted plot and lively characters, I guess you should try something else. If you are searching for something simple and lovely just to relax after a long day, probably, this anime is for you. The plot is very simple and predictable. In the best moments of this anime the story reminds of an old fairy tale like 1001 Nights or a Disney princess movie – you know, where the plot goes, but you still enjoy it. However, the weaker parts of the series are childish and boring. The main action starts approximately in episode 10. The majority of the series introduces us personages and demonstrates main heroine’s character. The characters’ personalities are very confined and stereotyped. All personages of this anime are either kind or evil, moreover, each of them (except for the main heroine) has only one personal trait and behavioral pattern. Male characters disappointed me most. They have charisma of a cardboard box and emotional spectrum of a spoon. Hence, the romantic component is rather weak in this show. The male lead’s relationships with his love interest are merely shown, so all potential drama of the love triangle is killed from the very beginning. It is very sad, because Qian Yunxi’s rival in love could make the whole story much more exciting (like it happens in Palace/Goong – dorama with the similar setting). Although Lord Ye’s actions and his growing attraction to Qian Yunxi look reasonable, his character is so poorly developed that you cannot empathize with him. The main heroine and her background are curious. Qian Yunxi is the only lively character of the series. She can be nice and mean, funny and serious, strong-willed and childish. Although, the way she interacts with male characters seems to me very artificial and illogical. I understand that the authors of this story tried to show us a strong woman, but why, why she has to literally fight every time to demonstrate her determined character and stubbornness? Not only does it spoil Qian Yunxi’s positive image, it also makes all relationships between the main heroine and the guys false and iterative. Because of it, I just cannot believe that almost every man falls in love with the female lead. Well, I suppose that there are a few worshipers of tsundere love style. But Qian Yunxi is never ‘dere’, she is only inadequately rude and physically cruel to her admirers. Romance doesn’t work this way. I see only two logical reasons for guys’ favourable reactions on Qian Yunxi’s violence: either Qian Yunxi is so good-looking that every man likes her from the first sight, or all guys have got brain concussion after those hits and have lost their minds for the rest of the series. Supernatural component of the story is pretty bad. It serves like deus ex machina in the plot twists and undervalues Qian Yunxi’s merits, because all hard work is done by the spirits. I think that the story would be better without these Disney-style ghost companions. Comedy is quite good here. There are some funny jokes, especially those with the references to the modern world. Plus I found a few hilarious animation failures. The animation is far from flawless, but, in general, it looks quite appealing. In conclusion, I would say that though the conception of Tong Ling Fei was very promising, realization turned out to be slightly above average. This show is still pleasant to see, but I doubt that you would ever want to see it again. I should also notice that for a Chinese anime Tong Ling Fei is very decent and demonstrates a rapid increase in quality of Chinese anime production. P.S.: I will not comment that psychedelic opening. You have to see that.

This anime has surprised me on many levels with the reviews it has received after watching it. It DOES not at all live up to those exceptions. I've tried again and again to push through the series hoping to be blown away, wanting to stop after episode 2. Story: Starting off this series, it wasn't at all bad and it pleased me to see some old Imperial Chinese history in a fictional setting. I was really hopeful, but merely after episode 2 it quickly becomes generic. The story doesn't provide much detail, depth, or really any interesting development. I'm a big sucker for Romance andcomedy, but no real emotion can be felt and most of the "haha" moments fall flat on their face. And the plot holes just tie everything nicely together. (3/10) Art+Sound: Generic for an anime. Visually bland at some points but nothing too much to complain about. (6/10) Characters: Uninteresting and generic. Yunxi was pretty cool to watch but really nothing extra ordinary. (5/10) Enjoyment: Outside of episodes 1 & 2, didn't really enjoy this series. Had high hopes but it just didn't have a good story nor delivered any interesting romance or funny comedy. Of course starting off it was a bit off putting hearing Chinese dub after watching hours and hours of Japanese dubbed anime, but I came to enjoy it. (2/10) Overall: Not an anime I recommend you watching if you're someone looking for an anime you'll remember and truly cherish or with a depthful storyline and characters. This doesn't mean at all that objectively this anime is bad, some people might like it, but don't go in with high hopes. (3/10)

