Love Between Fairy and Devil (2022)

Love Between Fairy and Devil has me in a chokehold. All that happened was one day, I wanted to watch a Chinese drama and was wondering what works the actors of the 2018 Meteor Garden reboot have been up to. So I thought this one would be interesting to watch while browsing Viki, even though it’ll take me maybe 2 years to finish.

But no, I got addicted from the first episode and finished all 36 episodes within a week. It’s kind of a personal record, honestly.

I’m glad I was a little late in starting this shortly after the final episode because I’m not sure I would’ve survived week after week waiting for the next episodes to air. I was that obsessed.

(The other option is I’ve been in a drama drought, and I obviously missed watching them. Which isn’t exactly wrong.)

Love Between Fairy and Devil is an adaptation of the novel Cāng Lán Jué (苍兰诀).

Approximately 30,000 years ago, Dongfang Qingcang sacrificed his emotions to obtain Hellfire, an ancient forbidden power only one other (Yannv, the first Moon Tribe leader) has been known to gain control of. He then killed his father to become the Moon Supreme Lord and led 100,000 soldiers to wreak havoc and cause destruction, putting the three realms (Shuiyuntian, Canyan Sea, and Yunmeng Lake) in danger.

To stop him, Shuiyuntian’s first God of War (Chidi) sacrificed herself to seal the soldiers and destroyed her primordial spirit. While Dongfang Qingcang’s primordial spirit was weakened, it wasn’t destroyed, and since then, both his primordial spirit and body have been locked away in the Haotian Tower. Legend has it that only the Goddess of Xishan can stop the catastrophe if he’s resurrected, but she’s disappeared.

Thousands of years later, Xiao Lanhua, a low-ranking flower fairy working in Simeng Hall, accidentally locks herself in the same tower while attempting to intercede in the new God of War’s destiny as the immortals of Shuiyuntian work to reinforce the tower to prevent Dongfang Qingcang from breaking free of the tower and conquer the world.

Except, as we’re probably all aware or can probably guess, nothing actually goes according to plan, and shenanigans ensue.

Love Between Fairy and Devil is currently fully available for streaming on iQIYI for free with ads and Viki with the Standard Pass but is also in the process of being added to Netflix in various countries as well, including the US. There’s also an animated version currently airing on iQIYI, but it’s only available for paid viewers after the seventh episode currently.

This review is for the live-action, and I’ve personally not watched the animated one since I don’t pay for iQIYI, so I can’t make any comparisons between the two.

Everything was so very well-developed.

Love Between Fairy and Devil deserves the hype it’s been receiving because it just comes with a whole package along with an amazing soundtrack. I’ve had the opening song, Parting Love (诀爱) by Faye (Chan Wenting), on a loop along with another song from the OST, The Oath of Canglan (苍兰契) by Li Changchao. I kinda have an attachment to the latter song.

Additionally, the artwork in the opening and ending credits is absolutely beautiful, so I definitely recommend taking a chance to watch them at least once if you normally skip them!

The outfits were gorgeous, the settings were stunning, and the acting was amazing. Given that it’s a Xianxia drama and set in a fantasy world, there’s quite a bit of CGI involved, and there were a few moments that felt like it was a bit too much for my personal preferences. Or maybe it was kind of late at night, and I needed sleep/watched too many episodes. One will never know. CGI is a minor thing in the grand scheme of things.

It’s also confirmed that Love Between Fairy and Devil took years to develop (beginning around 2018, so roughly four years), and I think it absolutely shows in the entire production, even right down to the music used.

The characters all shined in their own ways.

One of the biggest things that make or break a novel for me is character development, so it’s not a surprise this would be the same case for me in other forms of media I consume. I was over the moon to find character development is a huge part of Love Between Fairy and Devil. Both the storyline and characters are detailed as hell, and everyone shined, from the main characters to the supporting characters, all the way down to the villainous characters.

The Main Leads: Dongfang Qingcang and Xiao Lanhua

I’ve had my eye on most of the Meteor Garden cast since the 2018 reboot came out, and Dylan Wang (Wang Hedi) is no exception. It’s been absolutely amazing to see Dylan’s acting growth between this one and his first role. I’m vaguely aware that he got roasted/criticized for his acting in Miss the Dragon with the constant poker face throughout the drama and zero chemistry between the leads, but I haven’t watched any of his dramas since Meteor Garden and have nothing to say, really.

But Dylan definitely understood the assignment here (and might I say he had an acting glow-up?). Dongfang Qingcang is an emotionless character, having sacrificed all of his emotions to obtain Hellfire and become a powerfully ferocious Moon Supreme Lord, so the emotionless poker face 100% works for this particular character.

