Apologies in advance for the later part of the episode where I needed to use the "erase song" feature on YT, so the sound may be a bit funky. Also, some of the bits where it is in the night were a bit less opaque than I thought, I hope that doesn't remove from your enjoyment
@@PixxiesPlanetThat’s a good recommendation! You don’t have to reread the beginning, but TGCF *is* very confusing so if you want a working understanding of the more complicated details, that’s your best bet
@@PixxiesPlanet There are some differences between the show and book just for storytelling sake (different mediums and all that), but I think it’ll be a net positive just bc there’s so many phrases/gestures that aren’t explained like they are in the book.
Alrighty so, some introductory information about Chinese culture to help you as you watch this, cause there's a lot. First off, many characters in this show have multiple names, because many of these 'names' are their titles. For example, our main character - guy with the white robes and brown hair, his name is Xie Lian, but you will also hear people call him 'Taizi Dianxia' which translates to the 'Crown Prince', 'Your Royal Highness' or 'Your Highness', you get the point. It's a title, but it's treated as a name. This is the same thing as what happens with the man who had the bell dropped on him. Xie Lian knows him as 'Mu Qing', but his title is 'Xuan Zhen'. Hence why he's called 'General Xuan Zhen'. This happens everytime in this kind of story, so get out the notebook lmao. Secondly, this show is a 'xianxia' genre, which roughly translates to 'fantasy', so it's essentially a Chinese fantasy world with magic, swords and all that good stuff. One part of that is the concept of cultivation, which is basically a way for people to gain magical powers and become stronger. There's a degree of discipline involved in acquiring cultivation, like you can dedicate yourself to martial arts, or the pursuit of knowledge, or even take a vow of abstinence in order to further your cultivation. This is tied into the 3 'realms' of this world; the mortal realm, the heavenly realm, and the ghost realm. The mortal realm is ye ol' classic with fragile humans, but if you cultivate enough, have particular potential or go through some great trial, you can ascend to the heavenly realm and become a God. You get a title, more powers, and new responsibilities as you now govern a part of the mortal realm, like how they mention that Ming Guang is in charge of the north, and have temples and worshippers and stuff, hence why they all find it strange that they couldn't find any Ming Guang temples since the north is supposed to be his territory. The heavenly realm operates like a giant company, with some higher up officials and middle officials who work under them, Ling Wen as this sort of administrator, and some grandaddy big boss of heaven called the Emperor. On the other hand, if you die with some unfinished business, you can become a ghost and essentially come into the mortal realm and cause chaos. We don't know too much about them yet, aside from the fact that they have 4 levels of power, from strongest to weakest: Devastation, Wrath, Terror and Wickedness. 'Ghost' can also be translated as 'demon' so keep it mind that when they say 'demon', they're talking about someone who comes from the ghostly realm. Finally, yes this is very much a BL aka Boy's Love show. The novel is full on gay, but thanks to China censorship, they had to leave things 'vague' and I say that with quotation marks because this studio fucking breakdanced across that censor.
ahhhh this is so much information! i feel like i need to have it all written down somewhere. i know very little about the culture so i appreciate it though right now it is incredibly overwhelming and i do not want to do anything or anyone a disservice!
@@PixxiesPlanet Don't worry, literally everyone who gets into Chinese xianxia novels go through this huge knowledge gap. Get the notebook out because you won't know ANYONE'S names lmao
@@PixxiesPlanet Can vouch for OP. *Everyone* gets overwhelmed at first. I tell friends not to worry about names. Just try to recognize characters based on physical attributes and personality. Beyond that, just go with it. All the stories of this author are purposefully confusing at first, because they are in part - unofficially - mystery novels. Her main characters always have failing memories for key plot points where them remembering things would be SUPER helpful. 😂
@@PixxiesPlanetDon’t worry about the gap in knowledge! Even if you couldn’t understand the language at all, just watching the show will give you some the general beats. By the end, they’ll have repeated the important things enough that youll have them memorized, so it’ll still have the emotional impact. All the tiny details like genre, cultivation, names, conventions, etc. are for the dedicated fans/Chinese viewers. They make the story a lot less confusing and more enjoyable, but it’s not a necessary component.
