Guardians of the Dafeng (2024)

I strongly believe like this was created to appeal to me specifically.

First thing I have to say, where is the sequel?! I need season two now!

If I had to describe this show in one word it would be fun. If you love funny, emotional, gay, character-driven fantasy…. I highly recommend checking this out.

The beginning of this show is fascinating, and there are some laugh-out-loud moments. There are some elements of this series which are borderline reality, and that is really the fantasy that I love best. ОК. This wasn't necessarily unique, and yet it's so imaginative. 

The main plot treads some well-known ground, but I find that’s really where the main positive element comes in, sometimes stories don’t need to utterly surprise us to be worth. There is a lot of creativity on display in the smaller details - the music, the costumes, the magic, the problems that need to be solved and the ways it allows the characters to interact.
I found it well-written and fleshed out. It doesn't have an overabundance of explanation and details, but nor does it have a big of plotholes.
The pacing is a bit too slow. For example, romance is incredibly slow burn, and I would have liked it to have progressed a little further by the end.

Overall I speak gush about this series all day but just know it is was utterly funny, charming and delightful from beginning to end.

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well-crafted story with rich characters and breathtaking visuals

"Guardians of Dafeng" has been nothing short of a spectacular journey from the very first episode! As I reached episode 23, I can confidently say this series has captured my heart and imagination in ways few others have.

The storytelling is masterfully crafted, weaving together intricate plots and character arcs that keep you on the edge of your seat. Each episode builds on the last, creating a rich tapestry of suspense, humor, and emotional depth. The pacing is spot-on, with just the right balance of action and character development.

The characters are incredibly well-developed; you can’t help but root for them. Each one has their own unique backstory and motivations, making them relatable and compelling. The chemistry among the cast is palpable, adding layers of authenticity to their interactions.

Visually, the animation is stunning! The art style is vibrant and beautifully detailed, bringing the world of Dafeng to life in a way that feels immersive and enchanting. Coupled with a fantastic soundtrack, it enhances the overall experience and draws you deeper into the story.

The themes explored in the series are profound, touching on friendship, sacrifice, and the struggle between good and evil. It’s not just entertainment; it leaves you with something to think about long after the credits roll.

In summary, "Guardians of Dafeng" is a must-watch for anyone who loves a well-crafted story with rich characters and breathtaking visuals. I wholeheartedly give it a 10/10! I can’t wait to see where the journey goes next!

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Office Worker Isekaied into Dafeng Dynasty and Becomes TOP DAWG

This is such a common trope I've read often in manhuas/manhwas but I have to say I really don't watch it enough in dramas. I would say the only other one I watched where MC was isekaied is Romance of Tiger and Rose! Guardians of Dafeng also lives up to the comedy in ROTR but more in the form of slapstick comedy rather than humour in the dialogue. I'm watching this while I'm in a kdrama slump and I am being kept very entertained so far.

Since this is based off a novel series, I wonder if they're planning on having multiple seasons or if they're fitting everything in one season! Personally, I haven't read the novel but super excited to be watching this! Summary of the drama from what I've seen so far is basically in my headline - Xu Qi'an (originally Yang Ling before he woke up in a different world) aka Mr. Dylan Wang gets isekaied into an alternate fantasy world which takes place during Da Feng dynasty. A world with magic and powers and magical swords. He wakes up in prison btw and basically clears his and his family's names by using his brain, catching the eye of some pretty high up people. His character is supposed to be very smart, and with the addition of his modern world knowledge plus somehow remembering all his years of education (seriously, who the hell remembers their entire high school chemistry textbook), he becomes very good at solving cases and becomes famous for his poems (the ones he writes from what he remembers from books hes read). He slowly starts to move up in this world, eventually achieving his goal of being a part of the Guardians of Dafeng (which are essentially the protectors of the people, think police but with powers). His family is funny, and its so heartwarming to see them form a close bond (apparently the old him was emo) - his uncle, cousin, and aunt are especially funny when they're all together. The one flaw I would say so far is the fact that the writers aren't thinking too deep about how to show Xu Qi'an as a brilliant detective, he is simply just better than everyone and pieces things together better than most people in this dynasty do. I honestly don't have a problem with this, I also like that he solves things so quickly without any confusing path to get there, but it's amusing seeing how it's REALLY not that complicated. If someone is expecting really complex and good investigative skills from this, this is noooot for you. Anyways, now that he's a Guardian, he's also beginning to upgrade his fighting skills and we see already that he's also gifted in fighting. Although he seems to have selfish intentions with his interactions, you can tell he truly does care about people and upholds this righteousness by defending those who need it. On the way to becoming top dawg for real - you just know he's walking out of this with a girl. The FL who is the second princess doesn't appear in the drama until 6 episodes in and I'm not sure how big of a focus their romance will have but I'm sensing some great character development from her. Princess Lin'an (Tian Xiwei) is introduced as a spoiled princess who's always competing to appear better than the Grand Princess, bothering the Bureau of Astronomy for education and now Xu Qi'an for his poetry. Also excited to see their love story play out and I expect a lot of bickering from these two. In terms of acting, I feel like it's the typical chinese drama acting - the side characters act decently well, nothing mind blowing but again this is a comedic drama. I haven't watched Dylan Wang in anything for a HOT minute and honestly I can see that there's been improvement in his acting. He has a lot more facial expressions since his Meteor Garden Days and his line delivery is much better. Could he do better? For sure, but for now I don't care and just like his face. His hair also looks good in this. This is my first time watching Tian Xiwei in anything and I like her so far - pretty natural acting, cute face, good expressions! I've also seen some people complaining about Dylan's sichuan accent and oh gosh some of these people are so nitpicky. I'm really glad he gets to dub his own drama this time and I quite like his voice, I don't think too much of his accent but I guess it bothers some people since this takes place in a Dynasty.

