Doupo Cangqiong: San Nian Zhi Yue

omg its best donghua better than disney pixar movies.
i didnt like 3d anime but after watching this i knew two this first its not anime its donghua 2nd its awesome. outstanding romantic sad emotional story.
it am waiting for the next season. motion studio is really best.
art is outstanding. visuals are awesome. sound is really emotional and motivational.
character are really really great you can even see their every hair.
enjoyment was 10 on 10. overall i am very very happy.

1st season was boring but i had to watch just for story sake.
after 1st season its literally master piece.

They weren't kidding when they said the final agreement was gonna be 3 years later because that's how long the producers made us wait since season 1.

No time is wasted in this season, there is action almost every episode and gets you wanting to watch the next episode to find out what conflict lies ahead. Every human emotion is invoked upon you, betrayal, love, powerlessness, sacrifices, surprises, and many more. I won't spoil it, but this season isn't just about the final fight between Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran.

Almost every other "important" character from previous seasons gets a spotlight be it my man ... Hai BoDong or my girl YunYun. This season will make you love and understand the characters even more.

The animation was just incredible. What I love about the animation the most in this show is how the animators used facial expressions to communicate a lot of feelings. Sometimes there is no dialogue and you just know what they are saying based on body language. It helps a lot if you watched the previous movies and specials as well since there were A LOT of hidden messages that you won't pick up if you watch it only once. But this is getting into spoiler territory...

The music is timed perfectly and that it makes every scene just emotionally stronger - I am looking at you episode 13. The voice acting was fantastic. You could feel the pain, sorrow, anger, and love in many characters' voice. The voices also fit really well with the characters.

I can't wait for another 3 years until the next season (/s)!

You may not prefer the more realistic art style that many Chinese animations adopt, but BTTH goes through the roof with animation. The ridiculous fight scenes accompanied by realistic sounds. I have never seen any Japanese animation have such clean fight scenes like BTTH. It's absolutely ridiculous. If you are not familiar with the series, then watch it or read, your choice. This particular season (special) relates back to the first season, so story wise, this is a bump in the road for the protagonist. It is not meant to progress the story much, more rather, it is more like an excerpt that does play ... a small role in the future of BTTH, hence it being called a special. Once again, this season is worth a watch, if you really enjoy action intensive films then BTTH is right for you.

Doupo Cangqiong 3 Year Agreement Arc recap (minor spoilers)
After the arduous cultivation grinding, emotional trauma and hiding behind the secret persona Yan Xiao, this three year agreement between Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran is finally over. Xiao Yan who in the beginning rose to the top of cultivation in his generation had a detrimental loss of his base and has an argument with his future wed Nalan Yanran who despises his now weak cultivation. Nalan Yanran's feelings have slowly changed from anguish to acceptance of Xiao Yan's superiority. However, despite the outcome Yunleng Sect elders patronize Xiao Yan for previous occurences to their colleagues which ... sets a spark of Yunleng sect vs Yan family conflict implicating many lives of Jiama Empire's elite figures such as Haibo Dong, the Emperor, the Alchemist and even Medusa. Will Xiao Yan finally get peace of mind after clearing up the misunderstandings or does Yunleng Sect have surprises for him?

Story & Characters: 9/10
The story has gotten a lot more intense and action-packed during this arc with every episode uncovering plot-twist level events and unpredictable conflict. Despite all the chaos that occurs within the story, we still get the screen time of many old characters from previous seasons which made it worthwhile to watch as specific characters had direct involvement in the milestone events or even the smallest dialogues. Xiao Yan also for the most part dealt with challenges that didn't always work out as he planned it which some donghua tend to forget after hundreds of episodes leading to dragged unnecessary character development. Overall, this arc was an eye opener that I was not expecting when I watched season 1.