Oh my GOD the algorithm has blessed me in finding this 😭 I am so beyond stoked to see another reaction to this series - the anime adaptation is so good, but the novels literally changed the trajectory of my life from the moment I stumbled across them as a fan-translated google doc file on a random forum years ago 🙏💖 I hope that you enjoy this story as much as all of us who have been blessed by it have 💖 and don’t give up if it’s confusing at first (or even for a good while lol)- there is always an explanation and it will all fall together eventually, I promise!
and now the books are on Kindle - should i get them? I want to give it SO much space in my mind. I can read alongside but dont want to ruin it I hope you enjoy my future reactions
@ oh! Well, if it helps you decide, each season has covered generally one book. And there are 8 of them, but only 2 seasons so far! If you have the patience, and would like to get more content to share, perhaps you could consider waiting until after you’ve watched it, and then do something like a read-along, if that’s a kind of content you’d enjoy making. I know a couple of other reactors have had great success doing it that way, but it does require a lot of patience because it’s so much content to get through! (Also, the author has two other series as well, which you will probably also enjoy!) Also keep in mind, the books are a bit different, and much more in depth with culturally referencing words and detail than the show. If you are a visual learner, the show might help you put names to faces and places a little easier to begin with. (Also the books are uncensored 😏 although this series is the most tame as far as the spice goes, the author does really good horror too) Gosh I’ve rambled on! Anyway, I am excited to see the future reactions, and hope you get to thoroughly enjoy it too 💖
ooooh thats such a good idea. I wouldnt want to ruin the story by looking into the read-along content, but is it just you read in your own time and then post about it later? Not sure how riveting I would be to watch read
@@PixxiesPlanet if you feel comfortable reading aloud and reacting along the way for just a couple chapters at a time, that’s how some people do it. Otherwise it would probably just be more enjoyable for you to read on your own time, and maybe post little blurbs of your thoughts in whatever format you like along the way ✌️regardless of how you go about it, I hope you have fun with it. The fandom is amazing, but can also be rather feral lmao so don’t let anyone spoil or bully you 😅
It's Mu Qing probably crying himself to sleep because he thinks Xie Lian's still mad at him after so many years because he recognized Feng Xin and not him for me
I feel like it sucks more in the show bc xie lian could SEE mu qing, in the novels it was all just voices. So like in my heart i feel like xie lian would have recognized mu qing if he saw him, just not recognize his fancy boy god voice.
Our main characters' name is Xie Lian! lol Its not like if youre cast out of heaven, you are not meant to come back, you do can come back (as for Xie Lian's case) but it's very difficult. Small sub mistake "Xuan Zhen? I thought it was Mu Qing?" at 14:17 its supposed to be "Xuan Zhen? You mean Mu Qing" Because that character's name is Mu Qing but his title as a general is Xuan Zhen (There's this thing in chinese hystorical stories where characters can have multiple names or titles) Just to clear something if its not yet, 14:53. Heavenly officials or "gods" can travel to earth and heaven at will, it's different from being cast out because The Emperor of Heaven is the one who vanishes them, and they lose their spiritual powers to be a mortal again. If they meet certain requirements, they can ascend to heaven again, an example is Xie Lian, who was banished twice and this is his third ascension. (Its better explained in the book, sorry if it's not that understandable) 25:33 Fu Yao (brown hair) his general is Mu Qing(birth name)/ Xuan Zhen(title) (the one on whom the bell fell on) and Nan Feng (dark hair) his general is Feng Xing(birth name)/Nan Yang(title) (the one who got his palace destroyed by Xie Lian's ascention). Thank you for your reaction! So excited to see more
you are amazing. the additional information with the timestamps have helped immensely and i will keep referring to it. i cannot wait to see the next episode though presently i am unwell so it may take a bit more time than i thought! and everything you said was incredibly understandable , so thank you
little info ! the two generals (Mu Qing & Feng Xin) and Xie Lian (main character) used to be friends/prince and servants. like the juniors talked about, Xie Lian used to be their crown prince, with Mu Qing being his maid (sort of, he mostly cleaned and helped his highness with those things) and Feng Xin being his bodyguard. Xie Lian spoke up for Mu Qing and got his teachers to also teach Mu Qing what they taught him. and when Xie Lian ascended, he took both of them up as junior officials. when Xie Lian was banished the two of them eventually left him (this is an explanation without too much spoilers) and both Mu Qing and Feng Xin ascended a few years after.
@PixxiesPlanet awesome! i realise that it may have been hard to catch at first, but that is why the two were being so accusatory at eachother, which is silly, because they both did the same thing.