If you're looking for a lighthearted, comedic drama, with a character who gets super OP along with some romance, definitely give this a try!

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The Love Child of Joy of Life & My Uncanny Destiny

GUARDIANS OF DAFENG is everything you want in a Wuxia or any television series for the matter and
more. Guardians is the joyfully cheeky love child of
Joy of Life and My Uncanny Destiny, and
THAT IS WHAT MAKES IT SO GOOD!
The unaware Chosen one trope is altered in a timely manner. Our ML is the always in 2nd place, a ‘could’ve,
should’ve, would’ve’ man with a broken dream and
heart. Add + plot armor + ‘look how smart I am’ style palace intrigue + a massive cast similar to JOL

This is cleverly and hilariously balanced by the
boundless energy of ‘over the top’ tomfoolery, and
humor that stays consistently throughout the entire
series. The undeniable assemble cast chemistry is the yummy stuff. I only wished it would have taken some of Uncanny’s skinship as well.

Our ML is a Chinese Millennial salesman whose
dream it was to be a detective. Dafeng grants his deepest held wish. A quid pro quo is expected. Dafeng
wants a good one, just as we all do.

The good news is that this is the 1st series in a long
time that I didn’t care about if or was a show that
advertised as Romance without any Romance. I was
so invested in the story. The FL ( who I 1st saw & 🫶🏾
In New Life Begins ) antics didn’t bother me.
Tbh, I never really saw them as a real couple.
I adore both actors. In fact, this is the 1st series of
Hedi’s that I could finish since my GOAT 🧚🏻‍♂️🖤😈

To note: What Lil Bro Xunnan and Simu pull off in 1 episode gave me the feels. And Secret Sect’s # 2 and #4 , I’d be happy to follow either 2LMCs to 🫶🏾town.

I’m cynical, not by choice. And I’m well past my angst era too, so to find myself crying early in the series,
then at least once per 10 episodes. While laughing in every episode, often. That is the cure for me now.

The writer was straight up showing off by Episode 31. Betting that he could drive to viewer to the edge of
existential despair where madness makes so much
sense. Seconds later tears are now crying with laughter as our ML goes from humanist stoicism to the
embodiment of a cartoon character con man. I was so blown away by this. Bravo! Even the losers get lucky sometimes.

As he said dying, Losers, the common people, their experiences have meaning. Success or Failure. I came, I did, I had. That is also meaning.

Only when I begin a profound tear filled rumination of these words I look up to see our hero call for the nurse and proceed to die. And like a Cdrama, Rick &
Morty, Once and Future King,-ish we watch the cycle of death and rebirth to annoy the enemy play out over and over again, each death and rebirth with the a
chaotic Lau Tsu energy renewed each turn.

They made you legitimate laugh and cry at 2 different scenarios in less than 10 mins. That’s magic.

Our ML Silver Gong is experiencing existential crisis, can you blame him? I don’t.

Someone being slow will get you dead.
Sometimes being slow gets others dead.
Sometimes being slow will cost you the love of your life.
The people of the Dafeng cohabit with time.

