Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact (2024) 狐妖小红娘 月红篇
Summary: In a world where the Human Clan and Spirit Clan are in constant conflict, the Leader of the Fox Spirits from Mount Tu, Tu Shan Hong Hong 涂山红红 (Yang Mi 杨幂 ) hopes for a world where the two clans can live in harmony. She rescues the young orphan Dong Fang Yue Chu 东方月初 (Gong Jun 龚俊) whose blood has mysterious powers and raises him along with the other Fox Spirits in Mount Tu. A dark force threatens Mount Tu and the Bitter Feelings Tree that protects Mount Tu. She is tasked with completing successful matchmaking missions to power the tree and finally dispel the evil forces.
Total Episode Count: 36
Initial Airing Date: May 23, 2024
Platform: iQiYi
*Note – English translations may not match official translations
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Initial Rating [first 12 episodes]: 6.8/10 – A visually stunning show with a beautiful cast that should have everything going for it. The pacing and lack of stakes really drag down the whole experience. After watching through the first “chapter”, this drama is one to enjoy as beautiful art, not for its plot.
Final Rating: 6.8/10 –A stronger second act couldn’t save the convoluted and oddly paced third act. I continued watching for the visual feast, but this was a surprising dud for the summer
Tu Shan Hong Hong涂山红红
Yang Mi 杨幂
Leader of the Fox Spirit Clan at Mount Tu. She hopes for peace between the Spirit Clan and the Human Clan
Dong Fang Yue Chu 东方月初
gong jun 龚俊
Orphan son of the Dong Fang Family, he is raised by the Fox Spirits on Mount Tu. He aims to protect those he loves, including Tu Shan Hong Hong
Tu SHan Ya Ya 涂山雅雅
Guo Xiao Ting 郭晓婷
Second in command at Mount Tu, she lives a carefree life but learns to take up the burden to protect those on Mount Tu
Ao Lai Guo San Shao傲来国三少
Wei Zhe Ming 魏哲鸣
Mysterious guest from the Kingdom of Ao Lai, there are many facets to him. He’s bemused to hear that he has a fan following on Mount Tu
Hua Zhi 涂山容容
Hu Lian Xin 胡连馨
Third in Command at Mount Tu. She’s the treasurer on the mountain and sends Dong Fang Yue Chu on missions to collect rent
gU yAN xI 石姬
Wen Zheng Rong 温峥嵘
An ancient Fox Spirit who was imprisoned for centuries. She finds an ally amongst the human clan to regain her powers and control the world
Shen Qi 布泰
Bu Tai 祝绪丹
Princess of the Controlling Spirits Kingdom, she secretly loves her slave guardian Shi Kuan. She travels to Mount Tu to pray for a good marriage
xia jin er 石宽
Yang Shi Ze 杨仕泽
Slave guardian to Bu Tai and powerful spirit in his own right, he reciprocates his love to the Princess but cannot let his feelings be known
lu jian wen 律笺文
chen yao 陈瑶
A detective and a member of the Yi Qi Alliance, she has an acute sense of smell but was bullied in her youth for her odd nose
yan ru shan 颜如山
mao zi jun 茅子俊
An ugly ox spirit who hides behind his transformative powers, he is unaware of the previous pains he caused but learns of his mistakes
Yue ti xia 月啼暇
chen du ling 陈都灵
Daughter of the Tree Spirit Clan Leader, she gives chase after the human who steals her clan’s tree bark treasure
Hu Wei Sheng 胡尾生
Zhang Ling He 张凌赫
New young member of the Xi Men Sect, he goes on a mission to steal a tree bark treasure but unwittingly becomes its master
This was one of the most highly anticipated dramas of the year, and the first one to set off the Fox Spirit Matchmaker Universe that has at least 2 other dramas in the pipeline. They have either finished filming or close to wrapping. The drama or the universe is based off of a very popular Chinese Man Hua of the same universe.
It had everything going for it. The drama has the extremely popular Yang Mi 杨幂 back as a Fox Spirit Tu Shan Hong Hong paired with the very handsome Gong Jun 龚俊. They are surrounded by a star studded young cast of Guo Xiao Ting, Wei Zhe Ming, Zhu Xu Dan, and others who haven’t appeared yet in the drama including Zhang Ling He, Chen Yao, and Mao Zi Jun. All of them can and do individually headline their own dramas. The drama is produced by Heng Xing Ying Li – the company behind the smash hit Love Between Fairy and Devil and the drama is airing at a prime summer slot. It should be going toe to toe with Joy of Life 2 right? Unfortunately, it has struggled to compete with Joy of Life 2 庆余年2 and hasn’t breached 9000 on the iQiYi index. The buzz just isn’t there.
This is one of the most gorgeous Chinese dramas ever. The set, the CGI, the costume, and the makeup are all top notch but I personally struggled getting through the first 6 episodes because there just didn’t seem to be much urgency in the plot or much stakes at all. The Fox Spirits living in Mount Tu seem to have a great system going so why mess with everything? There was a trending post on weibo about the drama stating that it’s childish and it is. The bad guys are off trying to enact their evil schemes but are rather easily dispatched by the Fox Spirits and Dong Fang Yue Chu.