The TGCF dub is actually really nice! James Cheek is an amazing voice actor. The author of the book wrote two other books that were adapted into donghuas too, if you want to check them out! I would recommend reading them in order of TGCF, SVSSS, and MDZS instead of chronologically so you can understand the magic system and hierarchy, because of the difference in relationship dynamics, and so you have a more satisfying ending. SVSSS is the first and it has one season, we have been waiting for the second for YEARS. MDZS was written after and I believe it is finished? Same with its drama, The Untamed.
oh gosh there is so much to watch, this is going to be so fun! I willd deffo watch it back in dub when i have completed the first two seasons (and read the corresponding books) haha
@@PixxiesPlanetIt only gets bigger 😅 people just denote this genre as Danmei instead of specifying what particular book you’re reading bc there’s just so many.
Yaaaaay TGCF reaction :D I love this series And yes it is a BL but in China they have to censor these things so the studio had to make the relationship a "friendship", but my God did they give a big middle finger to that because you can cut the gay tension with a knife, it's so good!
Yes, Heaven Official's Blessing is so amazing!!! I read the novels in January and have been obsessed with them since. Literally the best books I read this year (and I read around 70). So excited for you to discover this great story! 9:18 "He's like a boomerang" - ... yes 37:44 "Is he a bad boy" - keep watching and you will know ❤ Just so you know, because it's a Chinese production it's called a donghua (not anime). Likewise not manga but manhua. I saw some people explain the lore already but I will write some info down just in case. There are three realms - Heaven, Mortal, and Ghost. When someone is skilled they can ascend = become a god in the Heavenly Realm. They can travel to other realms if they need to as gods. But they can also be banished from Heaven and then they are no longer a god. Merits are kinda a currency in Heaven, they come from offerings in temples and prayers. Basically more followers = more merits = more important/powerful the god. Gods can communicate telepathically and in the novels, it's called the Spiritual Communication Array. In the animation, it is shown as this room with fabrics that gods can appear in. Also, there are 2 seasons but a short movie was announced recently so there will be more Heaven Official's Blessing content in the future!
Yesss i cannot wait to get stuck into the novels, but i dont want to ruin it for myself through the anime. Comments are super helpful for the background because I dont want to overead and spoil it so thank you!
A little about the Generals, not a spoiler they just briefly mentioned it in the beginning: -Nan Yang/Feng Xin was Xie Lian's bodyguard when he was a young Crown Prince -Xuan Zhen/Mu Qing was Xie Lian's personal servant at that time When Xie Lian first ascended a long time ago, he brought them up with him to be his deputy officials. When a God ascends, they can appoint other people up with them to be like a lower God essentially. They won't have their own temples, but they work under the God who does. Kind of like assistants. Now those two ascended themselves as gods, so they have their own titles and temples As for the man in red....you will learn more, trust me. He's very important. This show is one you definitely will want to watch a second time after you read all of the books. It has so many secrets and reveals and very small details that you won't understand until later but when you watch again it makes so much more of an impact with characters' actions and motivations. I went into this show blind as well and I've now read all the books and have been obsessed ever since! Side note: glad you're watching the sub! Personally i prefer it over the dub
Fun fact when I first started reading the books I was still a little confused about some names, particularly Feng Xin and Mu Qing and all they’re other names/identities lmao (even tho i had already watched the show). So I actually wrote a sticky note down on the backside of the cover of my book so I could just check it every time one of their names popped up so I could differentiate them. I also googled them so I had a visual of their face and what character they were in the show to mentally attach that face to the names. I literally wrote something like “Nan Yang (title), Feng Xin (name), Nan Feng (subordinate)” in one column and “Xuan Zhen (title), Mu Qing (name), Fu Yao (subordinate)” in another lmao. I think I also wrote “fierce, manly, angry” next to Feng Xin’s name and “sassy, elegant, poise” next to Mu Qing’s or something like that to better help me remember their persona’s😂. I’m just saying it as a tip so u could maybe do something similar if ur having trouble with character names :)
OMG! I LOVE THIS SERIES! I have read the Chinese novel and watched the anime adaptation. I have to say that I am proudly obsessed with this story. It is a BL story, however that is what I personally loved about the story. I look forward to hearing your take on this wonderful series and hope that you fall in love with Xie Lian and San Lang as much as I have. 🥰
One thing you’ll need to know is that every god has like a title other than their name. The titles is what the mortal worshippers refer to their gods as. So like Mu Qing is General Xuan Zhen, Feng Xin is General Nan Yang, Pei Ming is General Ming Guang, and Shi QingXuan is the Wind Master. These are just some characters but the “generals” are martial gods (there’s different types of gods). There’s also civil gods like Ling Wen, the woman who greeted Xie Lian when he ascended. You’ll learn more about all of this in the books but it’s just some general knowledge to know😊
Lovely reaction! This donghua was what introduced me to the book series. And now it’s one of my favorite series! This show has about 2 seasons but it isn’t complete yet because the series is very long. I’ve heard there is also a short film coming out so I’m very excited about that!
