Heaven Official's Blessing//TGCF: Novel & Manhua Review - PART FIVE!
Added 2022-08-29 13:00:10 +0000 UTCIn today's novel reaction, we look at Chapters 24-28 of the Web Serialization, or Part 9 in the English translation, and we're in the HEART of the BanYue Arc!
San Lang is both menacing to all ghosts and incredibly dashing with his Xie Lian, Fu Yao is a fire-wielding diva, BanYue is both a threat and a smol bean, and Xie Lian reveals EVEN MORE TRAUMA in his self-sacrificing backstory that we're getting crumbs of...San Lang, hug this poor man while you're fighting with him bridal style!
Thank you for watching with me and for all the support!
Comments
That’s a very good commentary about the face in the ground and what defines our “humanity!” There’s definitely something in there I’ll want to bring up in a future discussion! But yes, how “monsters” are defined and how humanity plays a part in it all…it’s so interesting! I do love how MXTX is tackling similar concepts through different means; yes, her writing is so good! I agree; the manhua makes Ke Mo threatening but reminds us he was HUMAN, just a giant. The donghua makes him a bit cartoonish for me, too! And I agree, MORE BUN-LIAN please! His soldier look was great in the manhua, too! Ooohhhh, I hadn’t considered the jumping parallels with SL and XL! I’ll have to bring that up as well, but that’s great! :) And yes! “SHUT UP” is an appropriate yelling for that entire scene – I can’t wait to hopefully hear the audio drama of it, toooooo! Really?! No one’s reacted past Volume 1?! The willpower must be great, but I can’t wait that long, hahaa! At least after reading the novel, I’ll have something to look forward to with the donghua and audio drama and live action (so many versions)! I’m so ready!! But thank you for the kind words and comment and holding back those spoilers! :) I SO appreciate it!
Romaniablack
2022-09-05 14:31:46 +0000 UTCI want to talk about the scene with the face in the ground. Because oh boy, is it a doozy. I feel like it hits differently in the novel compared to the donghua. It’s almost a commentary on the loss of humanity/what makes us human. Just as I mentioned about Xiao Ying, the mortals are fighting to stay alive and find meaning in their lives, and in their deaths. The face in the ground is almost in denial of what he’s become, but he believes it is what he had to do in order to survive and go home. And you almost feel bad for the face in the ground, of what it’s become, and, afterwards, desperately shouting that it’s still human despite having killed someone with their abnormally long tongue. It brings up the question: are we still human if we become monsters in the face of our mortality? It kind of goes hand-in-hand with the idea that you’ve mentioned before that (and I’m paraphrasing here) there’s possibly good in the evil and, in turn, evil in the good. These ghosts (Xuan Ji, Ban Yue, face in the ground, Ke Mo) all were humans once, and their downfalls were being human. Not that we should ignore all the murder and stuff, some of the ghosts did do horrible things that are unforgivable, but it just encapsulate that, like the imperfect humans we are, they made mistakes and paid with their lives. Xuan Ji - loving someone to the point of their own demise. Face - wanting to return home/survive even if he has to sacrifice others to do so. Ban Yue - wanting to save the common people even if it means betraying those who trusted in her. Ke Mo - protecting his people by whatever means necessary, even if it ends in the destruction of both parties. We go back to the theme of things not being so black and white, which we’ve also seen in Mo Dao Zu Shi. But I think MXTX does such a good way in making the theme appear differently within the two stories. We saw it through rumors in mdzs, while here we’re seeing it play out in the ghosts and gods way of seeing/thinking. It’s just…brilliant. I love mxtx’s writing. Onto more technical notes, I think differences of Kemo’s designs are the funniest. Because when I got to this part in the novel, the donghua version is what I expected and closest to the novel’s description. BUT I prefer how the manhua portrays him visually. The donghua ver. just makes him feel very cartoonish (which hello it is a cartoon) but I just find it makes it hard to take him seriously. While the manhua version sort of meshes better with the darker tones of the arc. Speaking of the manhua art, I LOOOOOOOVE soldier Xie Lian. I especially love when his hair is up in a little bun. It’s adorableeeee. We need more Bun-Lian. The pit scene was probably my most anticipated scene all across each adaptation. When I first read the novel, the donghua was only on like episode 3, so I had to wait weeks for the episode to come out. But it was everything I hoped it would be!!! (You know minus the weird plagiarism scene.) I love the parallel of how San Lang caught Xie Lian, just as Xie Lian caught him as a child. Watching it animated made me so emotional, I literally screamed “SHUT UPPPP” the whole time XDDDD When the audio drama comes back, I just know it’ll be chefs kisses. We’re getting closer and closer to uncharted territories. I’m so excited. In other reviews/reactions, no one has made it past the s1 donghua. Volume 2 is a good one, very fun. I’ve had to hold back for spoilers, but I’m jittering out of my seat!!! (I’ll still be patient don’t worry.) Anyways, looking forward to the next reaction!!
