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"Doupo Cangqiong: Nian Fan" follows the aftermath of events in the Yun Lan Sect and is essentially setting up as the conclusion. It begins with the Jia Nan Academy arc, where Xiao Yan seeks his second Heavenly Flame: the Fallen Heart Flame. This arc serves as a buildup to his revenge against Yun Shan and the Yun Lan Sect.

This is where everything starts to fall apart. After the second Yun Lan Sect arc—which inevitably takes place in Doupo Cangqiong: Nian Fan—the show begins to decline, especially if you've read even small parts of the Doupo Cangqiong novel or watched one of those AI-voiced summaries ... on YouTube.

The show basically turns into a Naruto/ Bleach-style anime where nearly every episode revolves around a battle. Old side characters are power-crept into irrelevance. Dou Huang characters are essentially extinct, and even random young adult NPCs end up stronger than Hai Po Dong. The cultivation speed becomes absurdly fast—everyone and their mother levels up multiple times within a year or less. Along with that, the pacing becomes extremely rushed. Some battles are glossed over or heavily shortened. Human-to-human, emotionally important dialogues from earlier seasons are either deleted or trimmed down so much that they lose all meaning.

Emotional scenes are also cut short to make room for more battles. How can you tell? Because emotional soundtracks that were frequently used in the past are practically never played anymore—those types of scenes no longer exist. You're essentially hearing the same four or five battle-themed tracks in every episode.

The only real improvements are in the special effects and animation, which have significantly improved—no denying that.

Also, for those rooting for a particular girl: if her name isn't Xiao Xun'er, she has no chance. The directors and writers have made it very clear in recent episodes (~episode 143 and beyond) who they're backing and who they aren’t.

Maybe the sudden shift is due to an attempt to appeal to a younger audience with a shorter attention span. But I truly cherished the emotional scenes from past seasons—they gave weight to the fights. Back then, even advancing a single star felt meaningful. I’m giving this show a fair 7/10 because early Doupo Cangqiong genuinely meant something to me. I think many longtime fans who followed the story through to Xiao Yan’s fight with Nalan Yanran would agree—it was a great show, and we tuned in every week. Nowadays I am just hoping they won't butcher the ending like they did it to Douluo Dalu.

Xiao Yan from BTTH is now a Pokemon trainer is basically what this show is about. The beginning is a bit rushed and hectic so you have to figure out why the main character Chu Mu went from escaping from assassins to playing Survivor (except Jeff Probst is evil this time) on your own.

We have three arcs in this season. Survivor Island, Survivor island 2.0 (yes I am serious), and escaping from the NIghttime Demon Palace. All of arcs have filled with combat and character development is all on the pokemons. Minor characters sometimes aren't even properly introduced (e.g. there is a girl in Survivor ... Island 2.0 whose name never got revealed but the MC knows her). There is also practically no soundtracks

It is hinted that we going to the Soul Hall in the next season, if we will even get that. I suspect that's when they are going to explain why the Chu family was targeted in the beginning and the relationship with his mother is gonna be explained.

Incredibly historically inaccurate is how I'd criticize this anime. Servants chooses when to act like servants. Don't want to bow to the emperor today? Then don't. Want to talk back to your superiors and not get caned? Hell yeah! Want to commit a crime in the palace and possibly face the death sentence? Do it, who cares? How about a consort/concubine telling the emperor in front of him about her old love? Punishment? Nope, let me pat you on the back instead. It's not like you entered the palace to produce heirs or anything.

What about the eunuchs? More like bishounen ninjas is how they ... are. You wouldn't even be able to tell they still have their jewels in tact if they show didn't tell you they are eunuchs. The only people who practices palace rules are the NPCs.

Let's just move on to the actual story review before I lose my mind and getting caught up with all the historical inaccuracies.

