***MAJOR SPOILERS***

I was surprised at how young the leads were and would’ve preferred a slightly older cast, but they did very well in their performances, especially* the male lead. He really nails emotional, intense roles. The actor is good at doing facial expressions that make his scenes very heartfelt. He also delivers when it comes to the comedic parts; the body swapping between him and the female lead were the funniest.

Many people dislike the female lead’s high pitched voice, which I understand, but as someone who used to watch a lot of shojo anime, it didn’t bother me as much. I think the real issue is whether viewers want to watch this type of character, which is the usual, innocent female that isn’t really popular with some...so if one expects a more mature, badass female lead like the ones in other martial arts fantasies, this could be a down point. The character of Orchid is meant to be an innocent little plant (literally) who manages, in her own way, to influence events around her. She does get to solve problems- like how she is able to clear up a misunderstanding between the male lead and his brother. She also shows bravery in her immortal examination test when she tries to save other examinees. The actress also did pretty well when she had to act cold during the body swaps- I think the scene where she bit the second male lead was pretty funny!

The chemistry between the main couple was good, even if they were such an odd couple who had IMHO, way too many ups and downs.

The supporting characters were also likable here and experienced character growth. The second male lead, ChangHeng, starts off as flat and boring but he grows into his own and becomes independent. The second female lead, fairy Danyin, is antagonistic at first, but she turns out to be a valuable ally with her own side story that ties well into the plot.

Another good point is that all four characters, not just the main couple but also the second leads, get to play different personalities when they are reincarnated in the mortal realm.

One thing this show does differently from other Xianxias is to take established conventions and turn them around. The character of DongFang QingCang is usually portrayed as a villain but in here, he’s just misunderstood. They needed a different antagonist because of this and while I don't think this substitute was as compelling, he was decent. On the other hand, the character of the Heavenly Lord is always a jerk in these stories but manages to get away with it…it’s the same here, unfortunately. Although one could argue that it is also like that in Greek mythology, where Zeus gets away with too many things when he should have been written as an antagonist.

One downside for me was how, when Orchid finally turned into the Goddess, it wasn’t as convincing. I should’ve cheered at her transformation but instead, I wanted the old Orchid back. It’s normal for characters in this genre to experience different lives but there is always that something that makes them feel the same- like in Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms, where Bai Qian went through three lives and acted differently in each, yet she still felt like herself. Not so here. The Goddess felt like an entirely different character with no connection to her previous life.

The secondary character, ‘Jeli’, also felt out of place. She wasn’t bad, but she got away with too many things (like stealing treasure in the Ghost Kingdom) which I felt she would have been killed for. They tried to make a story arc for her that tied into the whole ‘fairies vs. devils’ theme but it felt forced. I also couldn’t picture her as fairy Danyins sister.

The ending was also rushed…did DongFang get to keep his throne in the Ghost kingdom? Since he didn’t have hellfire anymore, what did he have in its place? In the last scene, Orchid finally remembers him, so did she finally regain a little bit of her former personality? Maybe having one or two more episodes would’ve explained things better.