Kixkay
2022-09-03 15:42:01 +0000 UTCHahahaha, Shameless while unaware of your feelings is pretty accurate in this! :) And ah, I'm going to avoid any spoilers even if it's something the story itself doesn't bring up until the very end, so thank you for not spoiling! :) Thanks so much for the comment!
Romaniablack
2022-08-30 11:49:28 +0000 UTCHere we begin that eternal dance of being shameless while unaware of your feelings and starting to shy away when you start to come to realization! Also, exploring your feelings amidst the most bloody chaos and ignoring everyone else. Speaking of ghosts being stuck within their resentment and obsessions - so very true, so very true! Of course, it can be said not only of our antagonists. And, as for "where San Lang has been"... some part of your question can linger on after reading all the story, and there is somewhat of a factual answer to it in one of MXTX's interviews, but I believe we can deduce it out ourselves given the info from 1st volume alone. Interviews are still nice to read after, too.
Einery
2022-08-30 10:13:30 +0000 UTCOoooh, MORE horror-esque? INTERESTING! I’m game! I like that; yeah, Xie Lian’s been around long enough to know that the world isn’t so “simple” as good vs. evil – brings me back to San Lang talking about the Emperor and XL saying, “That’s a child’s logic.” Interesting tie back to that! Yes, BanYue and Ke Mo’s parallels as characters is indeed interesting! There was a comment that said BanYue is like Batman and I agree! And ugh, yes, MXTX has so many lines that seem so little and “throwaway” and then they cut SO DEEP. And yes, let’s all stage an intervention with Xie Lian, please! Our bean needs to love himself and have more self-worth! San Lang certainly is not on board with anyone touching his precious Prince. And his self-loathing reaches the point to where he continues to cook, even when he knows that it’s awful, our poor divine bean! The Sinner’s Pit as romantic is basically the type of couple HuaLian is – into the strange things, but in love with one another to the point of domesticity that is pure sugar…it’s wild! But like you said, there’s that spice, too – that Adam’s apple - I’m eager to see how that develops as the story goes! :) And I want to see them tango now!! In the next section, we’ll get the 2,000 soldiers confirmed, so there’s that at least. :) Ohhhh, that makes sense that as a puppet, Zhao wouldn’t register! Good point! Fu Yao doesn’t seem to want to sit through a reunion of BanYue and Xie Lian, but he certainly doesn’t have a problem getting it to where it can happen, hahaha! I will HAVE to talk about Xie Lian, Wei WuXian, and San Lang alongside Jack Sparrow because the compass gives such vibes! I LOVE IT! :) The description of BanYue’s body hurt, but that paragraph where we see the cycle of Xie Lian’s experiences was the ultimate deep cut: He tried to make friends and help people, fails miserably, then heals his body and soul what he can, and moves on, possibly forgetting those he tried to forge a bond with. It’s absolutely GUTTING and so tragic. That passage really cut to my core with Xie Lian’s character. And yes, the animals all bow to San Lang or avoid him entirely – nice little bits of foreshadowing and clues for him being Hua Cheng. And yesss, the last part is up next and Season 2’s trailer! :) I can’t believe we’re already to the end of volume one but I’m SO excited to be getting into volume 2! Thank you for the comment and kind words! :)
Romaniablack
2022-08-30 05:23:51 +0000 UTCThank you for the kind words and comment! And HA! A honeymoon in a blood-soaked mystery sounds…exactly like something they’d be into! XD These gremlins! If I hadn’t already seen the donghua, I feel Zhao wouldn’t have been nearly as suspicious – it makes me excited to get into the novel post-donghua, to see if there are any reveals that will be more surprising or seem more obvious when we see the donghua or live action afterwards! Hahaha!! Yessss, if Xie Lian had gone the other way….that might have been an issue! “Ghostly middle leg” – DYING! XD Ahahahaha! It does make sense that SL wants to revere and worship his XL, but here they are in this “dirty” pit – I mean, SL is the one who made it dirty, though, right? :P That’s actually a REALLY good point that Xie Lian wouldn’t know the Heimlich because he was sheltered as royalty – I’ll have to bring that up! :) I LOVE the game endings and how you correspond them to the characters! :) poor Nan Feng, though, getting stuck with the subplots and not being able to advance in the actual plot of the game! That’s so great! ^^ And oh, the novel’s full of cliffhangers, too? LOVELY!! Hahaha, thank you for the heads up and the kind words and comment! :)
Romaniablack