The algorithm has blessed me today to find a reactor reacting to TGCF! T^T please do continue up to Season 2 and I highly recommend reading the novel after because there are extra details that might be missing that adpatations can't show or include
ohhh i've been waiting for new heaven official's blessing reactors to pop up for a long time! I subscribed and I'm so excited to see your reactions to the rest of the episodes!! I love this story and the books sooo much I definitely recommend reading them after you watch the two seasons of the donghua. my advice is having a list with all the names because most characters have two names (their name and official god title). like for example the two generals that used to work for the prince: there's nan yang (his official name), who's also called feng xin; and there's xuan zhen (official name), also called mu qing. this was very confusing for me at the beginning. xie lian's god "name" is xianle, after his kingdom. so yeah, LOTS of names so don't worry it's normal to not be able to keep up. hope you'll enjoy the rest of the story!
Awhhh okay i hear the "after" so i will do that. I do need to write down the names so I will keep your comment in mind, as you had explained it so easily :)
The English dub is actually very good, well in season 2. Season one dub ain’t bad by any means, but the script and voice acting in the second season just hits so much better. I genuinely prefer it over the original Chinese.
Had been watching these too and mdzs...lately I watched Thousand Autumns and waiting for it second season. I recommend you to watch Thousand Autumns too. It's animation was different but the storyline was quite interesting.
I love the video but would it be possible to make the video/episode a bit less transparent but regardless of that 10/10 video I can’t wait for the next one:3
yes i totally agree! i put it in the pined that i messed that up a tad. i’ll deffo know that for next time and may even hit it with a reuoad if im feeling it 😂
@PixxiesPlanet the first season of the anime cover almost everything in the first volume ,but i think watching the anime and then reading the novel will be better since the anime doesn't cover everything
@PixxiesPlanet unfortunately this isn't true... the live action was filmed back in 2021 but we don't know when (if ever) it will be released since China banned live action BL/bromance adaptations (aka dangai) around the time tgcf live action finished filming. I also hope it can be released sooner since I'm a live action girlie, but I wouldn't get your hopes up for it to be any time soon 😢
actually.. please.. for the love of GODS.. check the English dub as well. James Cheek poured his heart and soul into fighting Chinese censorship and it's beautiful. Also now you are bound to read all 8 books. Hope you'll get to it if you have time 😄❤️ One of the best stories I've ever read, tbh
this is based off a Chinese novel, I highly recommend reading it! It's totally not emotional, a completely light read for light-hearted readers, and it won't give you trust issues or an existential crisis at all! (if it wasn't clear, this is a joke, tgcf is NOT for the weak)
Apologies in advance for the later part of the episode where I needed to use the "erase song" feature on YT, so the sound may be a bit funky. Also, some of the bits where it is in the night were a bit less opaque than I thought, I hope that doesn't remove from your enjoyment
The series is based on the Chinese novel series by the same name. I highly recommend the books, be warned, they are extremely emotional!
thank you; i knew they are a book series. i am going to read the books next, as i was recommended to watch it first and then read 🌸
@@PixxiesPlanetThat’s a good recommendation! You don’t have to reread the beginning, but TGCF *is* very confusing so if you want a working understanding of the more complicated details, that’s your best bet
AHHH PLEASE KEEP WATCHING HEAVEN OFFICIAL’S BLESSING THE FANDOM IS STARVED FOR REACTIONS 🙏🙏🙏
I will keep watching for sure, may even watch another one tongiht! Should i read the novels along side?
@ If you want to, of course!
I read from another comment that the first season covers the first book, so i may *slowly* read
@@PixxiesPlanet There are some differences between the show and book just for storytelling sake (different mediums and all that), but I think it’ll be a net positive just bc there’s so many phrases/gestures that aren’t explained like they are in the book.
Alrighty so, some introductory information about Chinese culture to help you as you watch this, cause there's a lot.
First off, many characters in this show have multiple names, because many of these 'names' are their titles. For example, our main character - guy with the white robes and brown hair, his name is Xie Lian, but you will also hear people call him 'Taizi Dianxia' which translates to the 'Crown Prince', 'Your Royal Highness' or 'Your Highness', you get the point. It's a title, but it's treated as a name. This is the same thing as what happens with the man who had the bell dropped on him. Xie Lian knows him as 'Mu Qing', but his title is 'Xuan Zhen'. Hence why he's called 'General Xuan Zhen'. This happens everytime in this kind of story, so get out the notebook lmao.
