Love Game in Eastern Fantasy was a wild ride as we followed the female lead, Ling Miaomiao, on her quest to “capture” the male lead’s heart. Although it does have elements of a typical Xuanhuan, its character development, the caliber of acting, and attention to small details help it stand out from others in its genre. Objectively speaking, the drama did fall short as it neared the end. But this really depends on how you decide to interpret the ending. After spending some time watching close analyses of the ending and parts of the drama on Chinese social media, I have a much greater appreciation for why the drama ended the way it did. Subjectively speaking, this was a cute and emotional drama that filled my heart to the brim with warmth. You're in luck if you watched Moonlight and enjoyed Ding Yuxi and Yu Shuxin’s chemistry there.

Adapted from the extremely popular novel “The Guide to Capturing a Black Lotus”, the female lead is whisked into the book of her favorite author after expressing her disappointment in it. The world is one home to both humans and demons, but demon hunters diminish the possibility of coexistence between these two species. Aside from her initial side quests, Ling Miaomiao’s main goal is to reach 100% affinity/love of the ML, Mu Ziqi’s heart. Ling Miaomiao’s personality is the polar opposite of Lin Yu, the character she becomes in the book. Lin Yu is the third female lead, cunning and in love with the book’s male lead, Liu Fuyi. Ling Miaomiao’s bubbly personality is what has drawn so many people into this drama, as with her cute and loving dynamics with Mu Ziqi. Originally only caring about his “A’jie” (older sister Mu Yao), Mu Ziqi develops a strong connection with Miaomiao, who changes his worldview that there are other people out in the world who care about him.

The romance between the leads is not an “in your face” love story, but shows such depth that allows their bond to develop organically over time. As Miaomiao and Ziqi face numerous challenges together, their connection strengthens with mutual respect, trust and compassion. I will warn you that there are no outright kiss scenes, and have noticed this to be a complaint of many viewers. While an additional kiss scene may have been favorable, I do understand this approach to romance. By not relying on overt physical expressions of love, LGIEF is able to focus more on emotional intimacy and the growth of the leads’ affection for one another. (If you do want to kiss scenes, though, go watch Moonlight!)

The casting for this drama could not have been better. In fact, I think it was perfect. When the casting for this drama was first announced, so many OG novel fans expressed their disappointment on Chinese social media, demanding a “better” casting. Many of these fans have taken back their words, and understandably so. Having read around 20 chapters of the novel, the drama surprisingly sticks to many elements of the original book, down to the costumes. As noted before, the attention to detail in this drama is remarkable (and I will create a list near the end of the review). Each character has their own distinct style that complements their personality. Ling Miaomiao’s hair is filled with cute little flowers and tassels, while Mu Yao’s simpler yet elegant hair supports her role as an older sister figure. The costumes are designed by Yi Xiaoya, who also worked on Love You Seven Times and LFBAD.

Yu Shuxin and Ding Yuxi really brought Ling Miaomiao and Mu Ziqi to life. Esther’s naturally bubbly personality shines through in Miaomiao’s character. The naturalness in Miaomiao’s cuteness showcases Yu Shuxin’s talent in bringing the character to life with authenticity and charm. Her portrayal of Miaomiao makes the FL very loveable and captures the essence of someone who radiates positivity without forcing it in her acting. On the other hand, there is absolutely no better actor than Ding Yuxi for Mu Sheng, who displayed a perfect balance between his aloofness and growing warmth. His embodiment of Ziqi (especially through his eyes, the emotions in his eyes!) really showcases the internal struggle of a character who begins as emotionally distant but slowly opens up to love and connecting with others. His overprotectiveness of his sister is a result of him being constantly suspicious of others’ intentions, and it’s so fun watching the relationship strengthen between him and Liu Fuyi. The chemistry between the leads is one of the strongest I have seen, and both leads exhibit so many emotions through their eyes alone. (And not to mention the eye candy) – There was a scene of Ziqi where it looked like he came straight out of a manga. As usual, Yu Shuxin dubbed her own character. I personally don’t have an issue with her voice, but as some do, I will put that caution out there. For me, Yu Shuxin’s voice perfectly embodies that of a bubbly girl. Ding Yuxi’s voice is dubbed by someone else, but there's an Easter egg at the very end. While the drama could have used DYX's original voice, they chose to use a voice actor whose voice was deeper and more mysterious, capturing the "Black Lotus" personality.

I couldn’t feel the same level of chemistry with the second leads. Their relationship was cute but felt flat throughout a lot of the story. It would have been more preferable for a lot of viewers if more portions of the later episodes were allocated to the main leads instead of the second leads. However, I do appreciate the quality of Zhu Xudan’s acting. She’s been an amazing actress for years and is finally getting the recognition she deserves for her role as Mu Yao. Yang Shize did a great job portraying Liu Fuyi, a mysterious man who later proved to have a complicated backstory. As for the other supporting characters, their additions to the drama added much more nuance and excitement to the story. Cui Cui (bamboo demon) is the cutest kid ever, and displays both courage and loyalty as a young demon. Everyone’s acceptance of him into the “friend group” also helped Ziqi to eventually embrace his true identity. The backstory of Ziqi’s parents, a love story mixed with tragedy and devotion, also added depth to the person he became. We are given an “ending” to most of the characters, depending on how you define closure.

Additionally, the production of the drama was phenomenal and was one of the many reasons for its huge success. The CGI effects elevated the Xuanxuan experience, immersing the viewer into the otherworldly setting. The visual effects were seamlessly integrated into the many battle scenes, magical moments, and beautiful scenery. Even the little dust demons who made up each percentage of Ziqi’s affection towards Miaomiao were cute and visually appealing. The novel use of the pixelated background for the ending of each episode also led to the new Chinese trend of making Miaomiao and Ziqi out of “perler beads”. The drama team took viewers’ wishes into account during production, eventually buying the rights to the song “Moonlight Thoughts”, a song popularly used for historical reels on Chinese social media (and, to fans’ delight, created an MV with the leads and a few supporting cast!) And can we talk about the demons’ nails? They were breathtaking! Cheng Duling (Mirror Demon) had less than 20 minutes of screen time and only appeared in the first episode, but her outfit was stunning. She was actually the third most popular drama character according to Chinese polls, beating main leads of other airing dramas.

And then…we come to the ending. I echo the sentiments of many other viewers who expressed their disappointment in the abrupt ending, where we weren’t shown the physical reunion of the main leads. The message of the story is certainly out there, but could have been executed in a more straightforward manner. However, besides the very last two minutes of the drama, I believe that the last episode was executed beautifully. Here, the leads don’t solely demonstrate the beauty of loving one another, but the beauty of loving oneself first before loving others. This theme plays a pivotal role throughout the drama, as we witness the dramatic change in Mu Sheng’s attitude towards others and life in general. This is something that sets LGIEF apart from other Xuanhuan dramas. We follow the leads on their love journey, but this journey is also one where they discover and accept their own selves. The way this idea stretched throughout the drama was done beautifully, and it felt like a full circle in the end. (And it was like a giant revelation.) I won’t elaborate too much as to not give away any spoilers, but I’ll include some other thoughts and observations in a comment below this review.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the past few weeks of following this drama (the wait was painful, but you don’t need to wait for the episodes to air!). The character dynamics were fun to watch, the story was gripping, and we got to see Ziqi’s affection for Miaomiao increase from -200% (yes, negative) to 100%. It was also such a treat to watch Ding Yuxi and Yu Shuxin together as main leads again after Moonlight, and they both exhibited their exceptional acting skills, once again. Although an extra minute of the leads together at the very end would have perfectly sealed the story together, the last episode ties the entire drama together very well.