2022-08-30 05:02:28 +0000 UTCI am ALL here for the differing couple dynamics! :D That is an interesting point that HC may feel just as bad about himself as XL – they just need each other! :3 And yesssss, it’s going to be fun to read the novel and then go back and re-see things in the donghua and live action and be able to notice those little foreshadowing crumbs! MXTX loves them some parallels and I’m really excited to get more into that as we go deeper into the novel! :) Oohhhh, that timeline about BanYue does make a LOT more sense, now you point that out! Thank you! That’s also REALLY sad, because it means that while the battle was breaking out and BanYue died…XL had went on his way and left the whole situation alone. :’( And a good point about the ghosts not being appeased because Yong-an is gone. BanYue feeling excitement when seeing XL is so precious! That’s an interesting theory about XL, too – I’m excited to see what more we get with that as we go throughout the novel! His “adventures” are so insane and tragic! I DO love that the timeline is going to get “filled” in as we go! Whiteboard-kun is going to have FUNNNN I’m sure! :) And yes! HC makes all animals quake in fear. I love it! Thank you for the comment – I’m SO excited to dive into the last two sections for next week…and for that Season 2 trailer! :)
Romaniablack
2022-08-29 22:53:30 +0000 UTCTian Guan Ci Fu novel is definitely more horroresque than Mo Xiang Tong Xiu's other works. Interesting glimpse into Xie Lian's character with how he does see the cruelty within San Lang, but he still chooses to be friends with him. Feel like it shows Xie Lian really doesn't see the world as black and white but rather as shades of grey. Ke Mo being bullied when he was younger I always find an interesting parallel with Ban Yue. He trained to make himself physically stronger, and she trained with spiritual powers. Mo Xiang Tong Xiu is so good at those seemingly throwaway lines that actually have *so* much meaning to them. Onboard with staging an intervention for Xie Lian and his self-sacrificing nature! Your comment about San Lang offering himself as tribute made me think of The Hunger Games 😂 Manhua helps make Ban Yue look so much more badass. And paired with Ke Mo likening her to a little wolf definitely adds a much more dangerous hint to her character. How romantic can you make the Sinner's Pit? Donghua I'd say is at an 8/9 out of 10. Novel just goes off the scale! 😍 And with a hint of spice on Xie Lian feeling him up. I bet you weren't expecting this to be so humorous (especially in a place called the Sinner's Pit). Xie Lian is uncaring if it's him getting hurting/them trying to kill him. But Ke Mo wanted to kill the mortals *and* San Lang so now angry Momma Bear is coming out. Hualian really are like the Addams'. Now I need that little dance fight with them and Ke Mo set to the music of one of Gomez and Morticia's tangos. The donghua changed it to it being the opposite for the numbers of soldiers. Pei Xiu's commander only gave him 2000 soldiers to attack the city in the donghua. Perhaps this was the donghua's way to make us feel more sympathy towards Pei Xiu, as with everything else I feel like we the audience would feel even more negatively about him if he had Ban Yue open the gates and the Yong'An were the ones that outnumbered the Banyue people. Xie Lian trying to work out what's actually going on feels like he's been given a Maths equation that is missing information that's needed to solve it. In this case the missing information is the inclusion of Pei Xiu on this giant chessboard of people and events. And with having seen the donghua we know technically there are four down in the Pit before Ban Yue arrives: Ke Mo, Xie Lian, San Lang, and A-Zhao. But as it says in the novel, San Lang doesn't register as 'people', and as A-Zhao is only Pei Xiu's puppet he too wouldn't register for Ban Yue. "paused at the neck" Xie Lian really has a fascination with San Lang's Adam's apple...😂🥵 Fu Yao punching out Ke Mo never fails to make me laugh. It's almost sweet because Ke Mo's grudge against Ban Yue would prevent Xie Lian and her having a proper reunion. If the General is unconscious though then they don't have that to worry about! 