With that said, though, he doesn’t keep the poker face forever, and I loved seeing the transformation his character undergoes — the subtle emotions that peek out as Xiao Lanhua breaks through his cracks* into the powerfully emotional moments. I think out of all the actors (and they all did great), Dylan Wang truly shines the most, though this may also be because I’m most familiar with his works.

*Much like the relationship in Meteor Garden, the relationship in Love Between Fairy and Devil is actually toxic; he literally tells her heartbeat, breath, and every drop of blood belongs to him. Meanwhile, Xiao Lanhua over here thinks he’s in love with her and that it’s sweet, even. Sweet summer fairy, you really should’ve high-tailed it.

I’m also relatively familiar with Yu Shuxin (Esther Yu) from her time on Youth With You and the project group THE9, though I haven’t watched any of her previous works. Yu Shuxin plays Xiao Lanhua, a low-ranking flower fairy who doesn’t know her past and had her immortal root destroyed from a mishap by her master, Simeng, and spends her days organizing and fixing Destiny Books at Arbiter Hall. Xiao Lanhua is cute but also very naive, constantly making bad decisions throughout the show, and is very much the damsel in distress I usually hate; it’s a wonder why I even like her as a character.

Quite frankly, Xiao Lanhua was annoying at the beginning and nearly every time she made a bad decision (and let’s just say there’s quite a bit; Jieli mentions she’s the biggest fool in all three realms a couple of times and it really sums up Xiao Lanhua). This really just comes down to personal preference, but Shuxin’s voicing for the character was also a little offputting initially, though a higher pitched voice does make sense after a few episodes and you get to understand Xiao Lanhua’s character a little more. She’s carefree, innocent, and optimistic, seeing the good in everyone, even the ones history considers to be the worst types, like Dongfang Qingcang. She could’ve run off plenty of times, but she doesn’t. She fits the pure-hearted trope down to a tee and is kind of like a child curious about the world.

With that said, Xiao Lanhua also has her winning moments as well, along with her own character growth. I think it was ultimately those small moments* and overall development that won me over. She might be naïve and make bad decisions all the time, but she can be pretty perceptive and ingenious as well, which we get to see a few times.

*Alternatively, it was probably Xiao Lanhua calling Dongfang Qingcang “Wooden Head” (although the literal Chinese translation was “Big Wood,” I shit you not), which only reminded me of Shancai calling Dao Mingsi “Pineapple Head” in Meteor Garden.

Both Dylan and Esther performed their parts really well, and the versatility truly shows in a couple of body swaps between Xiao Lanhua and Dongfang Qingcang, who are pretty much polar opposites of each other. It was great to see them essentially swap roles, with Dylan playing the role of the carefree fairy who suddenly finds herself in the body of this powerful immortal and Esther as the emotionless Moon Supreme Lord.

The Supporting Characters: Shangque, Jieli, Changheng, etc.

The supporting characters of Love Between Fairy and Devil won me over quickly, perhaps even more so than the main ones at times. The amount of details and backstory the writers put for some is immaculate, and there’s plenty of screen time provided. But while the supporting characters have a lot of screen time, they’re not overshadowing the main ones.

There was a good balance throughout rather than a deviation, and whenever the drama does deviate, it’s either relevant to the overall plot or enhances the drama without drawing itself out too long. Love Between Fairy and Devil does both quite well.

Jieli (Hong Xiao) is a merchant in Haoshi City who, like Xiao Lanhua, doesn’t know who her parents are or where she’s really from. She’s actually my favorite, if not one of my favorite female characters from the drama, mostly because she’s such a complicated but loveable character with many layers to her. You kind of want to hate her for her actions (as she puts it, all she cares about is surviving, which is a hard-core mood), but you also want her to live her best life because she deserves better. She’s unpredictable in all the best ways, and I could never really tell what she was up to. Even when it was obvious, I always second-guessed myself. I especially loved seeing her growing sisterly bond with Xiao Lanhua.

Shangque (Charles Lin aka Lin Bairui), Dongfang Qingcang’s lieutenant, is a dragon we meet early on when Qingcang is freed from the Haotian Tower by Xiao Lanhua and is working out his next steps while hiding from the Shuiyuntian immortals. He actually doesn’t get as much backstory as the rest of the supporting characters outside of a conversation with Jieli. He’s probably meant to just exist in the background while also being Dongfang Qingcang’s errand boy of sorts, but I really loved his relationship with the other characters, especially with Jieli, Dongfang Qingcang, and Xiao Lanhua.

(He’s such a hopeless romantic, though. It’s great seeing him and Jieli give each other the “let’s run off so Xiao Lanhua and Dongfang Qingcang could be alone more often” look.)