Secondly, this show is a 'xianxia' genre, which roughly translates to 'fantasy', so it's essentially a Chinese fantasy world with magic, swords and all that good stuff. One part of that is the concept of cultivation, which is basically a way for people to gain magical powers and become stronger. There's a degree of discipline involved in acquiring cultivation, like you can dedicate yourself to martial arts, or the pursuit of knowledge, or even take a vow of abstinence in order to further your cultivation.
This is tied into the 3 'realms' of this world; the mortal realm, the heavenly realm, and the ghost realm. The mortal realm is ye ol' classic with fragile humans, but if you cultivate enough, have particular potential or go through some great trial, you can ascend to the heavenly realm and become a God. You get a title, more powers, and new responsibilities as you now govern a part of the mortal realm, like how they mention that Ming Guang is in charge of the north, and have temples and worshippers and stuff, hence why they all find it strange that they couldn't find any Ming Guang temples since the north is supposed to be his territory. The heavenly realm operates like a giant company, with some higher up officials and middle officials who work under them, Ling Wen as this sort of administrator, and some grandaddy big boss of heaven called the Emperor. On the other hand, if you die with some unfinished business, you can become a ghost and essentially come into the mortal realm and cause chaos. We don't know too much about them yet, aside from the fact that they have 4 levels of power, from strongest to weakest: Devastation, Wrath, Terror and Wickedness. 'Ghost' can also be translated as 'demon' so keep it mind that when they say 'demon', they're talking about someone who comes from the ghostly realm.
Finally, yes this is very much a BL aka Boy's Love show. The novel is full on gay, but thanks to China censorship, they had to leave things 'vague' and I say that with quotation marks because this studio fucking breakdanced across that censor.
ahhhh this is so much information! i feel like i need to have it all written down somewhere.
i know very little about the culture so i appreciate it though right now it is incredibly overwhelming and i do not want to do anything or anyone a disservice!
@@PixxiesPlanet Don't worry, literally everyone who gets into Chinese xianxia novels go through this huge knowledge gap. Get the notebook out because you won't know ANYONE'S names lmao
don’t worry, i will 😅
@@PixxiesPlanet Can vouch for OP. *Everyone* gets overwhelmed at first. I tell friends not to worry about names. Just try to recognize characters based on physical attributes and personality. Beyond that, just go with it. All the stories of this author are purposefully confusing at first, because they are in part - unofficially - mystery novels. Her main characters always have failing memories for key plot points where them remembering things would be SUPER helpful. 😂
@@PixxiesPlanetDon’t worry about the gap in knowledge! Even if you couldn’t understand the language at all, just watching the show will give you some the general beats. By the end, they’ll have repeated the important things enough that youll have them memorized, so it’ll still have the emotional impact. All the tiny details like genre, cultivation, names, conventions, etc. are for the dedicated fans/Chinese viewers. They make the story a lot less confusing and more enjoyable, but it’s not a necessary component.
Oh my GOD the algorithm has blessed me in finding this 😭 I am so beyond stoked to see another reaction to this series - the anime adaptation is so good, but the novels literally changed the trajectory of my life from the moment I stumbled across them as a fan-translated google doc file on a random forum years ago 🙏💖 I hope that you enjoy this story as much as all of us who have been blessed by it have 💖 and don’t give up if it’s confusing at first (or even for a good while lol)- there is always an explanation and it will all fall together eventually, I promise!
and now the books are on Kindle - should i get them?
I want to give it SO much space in my mind. I can read alongside but dont want to ruin it
I hope you enjoy my future reactions
@ oh! Well, if it helps you decide, each season has covered generally one book. And there are 8 of them, but only 2 seasons so far!
If you have the patience, and would like to get more content to share, perhaps you could consider waiting until after you’ve watched it, and then do something like a read-along, if that’s a kind of content you’d enjoy making. I know a couple of other reactors have had great success doing it that way, but it does require a lot of patience because it’s so much content to get through!
(Also, the author has two other series as well, which you will probably also enjoy!)
