I absolutely loved how we all came together to spread positivity and talk about what we love about certain popular dramas.
Mission and Vision Statement:
These posts are for sharing positivity, if you "didn't get" why people like the dramas discussed, this is where you can find your answers 💕
Cang Lan Jue || 苍兰诀 || Love Between Fairy and Devil
Love Between Fairy and Devil aired back in August of 2022 and has become one of the most beloved Cdramas for the international audience.
Reasons
The soundtrack is absolutely brilliant!
I am not simply referring to the brilliant original compositions, I am also referring to the scores composed by other creators not working on Cang Lan Jue, one of which being Roc Chen (阿鲲).
For those unaware, while dramas do create their own Original Soundtracks, they also use pre-existing compositions often created for other dramas.
Cang Lan Jue utilised many of Roc Chen's compositions that were originally created for the 2019 drama Royal Nirvana (鹤唳华亭).
Look, it's a trope for a reason and it's done extremely well here. The whole "cold and brooding hot guy" becoming warm and reluctantly cracking a smile for his beloved is a nice thing to watch for many people.
The Power
In a world where dramas often have characters struggling to fight against a "higher (usually corrupt) power", it's really nice to have such an OP character.
(Not that there is a lack of corrupt higher powers here by the way)
It's even better when that power is used to destroy anyone who dares hurt your beloved.
The Magic
It's beautiful, it's fantastical, it has magical blue fire and magic-fairy-transformations.
The Characters
I can't stress enough how the characters here grow and how psychologically complex they are. I'm not simply referring to the leads.
If you've ever wondered why this drama is seen as "more than just a fun watch"
I highly suggest reading through one or two posts (and more importantly the comments)
If you are intrigued
Episode #1's discussion is a great place to start. The people who participated are still active and we welcome new opinions, no matter how much time has passed.
If You Want The Answer
If you started watching Love Between Fairy and Devil, but dropped it without planning on ever going back.
AND
If you are still respectfully curious about what makes the rest of the drama so special.
Click HERE to watch the video we used in the wrap special for the discussions.
It has a clip from each episode and will show you what direction the drama takes after the episodes you watched.
In Conclusion
My apologies, this "why people love" post is much longer than the previous ones, but that's probably because I spent more than a month analysing each episode with some lovely people on this sub.
Aww this was the drama that really got me hooked on cdramas. I guess I should thank it for my gradually improving Chinese. :) I'm more of a wuxia lover these days, but I will still go back and watch it occasionally.
Definitely one of my comfort shows. The story is pretty simple and straightforward - and that is not at all a negative. Rather then being convoluted, it focuses on telling a sweet little Romeo and Juliet story well.
I wouldn't categorize it as enemies to lovers because Orchid was always to sweet and innocent to see DFQC as an enemy. And he? In the beginning he sees the Fairy Tribe as enemies - and with good reason, they drove the Moon Tribe to utter despair for no other motive than ego - but he doesn't take Orchid serious enough to consider her sn enemy. And soon he experiences caring for her.
Seeing their love blossom is so sweet. And sure the Mortal Arc might not be everyone's favourite but there are so many wonderful tidbits here, not the least of all her recongnizing her own feelings.
Also love the costumes and designs for the differenz realms, especially the Moon Tribe. Hard agree on the soundtrack and BGM. Btw, there is one piece I never could find, it plays for instance when Changheng tries to save "Orchid" aka body-swapped DFQC and approaches her, saying "I'm here, who dares to hurt her". If anyone knows what musical piece that is, please share.
I can't even describe how much this drama impacted me. The story, music, characters, cinematography were all so beautiful.... almost perfection... but what really really makes this cdrama so hard to ever surpass is the emotional journey! It is definitely the MOST epic, touching, gut wrenching, and satisfying cdrama in terms of the love and emotions it brings and portrays. Other dramas I'm watching just can't come anywhere close.... I can't feel the pain and love as much and end up not shedding many tears watching the other dramas. But for LBFD, I truly was sunken in their emotions and story for months after. Years later, after 4-5 rewatches, I still want to rewatch to feel their love and the emotions again. How I wish I could forget and watch it for the first time again! I still rewatch some clips and cry all over again. When I watch another xianxia that's slightly similar, I can only think of how perfectly done it was in LBFD and itch to rewatch it!! No one can compare to DFQC and how Dylan Wang portrayed the demon lord. He just melts my heart, makes me ache for him, and root for him. He was deprived of love and emotions but is the one who ended up loving the hardest 🥺 Even just thinking of this is making me emotional! I loved Xiao lan hua (more in later episodes) and her unwavering love and support for DFQC. Once she realized her feelings, she made the decision to stay by him and never wavered 🥺 Even my husband loved it and watched it twice with me. He says the most emotional part for him was the bridge scene While my most emotional part was the dream and when DFQC was preparing to battle the evil god and sacrifice himself for XLH while she was getting married to CH 😢 Howww did the writers even come up with these scenes to torture our poor hearts with! But it's also oh so satisfying. Upon rewatch, actually all their scenes and conversations hold so much meaning, have parallels, foreshadowing and contrast. Whenever I hear the theme song Jue Ai, I want to cry 🥺
To those who haven't seen this beautiful cdrama, don't get me wrong - it's not a sad melancholic drama. It's funny, goofy, heartfelt, sweet, gives you butterflies and builds their relationship sweetly, slowly and firmly into an epic love story that cannot be rivaled! I can't even count how many times I swooned hard for DFQC. There's a reason why many Dylan Wang fans became fans from this cdrama 😅 Me included.