Xunfeng (Zhang Chenxiao) is the younger brother of Dongfang Qingcang, and while his brother was locked up away in the Haotian Tower for 30,000 years, he’s been running the Moon Tribe as its Moon Supreme Lord. He’s not terribly important enough to have a full-blown backstory written about him, but like Shangque, he plays a pretty important role in the drama to not not mention him, and we can do some inferring in the dialogue of what things were like for him. I personally loved his relationship Dongfang Qingcang, though, which like many sibling relationships, can be quite rocky but can also be a strong bond that is showcased.

Changheng (Zhang Linghe) is the new God of War who Xiao Lanhua aspires to work (after passing the Immortal Examination) for because he once saved her life. He pretty much wiggles himself into the story as part of the love triangle because love triangles are Important™, even though he’s engaged to the Goddess of Xishan, who pretty much disappeared thousands of years ago. I do love his character development, though, View Spoiler »and the brotherly bond he forms with Dongfang Qingcang while they’re meddling around in Yunmeng Lake when he reincarnates as a mortal named Xiao Run, which plays an important role later in the drama. « Hide Spoiler

Danyin (Wang Yueyi) is the daughter of Li Yuan and a fairy who gives serious “bully who meddles with relationships” vibes the moment we meet her because she hates that Changheng is trying very hard to be low-key but obviously crushing on Xiao Lanhua. But Danyin also stands as a character of her own, and I truly love that the writers decided not to let her just be there for the sole purpose of being a bully to Xiao Lanhua; she actually turns out to be pretty supportive at times as well. It’s a pleasant yet welcoming surprise, and I have to stan strong female relationships here. View Spoiler »I do hate that she gets killed so many times in the drama, though. Bully she may be at first, but dying brutally, she does not deserve. « Hide Spoiler

The Villainous Ones

The best villains are those who come with the whole nine yards of charming best pal characters who are secretly cunning and plotting one or two steps ahead of everyone else. At the same time, they have a solid backstory that shows their drive and ambition that led to them where they are, so it makes hating them somewhat difficult.

Love Between Fairy and Devil definitely delivered in the best villainous characters department with Rong Hao (Xu Haiqiao), who is revealed early on to have his own agenda since Chidi sacrificed herself. As her only apprentice, all he wants to do is get her back no matter what it takes, and I think Rong Hao’s story is where the drama strikes a good balance when deviating from the main storyline that I mentioned earlier.

He’s that charming best pal, the one who seems like he’s helping everyone, but he’s actually one or two steps ahead of everyone else, meticulously planning things to his advantage and being an all-around double agent. Even while I did cheer the other characters on, I found Rong Hao the most fascinating character for a good portion of the drama. Xiao Lanhua’s oopsies works to his advantage because, after all, who’s the perfect person to put all the blame on if not the same person history already makes out to be the villain?

There’s also an interesting conversation in an early episode of Love Between Fairy and Devil that Dongfang Qingcang has with Xiao Lanhua, which gives very strong “history is written by the victors” energy that I feel it’s important to mention here. It’s not the only conversation they have either because he asks her in a later episode, “You don’t want Shuiyuntian to suffer, but what about the pain of our ancestors when they were betrayed and the humiliation of the people of Cangyan Sea?” It’s pretty parallel to quite a few instances throughout history regarding the treatment of marginalized groups, but that’s an entirely different conversation.

Love Between Fairy and Devil explores this a bit throughout the drama as we learn the people of Shuiyuntian and Canyan Sea have been at war with each other for thousands of years, and they continuously blame each other for those both recent and historical actions.

Thoughts on the Ending and Overall

There was closure for many of the major plot points, which I really liked, but I personally felt the ending was rushed. I won’t go into much detail here since this review is already long, and I also don’t want to spoil it, but it felt like the writers originally wanted to have one end but then later settled on the actual one we do get; others might feel differently, though. I think it’s also a good thing to keep in mind that I haven’t read the book itself by Jiu Lu Fei Xiang (九鹭非香), so perhaps I might feel a lot different had I read it because I’d likely have a different interpretation and better understanding in some of the choices.

(Casual moment of existential crisis because I hated going to Chinese school and stopped young, so my reading skills is rusty with my writing skills even more rustier. I’m probably missing out on some excellent novels that have been adapted to dramas.)

Overall, though, there’s never a dull moment in Love Between Fairy and Devil; this is a fast-paced drama that will hook you from the moment you start all the way until the very end with its addicting storyline that builds on each episode. Like any good drama, it’ll make you feel all the emotions the characters are going through but will also have moments that are funny and memorable. The immaculate casting, music choices, and CGI effects utilized throughout enhance the drama further, so I do recommend giving this a try if it piques your interest.