Also keep in mind, the books are a bit different, and much more in depth with culturally referencing words and detail than the show. If you are a visual learner, the show might help you put names to faces and places a little easier to begin with. (Also the books are uncensored 😏 although this series is the most tame as far as the spice goes, the author does really good horror too)
Gosh I’ve rambled on! Anyway, I am excited to see the future reactions, and hope you get to thoroughly enjoy it too 💖
ooooh thats such a good idea. I wouldnt want to ruin the story by looking into the read-along content, but is it just you read in your own time and then post about it later? Not sure how riveting I would be to watch read
@@PixxiesPlanet if you feel comfortable reading aloud and reacting along the way for just a couple chapters at a time, that’s how some people do it. Otherwise it would probably just be more enjoyable for you to read on your own time, and maybe post little blurbs of your thoughts in whatever format you like along the way ✌️regardless of how you go about it, I hope you have fun with it. The fandom is amazing, but can also be rather feral lmao so don’t let anyone spoil or bully you 😅
It's Mu Qing probably crying himself to sleep because he thinks Xie Lian's still mad at him after so many years because he recognized Feng Xin and not him for me
I feel like it sucks more in the show bc xie lian could SEE mu qing, in the novels it was all just voices. So like in my heart i feel like xie lian would have recognized mu qing if he saw him, just not recognize his fancy boy god voice.
Our main characters' name is Xie Lian! lol
Its not like if youre cast out of heaven, you are not meant to come back, you do can come back (as for Xie Lian's case) but it's very difficult.
Small sub mistake "Xuan Zhen? I thought it was Mu Qing?" at 14:17 its supposed to be "Xuan Zhen? You mean Mu Qing" Because that character's name is Mu Qing but his title as a general is Xuan Zhen (There's this thing in chinese hystorical stories where characters can have multiple names or titles)
Just to clear something if its not yet,
14:53. Heavenly officials or "gods" can travel to earth and heaven at will, it's different from being cast out because The Emperor of Heaven is the one who vanishes them, and they lose their spiritual powers to be a mortal again. If they meet certain requirements, they can ascend to heaven again, an example is Xie Lian, who was banished twice and this is his third ascension. (Its better explained in the book, sorry if it's not that understandable)
25:33
Fu Yao (brown hair) his general is Mu Qing(birth name)/ Xuan Zhen(title) (the one on whom the bell fell on)
and Nan Feng (dark hair) his general is Feng Xing(birth name)/Nan Yang(title) (the one who got his palace destroyed by Xie Lian's ascention).
Thank you for your reaction! So excited to see more
you are amazing. the additional information with the timestamps have helped immensely and i will keep referring to it.
i cannot wait to see the next episode though presently i am unwell so it may take a bit more time than i thought!
and everything you said was incredibly understandable , so thank you
little info ! the two generals (Mu Qing & Feng Xin) and Xie Lian (main character) used to be friends/prince and servants.
like the juniors talked about, Xie Lian used to be their crown prince, with Mu Qing being his maid (sort of, he mostly cleaned and helped his highness with those things) and Feng Xin being his bodyguard.
Xie Lian spoke up for Mu Qing and got his teachers to also teach Mu Qing what they taught him. and when Xie Lian ascended, he took both of them up as junior officials.
when Xie Lian was banished the two of them eventually left him (this is an explanation without too much spoilers) and both Mu Qing and Feng Xin ascended a few years after.
Thank you for the infromation - its going on the list of info :)
@PixxiesPlanet awesome! i realise that it may have been hard to catch at first, but that is why the two were being so accusatory at eachother, which is silly, because they both did the same thing.
The TGCF dub is actually really nice! James Cheek is an amazing voice actor. The author of the book wrote two other books that were adapted into donghuas too, if you want to check them out! I would recommend reading them in order of TGCF, SVSSS, and MDZS instead of chronologically so you can understand the magic system and hierarchy, because of the difference in relationship dynamics, and so you have a more satisfying ending.
SVSSS is the first and it has one season, we have been waiting for the second for YEARS.
MDZS was written after and I believe it is finished? Same with its drama, The Untamed.
oh gosh there is so much to watch, this is going to be so fun!
I willd deffo watch it back in dub when i have completed the first two seasons (and read the corresponding books) haha
@@PixxiesPlanetIt only gets bigger 😅 people just denote this genre as Danmei instead of specifying what particular book you’re reading bc there’s just so many.
omg i highly rcm u watch Mo dao zu shi too! Same author with Heaven Official Blessing!
it’s on the list 🌸
Yaaaaay TGCF reaction :D I love this series
And yes it is a BL but in China they have to censor these things so the studio had to make the relationship a "friendship", but my God did they give a big middle finger to that because you can cut the gay tension with a knife, it's so good!
Yes, Heaven Official's Blessing is so amazing!!! I read the novels in January and have been obsessed with them since. Literally the best books I read this year (and I read around 70). So excited for you to discover this great story!
