Fanren Xiu Xian Zhuan: Yan Jia Bao Dazhan

Really good, as expected of this. I was excited for this ever since the trailer, even if it was only 4 episodes. The problem with this special is that not only does it feel too short, but the battles felt kinda... Disappointing, if anything. I felt excited for the next episode, knowing something big would go down in a 4-episode-only special and the climax really built up near the 2nd or 3rd episode, but I suppose that's on me. It is nice, however, that the battle was well explained, there weren't any sudden power-spikes that turned the MC into Ragnarök that would eventually cause destruction ... upon the 3 realms (Just kidding). The battle was well fought, techniques were properly used and there was no silly talking, although there was still some conversation during the battle which is kind of... not fitting? Probably just me though. But because of how good this is, this gets 9/10 from me.

It took a while to get back, but it had to be done at some point. And, to my own surprise, I have to admit: it was better than the previous ones, but it's not that the bar was suspended somehow exceptionally high; even an ant would have had a problem going under it. Despite this, with full reviewer's honesty I have to admit that I wasn't as bored on Yan Jia Bao Dazhan as I was on the previous ones, although this is probably due to the fact that the previous series had 17 episodes and here we only have four, so there really ... isn't time to get bored.

STORY: 6/10

The story picks up where the previous series left off, so I'll forgive a detailed description so as not to risk spoilers. All you need to know is that there are harbingers of a larger conflict on the horizon, the main character will have to prepare, while we finally get something along the lines of a main antagonist. Does that make this part better? A little yes, mainly because the plot is compressed into 4 episodes, during which a lot happens. Not that it improves much, because the main protagonist is still that cardboard cutout with a face hole in an amusement park, mainly used by middle-aged women who think that memes with Minions on Facebook are the height of comedy.

GRAPHICS: 7/10

You won't hear anything here that I didn't say in the previous review, so you can skip this section of the review with no regrets. The graphics are still competently done, the fights still look nice, and the close-up characters have a look on their faces as if someone told them to hide illegal seeds in their rectum. Visually, it is still enjoyable to watch.

CHARACTERS: 4/10

What do I have to say here? The characters are still somehow not deep, but the main antagonist improves this somewhat. Mainly because there is a bit of politics, intrigue, etc. shown, allowing the cleverness and intelligence of a couple of characters to somehow show through. It's not Game of Thrones by any means, most of the characters are still bland pieces of paper, but when they need to be given some credit when at least SOMETHING is done better.

MUSIC: 7/10

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Go read the review of the previous series, I'm not going to write the same thing.

AVERAGE SCORE: 6

In summary: I had more fun than with the previous Fanren Xiu Xian Chuan. But this was mainly due to the fact that instead of 17 episodes I only had to endure 4. Somehow this encouraged me to see the next part, but seeing that the next season has 51 episodes I had the same reaction as Adam Driver had in The Force Awakens: "I know what I have to do but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it".