The Legend of Shen Li: Spoiler-Free Mini Review
- Jul 29
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 1
Title: | The Legend of Shen Li (2024) |
Platform: | Youtube (free), Viki, WeTV |
MDL Rating: | |
Genre: | Xianxia (High Fantasy)/ Romance |
Episode Count: | 39 |
Parental Guidance Rating: | TV-14: Violence, Blood, Alludes to intimacy. Rating is accurate, but less kid friendly. |
Staring: | Zhao Li Ying (Story of Ming Lan) Lin Geng Xin (Princess Agents) Xin Yun Lai (The Glory) He Yu (Blossoms of Power) Zeng Li (Love Like the Galaxy) |
RBTS Rating: | 3.1/5 Stars (A Xianxia that tells the same old story well, with a battle hardened FL who struggles to emote and a ML who considers love a taboo. Pacing is iffy, and acting wasn't the strength, but the drama had good chemistry and production quality)  |
Synopsis:
Born into the immortal realm, Shen Li, a powerful general, rejects a forced political marriage in favor of fighting for her freedom. Injured, she reverts to her phoenix form and falls into the human world, where she is bought by the sickly Xing Yun at a market. This fateful purchase binds their destinies, and love blossoms. As they navigate the three realms, an ancient evil is revived, and a shocking betrayal shakes Shen Li's world. Determined for revenge and the truth, she defies Natural Law, with her love for Xing Yun becoming both their strength and a dangerous taboo. As secrets unfold, can they defeat evil and save the realms, or will their love be their undoing? @MDL
Stay Tuned: Full Review Still to Come!
Spoiler-Free Mini Review:
The Legend of Shen Li is the long awaited reunion of actors Zhao Li Ying and Ling Geng Xin after their successful turn in Princess Agents. There are several easter eggs and callbacks to that drama, which was a fun wink at the audience. But to the matter at hand, The Legend of Shen Li is a solid Xianxia, but it Xianxia's a whole lot, which is both good and bad. Lovers are torn apart, the demon realm is breaking in, the heavenly realm blah blah blah... we know the spiel. It's the same ol' plot.
But at least we are given a female lead who is not a toddler. Hooray! Shen Li was a refreshingly capable character, who was at one point a chicken, and God Bless, that was when I liked her the most. Sorry to Zhao Li Ying, but she does not do it for me as an actress. Everyone is always praising her "micro-expressions" to the sky, but I don't want to watch my dramas with a magnifying glass. Do it so I can see it lol. We don't have to go full Ju Jingyi, but give me something. I really liked Lin Geng Xin as Zing Zhi ...As I was writing these very words, I paused to look up the ages of Zhao Li Ying (FL) and Lin Geng Xin (ML) to see how large their age gap is and THEY ARE THE EXACT SAME AGE. WHAT?? Has anyone told Zhao Li Ying that she's a witch. Why hasn't she aged a day? OMG I'm dead. What is her skincare routine? This changes everything.
Anyways, Ling Geng Xin pulled off the conflicted and aged Xing Zhi, and I'm glad they gave his story real teeth. The chemistry between the main pair was good, but I liked their story better in the first half. Like many Xianxia, the drama does drag with the dead weight of too many filler episodes. Xin Yun Lai (2ML) was fine in his role, as it didn't require him to do much, but he looked the part.
The production quality was top notch, but the skin blurring was Justic League bad. That editor really went in on poor Lin Geng Xin. The camera work was... dizzying and the English subtitles weren't great. My last critique was going to be that the Male Lead actor looked too old for the role.. but uh, I'm gonna let that gripe go. Sorry to that man.
Overall, though not revolutionary, The Legend of Shen Li is a mid Xianxia with great production quality, that would catch the eye of those who enjoy the genre.
Story=3, Acting=2, Production Quality=4.5, Rewatch Value=2.5, Ending=4, Enjoyability= 2.75
Trailer:
Director: Deng Ke (The Road to Splendor, The Prisoner of Beauty, Gaurdians of the Dafeng)
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