The story itself isn't bad, but starts really slow and almost every conflict is episodic with an obvious closure at the end and therefore leaves you with no tension. Every episode, we find out more and more about the history of the Raven Consort as well as the current and past dynasty. This is how the show develops their world and I think that part was what kept me watching. I guess the slow progression between the Raven Consort and Emperor also had me wanting more, but the ending leaves you hanging. It isn't a cliffhanger, but I expect season two to focus more on the Emperor and Raven Consort.

Next is the music, there is barely any background music in the show which made a lot of important scenes feel souless and unexciting. Speaking of, the English dub wasn't bad. The EN voices were good, but I don't think the young emperor's EN VA was very experience because his line deliveries didn't seem to match the scene a lot of the times. On the contrary, the JP VA for the emperor is very experienced but I don't think his voice was the best for the role.

Shouxue's VA in EN and JP were good. I ended up choosing the JP voiceovers at the end because they tried to use some Chinese honourifics that were absent in the EN one which made it easy to distinguish ranks.

The artstyle is probably what attracted the viewers and it attracted me too, but it alone just wasn't enough to cover all the other flaws. The visuals are pretty neat too, but again without good music it can only go so far.

Show is mid (6.5/10), but I am willing to give a shot at a second season if they get one. But better actually focus on more on the Emperor and Raven Consort rather than NPC problems.

"Why are they wasting time on a remake?" is what a lot of us thought when this got announced, myself included. But I assure you, this wasn't a complete waste of time because this remake does reveal a bit of Yao Chen that didn't get revealed in the original season one.

This remake also probably served to remind us Xun'er exists in this harem and her terrifying power. Do note that this by itself won't serve a full introduction to the series, so you probably will have to endure the original season one regardless or look up a few facts if you get confused in ... future season.

There is an ending sequence in the last episode that you probably shouldn't skip if you are one of those people who likes to skip all OP/ED. I usually skip every one of these OP/ED, but the ED of episode 3 is somewhat important if you are transitioning straight into season 2.

Overall, very enjoyable.

PS: I am upset that my 雅妃姐姐 didn't get an introduction like she did in the original. Justice for 雅妃姐姐!

The first episode has an absurd amount of information to absorb and they don't tone it down. This show definitely takes patience to sit through. But each subsequent episode slowly breaks down all the confusing stuff in episode one, so you won't be completely overwhelmed.

The main female lead: Tu Li, is awesome. If this was a game, I definitely main her. She isn't weak, has an ambitious personality, and all around skilled. The male lead feels a bit of a Mary Sue, but this season barely reveals anything about him, so i will reserve my opinion.

I would say the elder dynamic is very ... interesting. It's a typical story writing to have rival families fight amongst each other in these Chinese anime, but it never gets old. I am definitely on team Elder Feng if you know what I mean!

The visuals are honestly stunning and I am pretty sure most people watched the series because of it. Everything is gorgeous and is probably what kept me going despite the confusing story. Man, why I can't I be as pretty as the people in this show?

The first few episodes were hard to get through because they seem so out of place; but, let me assure you, once you get through the earlier episodes, this anime is a true gem. It is even better than a lot of the Japanese counterparts like "My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!". In fact, it's even better than that.

There is not a huge reverse harem where every hot guy is immediately in love with the main protagonist. The reverse harem were present in the beginning of the show, which is why I said it was so difficult to get through ... the earlier episodes. But the cast pretty much disappears towards the end.

Each episode we see the two main protagonist fight verbally or even physically, but slowly but surely the male cold protagonist warms up to the charms and personality of the female protagonist.

A lot of people found the opening song hilarious because its just so out of place. It wasn't my kind of humor so I skip the opening like every anime.

Sound was actually quite good and for all the Cantonese speaking people out there, there is apparently even a dub that I found out later and the voice was actually quite decent (at least for the female protagonist)

It's honestly a shame there is no season two for this incredible anime, maybe if it was rerun again with the "isekai" element, it could sell better in today's anime climate.