Art & Sound: 8/10
Although the art and animation quality has not improved from the previous seasons, it still is visually appealing. Most of the great visuals can be credited to the smooth battle aura that Xiao Yan releases when things get intense like with the Flame lotus Blossom or his rage. You can still tell most of the character rigging was done via keyframing like the mouth, joints during mid shots and even some fast action fight scenes between Yun Shan and Xiao Yan. Overall, still a great visual experience this arc.

There is always the same soundtrack that plays when the events take a turn for the worst, which has been used in the previous seasons; I think this added a lot of emotional depth to the scenes because of the association to previous emotional events stacking onto the milestone events occuring in 3YA arc. As such the music is also a great aspect that has not fallen in quality yet it also hasn't increased in quality either. Voice acting is on point as usual for the series.

Overall & Enjoyment: 9/10
I went into this arc with an 8/10 ready, but after the 4th or 5th episode I already knew it was time to bump it up. On the forums and in general people weren't expecting 3 year agreement to be a full fledged 12 episode arc and had low expectations upon release but knowing the past season's extremely easily consumable storyline it couldn't have been worse. Now that it is done, I think this was definitely a lot better in quality than any previous seasons making it more exciting to see what to expect in the sequel.

This will be the first review I write for Doupo Cangqiong, or BTTH in short.
I have already finished the novel, so I was looking forward to see how it would look in anime.
I was pretty disappointed by the 1th season, which was average if I'm being generous.
But I must say it has been getting better and better as the seasons went by.
This specific arc starts with the fight between Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran which is a huge turning point for Xiao Yan, since all of his training in the 4 other seasons were for that moment.
And after watching 11 episodes, I must say that ... the art is absolutely gorgeous. The art was mediocre in season 1 and got better in season 2 3 and 4 but the art in season is absolutely incredible, comparable to the art of the latest episodes of soul land.

If you have already watched the 4 seasons, then don't hesitate and go for it, you won't be disappointed.
And if you haven't, then I would recommend giving it a try, and not stopping at the 1st season.

This is my first review of MAL. Doupo Cangqiong series improves steadily as we go along the first to fifth season and we can clearly see it through the MAL score. The fight scenes were on a whole different level because its animation style and its quality were very very good and along with the combination of the sound effects, I dare to say that this series has shown me one of the top 5 fights in my 8000 anime episodes collection. When we start from season 1 it doesn’t seem worth it but from the second season is pretty good to watch. For those ... who read cultivation novels, I think this anime will be a very good experience.

This is hands down the best donghua, chinese anime I've ever seen! Each episode leaves me stunned and speechless on the edge of my seat! The build up of over 4 seasons was completely worthy every minute spent invested in this story! With the heart pounding action, gorgeous art work and ear ticking sound design culminates to create the perfect cinematic experience!. I can't wait to see what they do next. If you are on the fence about watching this show, try it! You won't be disappointed!
I love how they treat men like men and not so effeminate and soft. I love how they're ... not afraid to show off their beautiful women and submissiveness of their nature.

STOP AND READ!!

As much as you may think this isnt a critical review it really is... I never take the time to write reviews about any of the endless anime Ive came across in the 25 years Ive been watching. As a critical review first I want to say Im 41 now and Ive watched everything from Fist of the North Star to Berserk, Gundam, Aldnoah.Zero to Break Blade, Akira, Hellsing Ultimate, Cvestus, Baki, Bebop, Kenshin, Shuguri, Afro, Kingdom, Vinland, Goblin, HxH, Neverland and even Made in Abyss.. just to show my enjoyment across the board and love for anime. If you can relate keep ... reading.

STORY : I cannot explain how the story scaled in an ever flowing motion and got better through each season, I was alittle leary at first through season one and then it got deeper and deeper and deeper.. I was intrigued to know more as the seasons progressed. Its important to say that I think everybody will be shocked as they start episode 1 every time.

ART : The Art has scaled exponentially through each season as well... soo much in fact that the characters receive a complete overhaul in looks and detail over time that you have to think about about who some of them were to get that "oh yeah!" feeling. The fight sequences are mind blowing as you progress from the start and somehow seem to maintain a constant flow of getting better and better..

