A 2022 Chinese Xianxia about a hapless fairy who accidentally frees the most dangerous immortal in the realm and they must work together.

You can watch the trailer here.

Country: China
Local Title: 苍兰诀
Year Released: 2022
Number of Episodes: 36 + Extras
Genre: Xianxia

Main Actors:

Yu Shu Xin: Orchid
Dylan Wang: Dongfang Qing Cang
Zhang Ling He: Chang Heng
Xu Hai Qiao: Rong Hao
Cristy Guo: Chi Di Nu Zi
Charles Lin: Shang Que
Hong Xiao: Jie Li
Wang Yue Yi: Dan Yin

Pre-Recap Thoughts:

I first watched this show almost from day one when I saw it pop up on my streaming service and didn’t know anything about it. The title was intriguing and the premise entertaining but I didn’t expect it to actually be good. As a result, I paid very little attention during the early episodes and got lost on plot details for a while. After those first few episodes though, I was hooked (as were many others) and the show is one of my all-time favorite Chinese dramas. I’m looking forward to going back through and catching all the details I might have missed the first time.

Glossary:

Fairy and Devil has a lot of fantasy people, places and things! If you’re feeling lost I have a Glossary! There may be very light spoilers just in knowing some of these things exist, but there will be no major spoilers.

Love Between Fairy and Devil Glossary

Episode Recap and Reviews:

Final Mostly Non-Spoilery Thoughts:

Not only do I think that Love Between Fairy and Devil is awesome, I think it’s great for anyone whose never watched a Chinese fantasy show. Along with the unfamiliar tropes and archetypes, there are things that may be more familiar: sad orphans, a fairy prince, magical items, warring clans, family secrets, and epic adventures. There are also familiar drama tropes from any country in any genre, like forced cohabitation and body swapping.

But there’s also fantastic subversion of these tropes. One thing I may not have talked about much (I can’t remember, it was 36 episodes) is how our Devil would usually be the bad guy, instead, he’s a romantic hero who goes through one of the most amazing character arcs. The actual bad guys in this story have sympathetic motivations and complicated characters. Even the pure evil bad guy is something more interesting than just a guy who wants a thing.

The fantasy world is amazing and fleshed out and truly looks like another world. You can tell that the people behind the scenes put a lot of effort into making it seem real. There are different realms and palaces and Siming Halls and if you watch carefully enough, you can start to imagine how they are related. There are amazing visuals that take the audience from the stars in the galaxy to deep in the bottom of Memory Loss River. The costumes are delights for the eyes and in theme with each character’s role and personality. There are magic objects that are key parts of the plot and can change characters’ fates.

And wrapped up in a mix of silliness and sincere drama are some great, inspiring messages about fate, love, and feelings.