The story is slow-paced, like really slow-paced. It takes a lot of patience to get through the earlier episodes because the early episodes is more like slice of life than the combat show you are expecting.

Even then the earlier episodes are very confusing since you have no idea why they are fighting other than knowing the parents of the protagonists are held hostage for some unknown reason.

If you are able to get past the boring episodes, the rest of the show is actually alright. To summarize it, it would be like an adventure party anime. Some of the lore in the show confuses me and ... the ranking system is also not clearly structured to me and I don't think they ever clarified it.

Music was non-existent and the animation was inconsistent a few times (like background characters disappearing in different scenes). Main character(s) were not unlikeable, so there's that.

Season one ends with a huge cliffhanger and you pretty much have to watch the subsequent OVA to understand the conclusion being moving onto season two.

They weren't kidding when they said the final agreement was gonna be 3 years later because that's how long the producers made us wait since season 1.

No time is wasted in this season, there is action almost every episode and gets you wanting to watch the next episode to find out what conflict lies ahead. Every human emotion is invoked upon you, betrayal, love, powerlessness, sacrifices, surprises, and many more. I won't spoil it, but this season isn't just about the final fight between Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran.

Almost every other "important" character from previous seasons gets a spotlight be it my man ... Hai BoDong or my girl YunYun. This season will make you love and understand the characters even more.

The animation was just incredible. What I love about the animation the most in this show is how the animators used facial expressions to communicate a lot of feelings. Sometimes there is no dialogue and you just know what they are saying based on body language. It helps a lot if you watched the previous movies and specials as well since there were A LOT of hidden messages that you won't pick up if you watch it only once. But this is getting into spoiler territory...

The music is timed perfectly and that it makes every scene just emotionally stronger - I am looking at you episode 13. The voice acting was fantastic. You could feel the pain, sorrow, anger, and love in many characters' voice. The voices also fit really well with the characters.

I can't wait for another 3 years until the next season (/s)!

There are no spoilers in this review.

Before you watch Season Three, it is extremely important that you watch Season Two's Special involving Hai Bo Dong and Medsua Queen to understand everything in this season. While I personally got away without watching the history of Hai Bo Dong and Medusa Queen, I regretted deeply in Season Five and hence why I am writing this review to warn you all.

You learned vaguely there was some bad blood between the Hai Bo Dong and Medusa in Season Two and while this Season doesn't pursue any of it, learning their past will completely change your perspective on Medusa ... Queen and her actions in this season.

In fact it will even make you appreciate Hai Bo Dong as a character in subsequent season and there are MANY scenes in future seasons that make reference to the Season Two Special.This season also marks a major growth arc for Xiao Yan. But these alone are just the surface of Season Three, want to find out more? Watch it yourself, but you probably already did that because you got hooked from Season Two.

Season Three is packed with action, emotion, and conflict you won't fully appreciate until you get deeper in the story. The music timing in every one of those major scene is masterfully done and will leave a permanent memory in your mind. In fact I am sure you will be searching it up on Youtube over and over again because of how impactful it is. The CGI on character's expressions are also very detailed and often replaces verbal exchanges between characters. I enjoy when the writers don't treat the viewers like idiots and let us interpret the scenes based on expressions.

I originally thought this season was exceptionally average just like the rest, but I think I am gonna bump my rating up after coming back from the future seasons.

This anime was quite a fresh breathe of air. If you are into gender bender this show is just for you. There is no magic or anything. What we have here are fraternal twins swapping lives and each trying to solve each other's weaknesses. I love the relationship between the brother and sister. Also for once, the sister is the older one, unlike the usually "onii-chan" cliches.

The other thing the show deals is the reality of the entertainment industry. Lots of bribing, scheming, and bullshit are portrayed well in this show. There is also even a romantic subplot for you too root for.

The ... animation wasn't very good, but Chinese anime are improving. The visuals are sparkling. The songs are okay, take it as you will. Finally, there is even hint of a season 2 in the ending too.