I decided to watch this anime because usually it is rare for a romance to have close to an 80% rating unless it is really good, but this show really disappointed me. The art style is beautiful, and I thought the plot was intriguing that being centered around a psychic woman who has to marry a Prince for her family. This is the typical and ideal fantasy for those of us who watch romance; girl marries "cold" prince, and he actually ends up being kind natured and loving and romance blossoms. Perfect. Well, this show is the exact opposite. I'm a sucker for the mean guyturns nice cliche, but the lead male MC - Prince Ye, is actually so heartless and rude it turned me off completely. I had to constantly remind myself that this show is set in a historical time period where women basically didn't have rights and men in positions of power were assholes who got whatever they wanted. But the whole point of this being a shoujo romance with fantasy elements, you would think it would be a fun romantic watch OR at least grow into that. But Prince Ye was rude, abusive, forceful and borderline narcissistic to the point where I didn't even want the lead girl to end up with him. Not to mention, the show mentions multiple times how the men, especially the princes, have mistresses and other women so it makes the romance feel flat. The show also plays at harem themes for the lead lady which I didn't prefer either for this plot, going into this show I thought the primary focus would be on the lead lady and male, regardless of if it was historical or not. Qian Yunxi was a decent lead. I liked how she was not a "woman of the times" and actually would stick up for herself. But other than that, the show doesn't delve too deep into her abilities like I would have hoped. She honestly had no personality outside of fighting and talking back - I feel like the creators would sometimes force this "I'm not a pushover" type of personality too much to make a point, but by them doing this over and over it makes you realize how crappy all the male characters are. Regardless she was my favorite character. The plot seemed to drag and drag, 11 episodes (out of a mere 16) in and the romance between the two leads is basically nonexistent. All you have are instances of Ye abusing Qian (making her sleep in a raggedy palace, making her sleep in a wood cabin, having his mistresses' maids abuse her, believing his mistress over her, etc.) and the princes discussing this upcoming tension between them and the west, but it is so vague you don't know what is going on until the show is practically over. It feels like majority of the show is just you watching Qian get into trouble and get abused. The other characters really aren't worth mentioning, I didn't like any of them. The only character I liked was Prince Yu (Ye's brother) he was actually sympathetic and funny at times. I found myself rooting for him to be with Qian, honestly. The show is alright. I think the harshness of the lead male MC turned me off a lot, the plot at certain points was very slow and wasn't interesting enough to really allow me to invest in the show, and the jokes fell most of the time - it just felt boring. This is nice as a quick watch, something to pass the time - but this isn't one of those romances that you need to see.

STORY: 8/10 The story isn't anything new in Chinese media, but I thought the overall plot execution and characters were really enjoyable to watch. The supernatural elements of the story were also a welcomed twist. The series length was unfortunately too short to fully develop the story in all aspects, but it was still compelling enough for me to keep watching to completion. Overall, Tong Ling Fei does a fairly good job balancing action, drama, comedy, and romance. ART: 7/10 The art style is generic, but decent and it suits the story's overall tone (themes aren't as heavy as in josei stories). The style kind of reminds meof early 2000s anime for some reason. Animation can get choppy at some parts, but overall it's good enough. SOUND: 8/10 You'll either hate or love the opening song, but you'll definitely remember it. OST is pretty good and versatile for different moods. I thought the voice actors did a good job of adapting their acting to different moods as well. CHARACTER: 8/10 I thought the leading and supporting cast were really fun to watch even if they easily fall into stereotypes. The ghost buddies the female lead has are pretty cute, but too bad they didn't really have significant moments to shine in the series. The female lead is confident and independent. Seeing her stand up for herself is really satisfying to watch, especially when so many people are working against her. I like her "I don't give a crap" attitude when it comes to playing along with politics and hierarchy. I also like that she doesn't fall all over the male lead, and rightly so. He honestly didn't treat her that well initially for her to develop any affection for him. Male lead isn't really a character type I like. He's cold, arrogant, and possessive. He has his better moments, but I disliked how he tried to force his feelings on the female lead. I suppose it's in character with his arrogant and prideful personality. He gets better near the end of the series when he starts getting more protective and affectionate toward the female lead. ENJOYMENT: 8/10 While the story isn't anything new, I still thought the overall execution was good and the characters were really fun to watch. I hope they make a season 2 so the plot can be further explored. I felt like the real overarching plot was just starting when the series concluded on a cliffhanger.