Tong Ling Fei

When Qian Yunshang's marriage to Ye Youming is arranged by the emperor, she is terrified that the bad blood between their families will lead to her being treated miserably in the Ye household. Torn between duty and concern for his daughter, Qian Aotian devises a reckless plan. He summons his firstborn daughter—her existence unknown to all but his own family—to be the stand-in for her younger sister.

Due to her unusual powers, Qian Yun Xi was exiled by her family when she was a child. Deprived of filial affection, she made a life of her own amid the wilderness on Mt. Ling Yun. However, everything begins to change when she marries Ye Youming in her sister's stead.

Harboring immense contempt for the family of Qian, Ye Youming refuses to acknowledge Qian Yun Xi as his wife and treats her coldly, going so far as to banish her from his palace grounds. But he can only resist her childlike charm and boldness for so long...

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Qian, Yunxi Main

Ye, Youming Main

Sesame Seed Main

Mochi Main

Yu, Zimo Supporting

Xuan, Yuepo Supporting

Jun, Yiqing Supporting

Chu, Jiao'er Supporting

Mo, Ying Supporting

Que'er Supporting

Li, Haoling Director

Reviews

Sep 20, 2019

m0llerz

Recommended

This was a very simple anime to get into and follow.

The story follows a strong female lead, Qian Yunxi, who is confident but can be abrasive at times. She has many hidden talents that make you continually interested in her character as you don’t know what to expect. The male lead, Lord Ye, is rather cold and domineering. The dynamic between these two comes down to a lot of power play. Over the course of the show, the two become quite endearing and it becomes easy to attain a soft spot for the relationship and romance they build through their constant bickering.

The plot is ... very straightforward. The theme for each episode felt repetitive in which Qian Yunxi becomes rebellious and creates a scene but things end up working in her favor. Even though this was the case, each situation was different and drove the story forward. New characters were able to be introduced and the drama kept you drawn in. There was not a lot of representation of each character’s past, they hinted here and there, but it seems that further plot depth is to come as the series ends with an expectation of a second season.

I really enjoy Chinese animation and art. Personally I found the characters and scenery to be beautifully drawn. The palette chosen created a light-hearted and sensitive tone. The action scenes felt rhythmic and aesthetic.

The anime has a good balance of comedy that doesn’t seem forced or over the top. Overall, this was an easy anime to sit back and casually watch without requiring too much mental energy.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Aug 22, 2020

Tombs_of_Atuan

Mixed Feelings

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 – it ... is 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.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Nov 1, 2019

Spraven_Ross

Not Recommended

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 and ... comedy, 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)

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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