SOUND : As someone who cant really critique sound due to the fact that I used my laptop and liberty air2 earbuds I can only say I had 0 complaints at all.

CHARACTER : I stepped into Doupo Cangqiong season 1 3 days ago and at first I was alittle under excited as many may find OP instant hero growth boring but as I continued to watch into season 2, 3, 4 and now San Nian Zhi Yue. He literally seems like a lame uninformed kid and matures throughout each season.

ENJOYMENT : I dont think I have anything I can complain about, each character is unique in their own way and they hit every key note and the level of nonstop exposition to climatic events is never ending. I have no complaints at all.

OVERALL : I would just say that I always look at the cover photo and may sometimes be alittle prejudice at times.. I also tend to fall off at the first sign of getting sleepy when I start new anime but always try to give every single one a real shot through a season. As a connoisseur of Action, fantasy, history, sci-fi, and pretty much everything coming close I feel like they need to update some of the genre/theme tags to alot of different anime and even try to add a age per rating variant on this site. It would help people connect to some of the hidden gems soo much easier.

If you took the time to read this thanks alot! If you need any advice on animation based on what you are interested in feel free to message me @ Erroneouz I can honestly say Ive been somewhat lazy on updating my list and have a ton to offer if need be. Thanks for your time!!

This will be a 2 part review, reviewing both this special as a standalone work and as an adaptation.

This special covers the long awaited first climax in the novel, basically everything from the first scene in the novel (and donghua) have been for this fight, the 3 year agreement. This special picks up at the exact end of Season 4 and covers the 3 year agreement fight and the events directly afterward. The models, choreographing of fights, music, everything is turned up to the max. This season features good pacing, and action. Even if you don't understand the story, just watching for the visuals is ... quite something. This arc has quite some emotional scenes； the facial expressions， voice acting, music are all synced perfectly, perfectly creating the atmosphere described in the novel. I dare say this is more than one could hope for from an adaptation. Of course, this special also sets the groundwork for the next major arc in the novel, ending with Xiao Yan's departure towards the Jia Nan College for his promised reunion with Xun Er.

As an adaptation, there have been some minor changes. The main changes center around Medusa and Yun Leng (the grand/first elder of the Yun Lan Sect). For Medusa, the main change developing the relationship between Medusa and Xiao Yan. The reason for this to set the foundation for Medusa and Xiao Yan's future relationship (which I won't spoil); though these scenes are few, if you have read the book and pay attention to the scenes, there is alot that you can infer about how their relationship progresses. This addition is also shows off her attitude towards the empire and humans in general. The other main change was making Yun Leng shoulder almost all of the wrongdoings of Yun Lan Sect. In the novel, his character was still redeemable, since he realized that he may have committed grave mistakes but was insistent that he was innocent (especially regarding Xiao Yan's father's disappearance), but his expressions of glee toward any of Xiao Yan's misery along with the short scene of him inviting major powers for the 3 year agreement fight, he's basically been painted as irredeemable, short-sighted, and "evil" to us viewers. This ultimately doesn't change too much of the narritive since he is killed regardless, but this change decreases the responsibility that others might have for actions and events leading up to the final conflicts （basically whitewashing both Xiao Yan and Yanran). There is also the fight during the escape, fights have been added, the Mysterious Fire Change (strenthening technique) was learned earlier and they skipped the border city part.

Adaptation score (how faithful to source): 7/10

[I'm here trying not to spoil the story, so for those who ask what the conflict is, please watch it first]
Everything is good starting from the story, graphics, characters, romance, and drama. The only thing that disappointed me was the conflict at the end after the "3 year agreement" the conflict was insignificant, it's just that the response given by the Sect was excessive and why did the people whom Xiao Yan had helped just keep quiet and didn't help? My only respect is for Hai Bo Dong and the Milters Family who helped back Xiao Yan when he was cornered.