For this drama, there are chapters within the story as Tu Shan Hong Hong must accomplish several missions. I’ve only watched the finale of the first mission. The stakes finally do pick up towards the end of the first chapter and the drama has picked up the pace significantly. I’ll keep watching to see if the subsequent 2 chapters fare better
The drama was an overall dud with its weak plot, odd pacing, cartoonish villains, and stale acting. My initial thoughts continue to prevail even though there were a few highlights, especially in the second act. Funnily enough, I could see a much better drama attempting to emerge, but the final edit really quashed any glimmer of hope for a better drama.
The drama limped to its conclusion being completely overshadowed by Joy of Life 2 and The Double. A drama, even if it’s not great, needs to be in the thick of conversation. There just wasn’t any with this drama. This was a disappointing turn for all parties involved, especially Yang Mi who hasn’t had an outright hit in several years. IQiYi was betting on this to be a solid hit to kick start its Fox Spirit Matchmaker universe but this will be an uphill battle after this outing.
What I liked
- Gorgeous Costumes and Makeup: I’ve mentioned this several times already, this is a visual treat (I mean, look at the screenshots) across the board. The costumes are lavish and representative of the different characters. Even the minor characters all had unique costumes, which is pretty rare. I absolutely love several of the costumes Tu Shan Hong Hong wears, especially the blend of red and white for several of them. They’re all intricate yet well designed for the character. Yang Mi also wears them extremely well. The makeup for these characters (especially the female characters) add individuality and don’t seem messy. This was one of the main driving forces for me to continue watching. I’d just focus on the costumes rather the meandering plot
- Stunning CGI: This is probably one of the uses of CGI I’ve seen in a Chinese fantasy drama. The drama does an excellent job presenting the world and locations within it including Mount Tu, Kingdom of Yu Yao, and the Bitter Feelings Tree. The powers emanating from each of the characters are individualized to his or her respective powers. The battles are quite intense when it turns into a CGI battle. I recommend just watching vignettes of the drama just to enjoy those visuals. You can tell a ton of money went into the CGI and the makeup / costume design.
- Extremely beautiful cast: This is one of the most beautiful group casts to grace the small screen in some time and a pleasant sight for my eyes. The 3 additional couples also fit splendidly with the main cast at Mount Tu. Even though the actors and actresses weren’t always supported with a great plot, the handsome pairings and individual actors / actresses were enough for me to speed through the drama
- Second Act: Of the three subplots, the second one involving Lu Jian Wen and Yan Ru Yi was the strongest one. We actually spent time with the characters to see them fall in love, proclaim their love, and try to navigate their differences between a Spirit and Human. I was rather puzzled by a few of the other romances. I bought this romance much more than all the other ones in the drama. I’m also glad to see Chen Yao and Mao Zi Jun back on screen, it’s been a while since they’ve been (individually) in a big production
- The Fox Spirit Clan: I thoroughly enjoy the vitality that is portrayed on screen on Mount Tu. Tu Shan Hong Hong rules with wisdom and turns a blind eye to some of the shenanigans from other Fox Spirits and Dong Fang Yue Chu. Tu Shan Ya Ya is a bit strong-headed but everyone knows she is a huge softie. Tu Shan Hong Hong chases everyone for their debts but isn’t a tough landlord. The other smaller spirits are also very personable, cute, and rather naive. I’d rather watch 30 episodes of life on Mount Tu.
What Could Have Been Better
- Storyline / Pacing / Editing: It’s odd, the drama moves at both a brisk pace but also tepid pace. In the first episode, it’s quickly established that Tu Shan Hong Hong decides to rescue Dong Fan Yue Chu and we immediately move to 16 years later. However, the subsequent episodes just don’t amount to much. For example, Tu Shan Hong Hong must sacrifice her powers to save the Bitter Feeling Tree and she’ll suffer life threatening injuries. She then miraculously survives because here’s a doctor who can save her. There doesn’t seem to be real stakes or urgency with the drama. I firmly believe there’s a better edit of this drama somewhere because characters fall in love, get injured, heal, and then die in the speed of light but it’s also just so boring. I feel like there’s more depth that we should get, instead all we have are just pretty vignettes.
- Acting: Many of the actors / actresses in this drama are all rather stiff. Yang Mi really looks like she’s just reciting her lines for many of the earlier scenes when she’s supposed to be “cold and distant”. She gets better as the drama progresses. Guo Xiao Ting, who I’ve enjoyed in other dramas, also doesn’t match her outings in other fantasy dramas. I also couldn’t help noticing just how much of the drama is just characters standing and talking. It’s like the whole purpose was to just pose and provide exposition.
- Communication! It was extremely frustrating to see Tu Shan Hong Hong make many decisions alone that significantly impact other people, especially Dong Fang Yue Chu. Yes, she’s off performing noble acts, but she should have at least communicated with Dong Fang Yue Chu on certain matters. By the end of the second act, it seems like she learned her lesson but no, she immediately goes off to alienate Dong Fang Yue Chu again without his input, leaving him to guess at her intentions. Tu Shan Hong Hong is essentially the male version of Ye Hua from Eternal Love and it was SO frustrating to watch
- Cartoonish Villains: All the evil characters are cartoonishly evil and have paper thin characterizations. In the beginning, there’s an evil duo who do evil things but are just thwarted at each level. Towards the middle, a character turns to the dark side, and I’m left scratching my head as to why this happened. Their survival factor is also nonsensical, they can survive intense blows but when the plot needs it, these evil characters are also dispatched rather hilariously. There was no deliciously evil character for you to root against. It was rather, oh, here we go again.
To be continued!
Cathy