😂 Xie Lian travelling by broken compass gives me serious Captain Jack Sparrow vibes 🤣 But in all seriousness Xie Lian relying on a compass for directing him is something that could be linked to the status of Crown Prince that he was born into. Less affluent people, in those times, would have learnt to travel by the direction of the sun and stars. If Xie Lian had ever been taught this method instead of how to read and travel by compass, then he'd have known simply by the position of the sun that he wasn't heading south. "As expected" Xie Lian is more than aware his cooking is off-the-scale it's so bad, but he. still. attempts. to. cook! Also can someone teach this god proper first aid. Running laps while dangling a child by their ankle I don't think is the most effective way of helping a child throw up the contents of their stomach. The description of Ban Yue's starved body cuts deep. Novel makes this heart-wrenching. Manhua makes the moment of 'General' Hua's death more on the hilarious side. Mo Xiang Tong Xiu really went "how much pain am I going to add to my MC?" and then dumped the entire bottle in. I don't know what hurts more, how long it took him to recover; or the fact that he just tried to brush it off, forget about it and move on with his life as if that segment never even occurred. I love the snakes reacting in a similar way to San Lang as the wolves did to Hua Cheng during Hualian's walk up Yu Jun mountain. Just adding on the hints about San Lang's true identity. That cliffie is a mean one. Though can't wait for the final video for Volume 1! You know we don't mind one bit if it'll be a longer part. And yay for Season 2 trailer reaction!!! 😍
Anime Annie
2022-08-29 15:38:23 +0000 UTCThanks for the reaction! Yes, everyone down the sinner's pit where Xie Lian and Hua Cheng had their first date or I'd say their honeymoon trip since they just got married last arc! Actually, back when the story was still ongoing, Zhao and Tian Sheng are equally sus for readers since they got more screen time than everyone else in the caravan put together. Now we know Zhao is the culprit because of the donghua, but it's quite funny if one reads the book first. It's a nice thing Xie Lian choose to feel up Hua Cheng's chest up until he reaches that Adam's apple. Given him the same amount of time but the opposite direction, things may get really awkward if our cinnamon roll grabs by accident that ghostly middle leg…… You have to forgive Xie Lian for his actions when Ban Yue chokes on his food, our boy ascended at age 17 as a royalty, don't think his textbooks would include the Heimlich Manoeuvre…… I don't think Hua Cheng's really someone with little patience since he can stay up all night only to admire his god being asleep, but he must be very pissed that his god who should be worshiped with all the flowers in the world, is now stuck down some dirty pit with dead bodies of ghost lying around. If this whole arc is a game, Fu Yao will be the player satisfied with the normal ending while Xie Lian being the player that connects dots and is trying at all cost for a true ending. And Hua Cheng will be the hacker that cracks the source code of the game, makes his character super strong and just kills everything off asap before going into Xie Lian's room because his god called 5 minutes ago and asked him to bring in some cola and popcorn when he's finished the game. BTW, Nan Feng is the player that got stuck with some subplots of the game and never unlocked all of the storyline. Snakes are raining down once again……just get used to it, the novel is filled with this kind of cliffhangers, until next week! And again, thanks for all the hard work!
sqqlbh1314
2022-08-29 15:37:08 +0000 UTCevery MXTX couple has a different dynamic I can tell you that 😅 HC thinks pretty lowly of himself - that can also be seen on the oxcart when he talks about HC, that he wasn't nice when alive 'going with the flow' lmaooo the subtle reveal of Zhao's strength is one of the best parts of tgcf - MXTX masterfully writes things that with hindsight reveal major things 👀 all the parallels!! PeiJr + Banyue/Pei Ming + Xuanji Banyue/Kemo and many many more later on in the books (I think that's just one of tgcf main elements) also the battle when Banyue was 10 after which she disappeared, is probably the one where XL 'died' + XL said that he was recovering for several years so most probably around the time when he was healed and continued on his way is the moment when the war in Banyue broke out (when Banyue was 15/16) I don't think the ghosts would ever be appeased if they need to consume Yong'ans to let go of resentment - since XL mentioned that Yong'an kingdom is long gone I love the difference in Banyue's attitude! at first her eyes are dull and lifeless, but after she sees XL she's full of life I'd say that XL didn't block out his memories - my theory is that he just doesn't want to bring it out on his own but when someone else talks about it he answers questions XL goes south - broken compass led him north - he's recruited into the army - dies in battle - floats down the river - is recovering for years - continues south = just a normal XL adventure! we're gonna keep updating the XL adventure timeline in the future! the snakes being terrified of HC is a nice callback to the wolves in the bridegroom arc Pei Jr reveal next up! the rest of the Banyue backstory! season 2 trailer!
Peichuu
2022-08-29 14:59:44 +0000 UTC
