Bai Yao Pu

Despite its unconventional score, Bai Yao Pu is a captivating and charming donghua that seamlessly blends fantasy, humor, and heartfelt moments within a beautifully animated world.

The series follows Bai on her journey through a realm teeming with spirits, magical creatures, and peculiar happenings. The animation stands out with its soft pastel palette and intricate character designs, which infuse the fantastical world with a sense of warmth and enchantment.

The story strikes a perfect balance, offering whimsical humor while exploring deeper themes such as friendship, self-discovery, and the connection between humans and spirits. Though set in a supernatural universe, the series never loses its relatable ... warmth, making it an enjoyable experience for viewers of all ages.

Yaoguai in this world have supernatural abilities, but their emotions are all too human, and they can suffer from ailments from emotional trauma, which can exhibit in supernatural ways. Tao Yao is a traveling spirit doctor who can heal these spirits if she understands the underlying trauma; really this is a story device for doing a deep dive into background story of the yaoguai. Although this show is about yaoguai, by using these poignant experiences we are looking at the human soul, with all the flaws. The side characters are the heroes of this story and the main focus of this show. They are laid ... bare for us, and we feel their pain or their relief. Over and over, my eyes tear up from how beautiful everything is.

The story has a general formula that it follows throughout the series. It is structured as a series of self-contained arcs which are, for the most part, 2 episodes long. The first part has our main gang traveling and encountering some new characters in strange circumstances, with a bit of mystery or trouble. The second part explores the central arc character's past and are generally the more emotionally moving parts. The way I describe it might sound repetitive, but each arc has been strong, with quality writing. I would call it "biepisodic", as you can rearrange the arcs without affecting too much of the story.

The arc characters get plenty of development for the arc they are in, but the main characters actually hardly get any development. So the side characters really are the stars of the show.

I'm currently watching season 3, and it's still going strong.

Do not get mistaken by the suprisingly low rating. This is a 5 stars anime. For the simple reason that Bai Yao Pu did simples things right: Clean art, a setting which makes sense, good pacing, attention given to every single episode and authentic characters.

Bai Yao Pu isn't action packed nor does it have a general arc. However it doesn't need to since it tells stories so well it will leave you craving for the next episode. It may give you an athmosphere similar to "Violet Evergarden" . With a very different female MC but equally likable.

Usually I am not a fan of the episodical ... arcs format. But the last scene may gives us something for season 2. If it doesn't I do not care too much. If the quality matches this season I will be very glad.

I prefer taking a break between 2 seasons and watch a different genre. But not this time. I gave it a 10 because I do not find the overall rating reflects the quality of this anime. So far it is the show I've enjoyed the most in 2022.