Is it me or my whimsy. Or he needed the $$. No shade I need $$$. Did everyone clock DFQC lil bro from LBFAD as the Witches Cult Leader’s right hand man. Then suddenly the bros are in a triangle, slowly swirling in red with a ferocious father at the apex preparing to demand. In my head this could be what DFQC spent his 500 years doing: tribulations. And this is one. Let me dream.
Big up to cast, crew and producers and Wang Hedi, our man Dylan for giving us 2 iconic characters that no one will forget for years to come.

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Truly enjoyable from start to finish

Dylan Wang did an excellent job in this series. Xuqian has to be one of his best roles yet. I also loved how good he is at comedy which we were able to see in this series. he and that comedic flair that kept me laughing. I love how this series had all the elements I loved: family relationships, friendships, father/mother figures. Although it didn't focus a lot on the romance as it was a side plot, in the end it didn't bother me because what we got, I loved. Tian Xiwei and Dylan Wang had amazing chemistry makes me wish that maybe one day in the future we see them in a romance drama.
I loved how the series was action, adventure, mystery with a little bit of romance. It ticked all the right boxes for me. And I truly enjoyed it from start to finish.
10/10 from me.

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Uneven but good enough

I am writing this review as both a prior reader of the novel, and a native Chinese speaker. I listened to the novel (on Ximalaya, a Chinese audiobook site) about 2-3 years ago and it's one of my favorite webnovels of all time. It has the perfect blend of action, comedy, and drama. Given how much the novel meant to me, it's possible for me to review the drama on its own merits. This is all to say if you haven't read the novel, your mileage may vary.

Writing/Plotting: 7/10. The transition from page to screen comes with necessary adjustments but results are uneven. The pacing of the drama is odd. Long stretches of screen time were spent on minor/irrelevant sideplots, while interesting sections of the book were breezed over.

The most significant problem translating from page to screen is the loss of any sense of power scaling in the drama. Power levels fluctuate wildly scene to scene, and there is no established sense of how powerful anybody is, relative to anybody else. All this being said, when they slow down and just adapt scenes/sequences from the book, the results can be spectacular. Episodes 37-40 is the perfect microcosm of this. Most of this arc (the aftermath of the Bloodshed) is mesmerizing and reminded me at times of Langya Bang (very high praise). However, the final 30 minutes of ep 40 however bizarre, brusque, and unnecessary. From the highest high to the lowest low, a perfect example of the uneven plotting.

Acting: 8/10. I think the lead actor is the weakest part of the cast, as he seems to only have one facial expression. I do suspect this was an acting choice , but he was still fairly wooden. Fortunately the supporting cast is generally superb. From the Emperor and Princess Linan to Wei Yuan the Xu family, all the major characters were well-cast and fit their roles. The comedic hits generally land and the dramatic moments are heart-felt.

Audio/Music: 8/10. Overall pretty good. Don't have much to say here. I will say that as a native mandarin speaker I wish the lead actor hadn't used his own voice. His enunciation is generally poor and in a lot of scenes it sounds like he's just reading his lines off of a page. This isn't really a problem for anybody else.

CGI/Costumes/Sets: 8/10. Everything looked pretty good to me. Decent number of extras, CGI looks nice. You can tell this isn't a huge budget drama, but they made an effort to make sets look lived-in. Not much to praise, not much to complain about.

Action: 6/10. This is another major shortcoming of the drama. While there are a couple of intact fun fight scenes, many of the fight scenes are crazy truncated. This is especially true of the "climactic" fight between XQA and Duke Zhengbe, which in the novel occupied multiple pages but basically didn't exist in the drama. In general the drama prefers the "pose for CGI" model of action over choreographed martial arts scenes, which unfortunately seems to be a trend for c-dramas in general in recent years.

Overall: 7.5/10. I think this drama is an enjoyable watch but I suspect it will often be confusing for non-book readers, and often mildly infuriating for book readers. The scripting/writing is mostly to blame here, with the story moving glacially slow for several episodes before condensing entire arcs into 15 minutes. Character motivation is often unclear/inconsistent and power levels are very vague. The drama is redeemed by a solid cast and production as well as comedy that generally hits.

Comparisons: I think the most worthwhile comparison is with Joy of Life, which has a similar premise. Overall I think Joy of Life is the superior show, with a better lead actor and a better script. I've actually read (listened) to the audiobook of Joy of Life as well. For JOL the drama in many ways improves on the novel, adding drama, character development/motivation, and stakes. While Guardians improves on the comedy in some scenes, in general the best parts of the drama are wholly lifted out of the novel and the stuff the drama adds just serves to add confusion.

TL;DR: Overall I would describe the drama as "pretty good." The weakest points are the plotting/writing and the fight scenes. The best parts are the comedy and the supporting cast.