9:18 "He's like a boomerang" - ... yes
37:44 "Is he a bad boy" - keep watching and you will know ❤
Just so you know, because it's a Chinese production it's called a donghua (not anime). Likewise not manga but manhua. I saw some people explain the lore already but I will write some info down just in case.
There are three realms - Heaven, Mortal, and Ghost. When someone is skilled they can ascend = become a god in the Heavenly Realm. They can travel to other realms if they need to as gods. But they can also be banished from Heaven and then they are no longer a god.
Merits are kinda a currency in Heaven, they come from offerings in temples and prayers. Basically more followers = more merits = more important/powerful the god.
Gods can communicate telepathically and in the novels, it's called the Spiritual Communication Array. In the animation, it is shown as this room with fabrics that gods can appear in.
Also, there are 2 seasons but a short movie was announced recently so there will be more Heaven Official's Blessing content in the future!
Yesss i cannot wait to get stuck into the novels, but i dont want to ruin it for myself through the anime. Comments are super helpful for the background because I dont want to overead and spoil it so thank you!
A little about the Generals, not a spoiler they just briefly mentioned it in the beginning:
-Nan Yang/Feng Xin was Xie Lian's bodyguard when he was a young Crown Prince
-Xuan Zhen/Mu Qing was Xie Lian's personal servant at that time
When Xie Lian first ascended a long time ago, he brought them up with him to be his deputy officials. When a God ascends, they can appoint other people up with them to be like a lower God essentially. They won't have their own temples, but they work under the God who does. Kind of like assistants. Now those two ascended themselves as gods, so they have their own titles and temples
As for the man in red....you will learn more, trust me. He's very important.
This show is one you definitely will want to watch a second time after you read all of the books. It has so many secrets and reveals and very small details that you won't understand until later but when you watch again it makes so much more of an impact with characters' actions and motivations. I went into this show blind as well and I've now read all the books and have been obsessed ever since! Side note: glad you're watching the sub! Personally i prefer it over the dub
I cannot wait to re-watch and notice all the things I missed. I will also go back and watch it Dubbed too as I hear the dub is good!
@@PixxiesPlanetDEFINITELY do, the dub is SO GOOD😢❤❤❤❤
Fun fact when I first started reading the books I was still a little confused about some names, particularly Feng Xin and Mu Qing and all they’re other names/identities lmao (even tho i had already watched the show). So I actually wrote a sticky note down on the backside of the cover of my book so I could just check it every time one of their names popped up so I could differentiate them. I also googled them so I had a visual of their face and what character they were in the show to mentally attach that face to the names. I literally wrote something like “Nan Yang (title), Feng Xin (name), Nan Feng (subordinate)” in one column and “Xuan Zhen (title), Mu Qing (name), Fu Yao (subordinate)” in another lmao. I think I also wrote “fierce, manly, angry” next to Feng Xin’s name and “sassy, elegant, poise” next to Mu Qing’s or something like that to better help me remember their persona’s😂. I’m just saying it as a tip so u could maybe do something similar if ur having trouble with character names :)
I can totally see why! I have a doc open and I copy people's helpful comments in there and then move stuff around until it clicks in my mind XD
OMG! I LOVE THIS SERIES! I have read the Chinese novel and watched the anime adaptation. I have to say that I am proudly obsessed with this story. It is a BL story, however that is what I personally loved about the story. I look forward to hearing your take on this wonderful series and hope that you fall in love with Xie Lian and San Lang as much as I have. 🥰
You’re in for a real ride and it will be an emotional roller coaster and a rabbit hole into joy and companionship from other danmei fans
everyone is so lovely so far! and i’m enjoying the response
One thing you’ll need to know is that every god has like a title other than their name. The titles is what the mortal worshippers refer to their gods as. So like Mu Qing is General Xuan Zhen, Feng Xin is General Nan Yang, Pei Ming is General Ming Guang, and Shi QingXuan is the Wind Master. These are just some characters but the “generals” are martial gods (there’s different types of gods). There’s also civil gods like Ling Wen, the woman who greeted Xie Lian when he ascended. You’ll learn more about all of this in the books but it’s just some general knowledge to know😊
Lovely reaction! This donghua was what introduced me to the book series. And now it’s one of my favorite series! This show has about 2 seasons but it isn’t complete yet because the series is very long. I’ve heard there is also a short film coming out so I’m very excited about that!
The algorithm has blessed me today to find a reactor reacting to TGCF! T^T please do continue up to Season 2 and I highly recommend reading the novel after because there are extra details that might be missing that adpatations can't show or include
i will 100% keep going and begin reading. someone recommended a read reaction but i’m not sure how interesting i’ll be 😂
I am so glad to find another reaction for this series! There is NOT enough!
