Wow, I don't know if I can express my feelings for this masterpiece with words but I'll give it a try.
Heaven Official's Blessing, a.k.a Tian Guan Ci Fu, a.k.a. TGCF is my first "donghua" ever. I haven't heard of it before, hence I realised it was very reasonable I haven't heard it before cause appearently it's considerably something new.
I have a strange story about discovering it though. I had seen some pictures, fan arts on the internet of it and they were really great - so great that almost enchanted me. Then I kept seeing other arts too and I was really curious about what they were all about. Hands tight up in a red thread, floating lanterns everywhere, flying silver butterflies all around, a couple seem to be - very committed... I almost felt a strange connection to it, I was kinda hooked even before I saw it - just because of the arts. The power of art is such a strange thing, really...
Then I realised a couple of them were actual - official arts, concept arts for the donghua or from manhua. Then I decided to watch it and I knew I was gonna like it before I even started it.
I didn't just like but loved it. So yes, it was indeed love at first sight. The more I watch, the more I love it. I have never seen something this elegant before. The way of telling a story is also as much as important the plot itself. This show proves that again. Even after the first episode, I realised it had such a great story behind it. A story full of history of more than 800 years...
Luckily, I found it just right after the first season was finished. So I didn't had to wait for a new episode - not for a while at least. After seeing the whole show for three times, now I can say that this show can be a true masterpiece. The story is so deep that it is full of every emotion a person could have, even so much that it made me laugh and cry at the same time. The whole story of Xie Lian, the Crown Prince can be considered tragicomic. His past is like such a sad song, so captivative that you can't just stop to listen, but also admire its beauty. Then there is Hua Cheng, another sad story. And when you combine them, a more beautiful story takes the place...
I captivated by the story so much that I started to read the novel and I can say I haven't read a story that catches my heart this deeply for a long time. The characters are very detailed, one can understand the dreams, the happiness, the grief of every one of them. I can't help but relate with Xie Lian or Hua Cheng. I'm literally feeling like living in the story which is a great deal because I always had this saying: If I can feel like living in the story, if I can imagine the characters are living and enjoying their own universe, if I can think of them exist in somewhere out there... then it means it's a good story.
And this is one of the best stories I've ever seen.
The story is already good, the soundtracks are good, the art is good... I have such high hopes for this show.
About my 9 stars, I wanted to give it a 10, I even would like to give it 11 because that's how it made me feel. But the only trouble is about the animation. When I saw the opening, I thought I have never seen such a beautiful opening before, but after I saw some battle scenes... Well, they need to work on that part. But if the upcoming seasons will have a better animation, then I guess this show would be one of the best animations ever.
I only have one warning for those who are interested in watching it - this show is a BL so if you don't like that sort of thing, then consider your decision again. But if you are into BL stories, then don't wait, just jump in...