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Overhyped and Overrated: A Decent Start Undone by a Poorly Directed Ending

The reincarnation premise is fairly standard, but the concept of a “game” was poorly executed and didn’t make much sense. Unlike Joy of Life or My Heroic Husband, which maintained straightforward and cohesive narratives, this series struggled with its framing and direction, particularly as it leaned heavily on anime-style storytelling that felt disconnected from the earlier tone.

While the emotional moments between the main character and the side characters were well portrayed, and their motivations were clear, the repetition of certain scenes—over and over again—became tiresome and greatly diminished their emotional impact. This overuse felt unnecessary and nonsensical, detracting from the overall experience.

The overall story started off mediocre, with the MC gradually climbing the ranks by influencing those around him. But as the series progressed, particularly in the later episodes, the writing became increasingly reliant on convenience. The MC’s path became suspiciously smooth, with everyone around him simply agreeing to his plans without question or resistance. This lack of hurdles or disagreements reduced the tension and made it feel as if characters were treating him like the “main character” without a logical foundation.

The music was initially okay, matching the theme, but its overuse made it exhausting. The same OSTs were repeated across vastly different scenes—whether for villains, MC’s triumphs, emotional moments, or side character dynamics. This interchangeability diluted its impact, as it failed to complement the scenes appropriately.

The fight scenes were generally clean and enjoyable, with great choreography, though a few were overly hyped with excessive VFX, making them feel artificial. Surprisingly, there was little focus on confrontations with the Da Geng Ren, who seemed more like background threats than actual antagonists. They were showcased sparingly, with most conflicts handled by high-ranking soldiers and the MC, leaving the rest of the forces essentially useless—contradicting the series’ premise.

As the story approached its final 10 episodes, the pacing became erratic and heavily reliant on slow-motion shots and repeated segments to artificially stretch the runtime. Fight scenes were shorter and relied too much on VFX instead of intricate choreography, while side characters had interactions and conversations driven purely by plot convenience, offering little to no organic development. The overemphasis on some side characters also felt redundant, repeating the same emotional beats without adding value to the story.

The final four episodes were a complete disaster. The decisions made by the government/king and their followers were illogical and inconsistent, apart from moments when the MC conveniently resolved everything. These episodes, in particular, saw a sharp decline in storytelling quality compared to earlier parts of the series.

Some might argue this is reflective of a modern storytelling style, but for someone familiar with traditional, modern, and newer dramas, it came across as bad writing. It felt like a cheap stunt, designed to manufacture artificial mystery and anticipation—not for artistic purposes, but as a marketing strategy to tease a second season.

If I were to rate this:

Episodes 1–30: A solid 8, thanks to decent storytelling, modern humor, and strong character dynamics.
Episodes 31–32: 7.5, as the cracks in the pacing and logic began to show.
Episodes 33–36: 7, as the repetition started to drag down the story.
Episodes 37–39: 6–6.5, where both the storytelling and choreography took a nosedive.
Episode 40: 6 at best, capping the series with a rushed, incoherent conclusion.

The quality and engagement clearly declined after Episode 30, as both the direction and overall narrative fell apart. Even the fight scenes lacked excitement by the end, with simplified choreography and little effort to maintain earlier standards.

While there were aspects I enjoyed—such as the acting, conversations, comedic moments, and modernized take—it’s undeniable that the last stretch of episodes felt disappointing, rushed, and poorly thought out. Honestly, they should reconsider remaking the final few episodes before diving into a second season. As it stands, my interest and expectations for Season 2 have plummeted, and I believe the series is significantly overrated in its current state.

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I heard many negative reviews so I am here

In this stressful life we need a dramas like Guardians of the Dafeng that gives us some happy moments where we can laugh , I am specifically like the family of Dylan wang, they were so good and maintain comedy🤣 and carrying both expect of family very well . the youngest cute 🥰 little sister is so cute. The drama maintain all most all major genres such as comedy, romance , sci-fi, mystery, and fantasy. The acting was good. I found that people comparing this drama with joy of life that was totally stupidity . Both drama has their own unique story line so I don't want to compare them .

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Awesome Watch! Enjoyed it…!

It was such an entertaining drama. Keeps a good hold throughout the episodes!
Definetly worth a good watch….!
Loved the comedic moments, emotional moments as well as the great action moments ….!
Dylan Wang is such a perfect actor for the character of Xu Qian. Not just him, the overall casting for each role was very well done.

If you have not watched it yet, then I would definitely recommend it.

Rewatch value usually lowers because the suspense is broken already, however it was such a fun and engaging watch that I won’t mind if I bump across the drama again! 👌

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