Im so pleased you could watch it
ohhh i've been waiting for new heaven official's blessing reactors to pop up for a long time! I subscribed and I'm so excited to see your reactions to the rest of the episodes!! I love this story and the books sooo much I definitely recommend reading them after you watch the two seasons of the donghua. my advice is having a list with all the names because most characters have two names (their name and official god title). like for example the two generals that used to work for the prince: there's nan yang (his official name), who's also called feng xin; and there's xuan zhen (official name), also called mu qing. this was very confusing for me at the beginning. xie lian's god "name" is xianle, after his kingdom. so yeah, LOTS of names so don't worry it's normal to not be able to keep up. hope you'll enjoy the rest of the story!
Awhhh okay i hear the "after" so i will do that. I do need to write down the names so I will keep your comment in mind, as you had explained it so easily :)
"Got my hot chockie and a new anime! These are what dreams are made of!"
*girl dies on screen*
stoppp 😆
The English dub is actually very good, well in season 2. Season one dub ain’t bad by any means, but the script and voice acting in the second season just hits so much better. I genuinely prefer it over the original Chinese.
oh truly! i may give it ago for more context / helpling me with the names
Had been watching these too and mdzs...lately I watched Thousand Autumns and waiting for it second season. I recommend you to watch Thousand Autumns too. It's animation was different but the storyline was quite interesting.
ooooh i’ll addit to the list! i have so many to choose from which is amazing
I don't come across many Heaven official blessing reactions, what a nice surprise 🎉
Hope you enjoyed it! 🌸
@PixxiesPlanet I did, now that I finished it I can say I enjoyed the reaction a lot, thank you for the content
yay, so excited to see someone new react to tgcf! looking forward to watching the other reactions youve released so far
Oooo a new tgcf reaction let’s goooo I have been fed ❤
I love the video but would it be possible to make the video/episode a bit less transparent but regardless of that 10/10 video I can’t wait for the next one:3
yes i totally agree! i put it in the pined that i messed that up a tad. i’ll deffo know that for next time and may even hit it with a reuoad if im feeling it 😂
Have you ever watched Mo Dao Zu Shi or Grandmaster Of Demonic Cultivation? I highly recommend it if you haven't, please react to it😭🙏
i’ll add it to the list! it’s getting longer, but i’m about to finish up two more anime’s so i have time 🌸
@PixxiesPlanet okey😭👍🏻
Yeah plz react to it too, it's very good
woah ever thought id see a reactor watching tgcf again
it’s so fun, i’m glad it was recommended
Mu Qing splitting that bell will never not be cool (plus he did it with his bare hands in the novel)
BARE HANDS omggg
I'm obsessed with this anime and the novel too 😭💜💜
I may start reading the novels as I watch the anime but I dont want to go too far ahead and ruin the plot
should i read first or watch first?
@PixxiesPlanet the first season of the anime cover almost everything in the first volume ,but i think watching the anime and then reading the novel will be better since the anime doesn't cover everything
Only the FIRST NOVEL?!?!! dang. there are so many to erad too. I will order them on kindle just in case
The live action is coming soon! Maybe next year or 2026
OOOOhhh im excited for that
@PixxiesPlanet unfortunately this isn't true... the live action was filmed back in 2021 but we don't know when (if ever) it will be released since China banned live action BL/bromance adaptations (aka dangai) around the time tgcf live action finished filming. I also hope it can be released sooner since I'm a live action girlie, but I wouldn't get your hopes up for it to be any time soon 😢
actually.. please.. for the love of GODS.. check the English dub as well. James Cheek poured his heart and soul into fighting Chinese censorship and it's beautiful. Also now you are bound to read all 8 books. Hope you'll get to it if you have time 😄❤️ One of the best stories I've ever read, tbh
I willllll, i just like to watch the OG first then Ill go back and watch the dub. I do it for all my shows hha.
I am gonna order the books!
this is based off a Chinese novel, I highly recommend reading it! It's totally not emotional, a completely light read for light-hearted readers, and it won't give you trust issues or an existential crisis at all! (if it wasn't clear, this is a joke, tgcf is NOT for the weak)
Little info, you are supposed to be wearing red clother for your wedding ;) ;)
OOOOHHHHHH Thank you for th additional info
What does B-L mean?
Nevermind, I got my answer by actually watching your video 😅😅😅
I'm an idiot.
please react more btw the fandom is starving 🙏
I am just collecting everyones notes and I will be there soon!