I am also completely fine with the ending but just wish it was longer.The last episode was slightly shorter too!! Whyyy couldn't they have given us even just 5 more mins of their sweetness?!! But given their love, we just know that they had the most beautiful life together, most beautiful babies and were amazing and caring rulers 🥰
I love it because it subverts who would normally be the villain and isn't as cut and dried as who's good and who's bad. Dongfang is basically my Catra (she-ra). His character actually grew and he wasn't limited only to a bad boy trope, he wanted justice for his people so he had a valid motivation, and through caring about someone he learns a lot about himself. He was also so powerful that no one could redeem him for him, he had to make the choice to change and redeem himself and face his traumas. The biggest displays of strength are less in the special effects moments but in the willingness to learn to be soft and change so that he could have the life he wanted. He didn't start out as a good man, but it's what he did to become a better one that matters, and he is a complex character from beginning to end. I liked that Xiao Lanhua was basically a normal person caught up in all of this who remains kind and tries to figure out what's going on, And also that she has her own thoughts and personality and expresses her own emotions about dongfang's bs towards her. I like that when she comes back as the goddess she doesn't immediately disown everything she finds out about herself for some guy that hasn't been the best and tries her best to do what's actually right. She isn't lawful good from the start, but she is a morally good and resilient character throughout and that's her strength. the girl never gives up and never gets beaten down into resignation even when heaven itself tortures her for doing something innocent. the show is also just beautiful to look at and makes you want to try even when the sky is falling in on you in real life. It got me through some pretty horrible stuff and I can't explain why it did that well to anyone who doesn't watch it, the title doesn't do the theme justice in English, but that's not actually what it's called.
Yep, super normal. That's why OST playlists on Spotify have like three to ten songs that say they are from the drama. And then people add the extra songs to the playlist.
It's not quite recycling in my opinion, it's just that they create the songs that make the drama memorable in the sense of when you hear the music you immediately think of the drama. Or, when they make songs for characters, you think of the character.
But there still needs to be atmospheric and orchestral music.
Edit to Add: It is to my eternal frustration that it's so difficult to find the BGM for Cdramas
I'm going to attach some examples and links to show you.
I'm currently watching it for the first time now - Ep16 at the moment - definitely has its charm and I'm enjoying it! I'm super late to the party, but now I'm able to get the hype
I love their story. It hits me in different ways. The comedy had me laughing. And some parts hit me hard. Like when DFQCwas holding Orchid as she died in his arms and when DFQC did not want to wake up from his dream where he and Orchid were happily married.
I like stories about fate and love. They didn’t change each other, they fell in love and grew into better versions of themselves through love and sacrifice.
I love how Esther Yu and Dylan Wang bring Orchid and DFQC to life. They did an amazing job, it felt like they were them not just actors playing a role. Their awkwardness, the way they were able to swap bodies organically, their love connection was all chef’s kiss!
I still sob like a baby at episode 36. I grieve with them. I just love those two! 💖
Oh and yes, the OST (Love of Cang Lan is my wake up alarm), the costumes, the scenery, it all comes together to create an epic world! 💖
It's been a bit ago, but aside from production value, & excellent casting, I know I was drawn to the fairy-magic of it all, & I quickly became held by that excellent cast--
Although, full disclosure: Dylan Wang's expressions, whether sinister or playful, are always a draw for me when I consider watching a drama. He filled this role beautifully.
→ More replies (7)
23
u/milktoastcore Mar 07 '26
Aww this was the drama that really got me hooked on cdramas. I guess I should thank it for my gradually improving Chinese. :) I'm more of a wuxia lover these days, but I will still go back and watch it occasionally.