Chancing upon this series, the first couple of episodes are actually a little slapstick in nature and may turn off some viewers. But persevere, and you will find an adventure into the life of Zhang Chu Lan and his friends, in an ironic twist of wuxia-style with special power, the competitive nature of human-being, their journey to find their own self and dry humour thrown in.
The Story
The 27-episode series shines its light on a seemingly ordinary, almost cowardly youth, Zhang Chu Lan, who lost his grandfather when he was younger. When his grandfather’s tomb at the village is raided and his body stolen, he begins to meet various people who are interested in the history of his grandfather and his power. Having grown up and taught martial arts by his grandfather, he is under sworn secrecy never to divulge his own capabilities unless his life is at stake.
He is suddenly thrown into a whole new world of “outsiders” defined by their special power not known to ordinary folks and courted by various parties, including an organisation designed to police the “outsiders” but disguised as NDT courier company, an almost mafia-like organisation Sinister Pleasure which prioritises outsiders’ interests and many other families each with their own special power. There are even martial art sects including Wudang Sect and Celestial Taoist Sect. Some of the family has gone commercial by building their power through businesses, using the monies to further increase their power within the world of “outsiders”.
The series starts off with the discovery of the outsiders and the power within Zhang Chu Lan. His introduction to Feng Bao Bao follows suit, and the protection he gets from NDT Courier organisation. More characters are introduced as the series move on to his next big adventure to visit his grandather’s originating sect – Celestial Taoist mountain. Therewith, a grand competition is held to find a successor to the sect master’s position. As the battles introduce more characters, each with their own agenda, Zhang Chu Lan meets both friends and foes. As he investigates the death of his own grandfather further, he is then exposed to almost indefinite power that transcends time & space, providing lots of possibilities to his investigation. The various events that links the Lu family with the disappearance their daughter and the previous leader of Sinister Pleasure Wu Gen Sheng’s disappearance & the ultimate link to Feng Bao Bao.
Although Zhang Chu Lan is the protagonist, the central of the story revolves around Feng Bao Bao, a child-like girl with potent martial art skills & self-healing power. Feng Bao Bao is slightly devoid of emotion most of the time, but is usually straight forward and lost her memory. She is determined to find her own history & family.
What is so interesting about the series is the novelty of the ideas of combining wuxia martial arts & superpower in a modern context. The investigative nature of the journey that Zhang Chu Lan goes through provides nail-biting experiences and a curious mind will always want to know what is next. What happened to grandfather Zhang? Why did he fell off with the other superpowers? What was their objectives? What drives the villain Lu Liang’s persistence in finding his missing/ dead sister?
The Characters
In addition, the dry humour injected into the series is really something different from the normal serious, lovey-dovey or adventurous series. Zhang Chu Lan’s character is quite the anti-hero in the normal story. He is quite the rascal and goes the extra mile not to do anything extra, but his seemingly “lazy” behaviour is hiding a persistence and inner strength when he sets his goals. Combining a rascal male lead, with a straight-faced strong female lead, actually brings an adorable view of their relationship. Their light banter, not entirely normal but so natural. The actress portraying Feng Bao Bao totally nails her innocence & persistence to the dot. Serious, but no malice even when facing so much violence.
My favourite character is actually Wang Ye, the laid-back Wudang descendant. Relaxed but with a firm & clear conscience, seldom seen in youth. Chooosing to actively participate to sway Zhang Chu Lan’s direction, he provides the necessary array for them to transcend time. Possibilities to more power, and for both Zhang Chu Lan and Lu Liang, their need for the truth. He actually hails from a rich family, but is equally protective of his own family members and hides his own power from the family. It is quite funny how the parents keep pressuring him to return to the family business and when he decides to be a monk in a monastery, the father almost flip out. 😀 I actually prefer him in his Wudang robes rather than the long-haired heir in modern jacket.
Zhang Ling Yu’s character actually reminds me of Legolas. 😀 Especially with the silver hair. Obedient, insecure, he is the representative of a righteous sect that could go astray. The depiction of the insecurity is well-portrayed. His struggle with insecurity due to the power harnesssed (the black lightning arising from being a non-virgin, a little dated thinking) and his lingering emotions & attachment to (of all people) the seducer from Sinister Pleasure’s Xia He. The couple makes quite a nice contract though, silver hair with pink hair. I am a little disappointed with Xia He’s portrayal. She feels betrayed by Zhang Ling Yu’s abandonment but turns around immediately when he realises his love for her. Not entirely great communication nor relationship goals.
Lu Liang the villain in the series, is also portrayed as a victim, especially in his own family. However, it is quite hard for me to empathise with him as he takes one wrong turn after another. And worse, he blames all the issues towards his own family members (although his family members are equally despicable). He shows no remorse, only at the later part of the series upon finding the truth about his sister’s disappearance. Zhu Ge Qing, similarly holding power in arranging arrays, is also featured significantly in the early part of the series. Interesting character, but not really crucial at least in this part of the series.
Muses
There are a lot of lessons that one can take away from the series. And with adventure series, I always find it interesting to see how the youths journey through the adventure to find their ownself, and their true north.
As a kid, Zhang Chu Lan is adverse to bullying from others and always fight back. But the teachings his grandfather instill in him a kind of discipline to hide his own strength by being ordinary & ensures the shine is not him. When the critical time comes, he uses his own super power to protect himself and those he cares about.
Lu Liang puts the entire blame of his sister’s disapperance towards his family. However, he fails to realise that he is also a contributor to the incident that made her lose her sister. His remorse comes only after knowing the truth, but may be too late. Hence, any action taken will have a reaction, and some events are beyond our own control.
The elders in the various sects & family seem to want to control the legacy of their respective sects/ family. However, the actions taken are sometimes controversial with detrimental results to their own kins. Perhaps the elders should make way for the youngs to make their own decisions, going through their own trials and errors.
Never look down on an opponent. What you see may not be what you get. There are always hidden strength. When someone is pushed to the brink, they will retaliate with strength not imaginable.
Conclusion 8/10
The story is incomplete. As the stories originate from a manga which is still on-going at 6th season, the series only provides the story up to season 1. I will be looking forward to more adventures from these bunch. I am still curious of what happened to Grandfather Zhang, his ultimate leaving of the Celestial Taoism sect and his death.
Spoiler ahead: The conclusion for the series is quite the shocker, providing a closure to Lu Liang but opening up more questions on the superpower. The story arc on Lu Liang’s sister, who exchanges conscience with Duan Mu Ying who is detained by the Lu family (arising from the very idea Lu Liang came up with) resulted in subsequent events that link to Feng Bao Bao’s partly failed resurrection where she resurrects without her memory.
In the mean time, what are you waiting for? Grab the popcorn for some great adventure with dry humour. This is one of those series that will make you cackle in the middle of the night while marathoning the series.
Cheng's Musings 