Last updated on April 13th, 2023 at 07:12 am
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The Starry Love is an anticipated Chinese drama that came out in 2023.
This Chinese drama is about two sisters, Li Guang Ye Tan and Li Guang Qing Kui. Qing Kui was supposed to marry into the heavenly realm and Ye Tan into the demon realm but there was a carriage mix-up on their marriage day and they ended up switching places.
The Starry Love Main Characters
Li Guang Ye Tan
Ye Tan was mistreated her entire life because she is seen as a jinx.
Despite having the same parents, Ye Tan and Qing Kui lived completely different lives and were treated very differently.
Despite this, there was no resentment against her sister. Qing Kui cared for her and gave her love when everyone else was against her and she, in return. There’s an unbreakable sisterly love bond between them.
Then there’s her relationship with Shao Dian You Qin. She gives him a nickname called Shao Dian Wu Xin (she’s essentially calling him heartless), which is quite fitting for You Qin’s character in the first few episodes.
Growing up, she wasn’t taught the proper etiquette. It was Qing Kui that got all the schooling. Due to the carriage mix-up on her wedding day, she had to improvise and figure out a way to deal with this mistaken identity crisis.
When she arrived in the heavenly realm, she wanted to behave and act like the proper heavenly princess consort she was supposed to be. But there are so many rules to follow in the heavenly realm and a complete 180 of what she’s used to.
The adjustment from no one caring about her to people watching her every move because of her status is not easy.
She lands herself in hot water multiple times but it’s okay because the prince of the heavenly realm, Shao Dian You Qin is on his way to save her.
Shao Dian You Qin
The heavenly prince, Shao Dian You Qin is a serious male leading character that has a lot riding on his shoulders. His duty to the heavenly realm means training himself to not let emotions get in the way. He is emotionally isolated from everyone, including his own family who wants to be closer to him.
Ye Tan comes into the picture and she soon breaks him open emotionally first by him being frustrated and annoyed at her. He’s confused about her behaviour because how can his fiancée act like this? Doesn’t she know the proper etiquette to behave herself? She softens him up when he finds out the true reasons the things she does.
Like all xian xia dramas, there’s a mortal realm arc. He has three identities there – La Mu, Mei You Qing, and Wen Ren.
This might remind you a bit of Immortal Samsara especially the two dramas aired within one year of each other. The lead actor, Cheng Yi has different identities in the mortal and heavenly realm. But in both these dramas, the female lead still has the same name no matter which realm she is in.
The Starry Love Supporting Characters
Li Guang Qing Kui
Qing Kui is Ye Tan’s loving sister that was supposed to be You Qin’s wife. She ends up in the demon realm and falls in love with the demon prince, Chao Feng.
The casting team did its job well by casting the actress, He Xuan Lin as Qing Kui. Not only did she have strong chemistry with her on-screen sister, Ye Tan but she’s also an actress who has soft features playing a good girl role. It makes her role more believable to the audience.
Chao Feng
In the beginning, Chao Feng was a cunning character trying to survive as a prince in the demon realm. His goal changes when he meets the kind-hearted Qing Kui.
It’s cute because the two of them will remind you of a good girl taming a bad boy.
Di Lan Jue
If I had to pick my favourite character, it would be Di Lan Jue, the prince of the beast realm.
He’s a loyal friend to Ye Tan and attempts to sneak into the heavenly realm to help her. To avoid being caught, he turns himself into a Samoyed puppy. He’s absolutely adorable as a dog and it’s probably why I liked the character so much. He also has a love arc with You Qin’s younger sister, Zi Wu.
Their Love Story
The love story between You Qin and Ye Tan moved a bit slowly in the beginning. During the first few episodes, their love was growing in the heavenly realm before it bloomed in the mortal realm.
It’s strange because she had a love line with three different characters (La Mu, Mei You Qing, and Wen Ren). At the end of the day, it’s ultimately You Qin but it still felt strange.
Maybe it’s because of that which is why it was hard to grow attached to their love connection.
The two leads didn’t have much romantic chemistry. To me, their onscreen chemistry is better suited as friends or even sibling love. It’s difficult to be touched by their love story when their romantic vibe felt off.
In some dramas, the plot gets draggy but if the two leads have strong enough chemistry, it can get the storyline going.
The romantic fan girl in me would still squeal over the romance scenes but the fan girl in me barely lit up through these 40 episodes of The Starry Love.
What I Liked
When Ye Tan first arrives in the heavenly realm, she tries to be a good future heavenly empress but gets into all kinds of trouble. You Qin has to swoop in to solve the problems she causes (typical of prince charming, right?). Those were pretty funny.
Another funny scene was when Chao Feng fakes not knowing how to fight. His older brother tries to teach him but the result was disastrous.
In episode 27, You Qin and Ye Tan play a game and she accidentally exposes how sad her childhood is to win prizes. You can see his pain for her as she talks about her upbringing.
Another mini plotline was when You Qin had amnesia. Although some people think this is overdone, it’s still often used in dramas because it proves how strong the love between the couple is. What I like was the fact that he stuck by her. As the crown prince of the heavenly realm, it’s expected for him to choose the greater good over her but he was steadfast in his devotion. He was even willing to go against his father to protect her.
The Starry Love Lead Actors
Chen Xing Xu
Chen Xing Xu’s breakout role is Goodbye, My Princess. It’s a drama I watched when it came out in 2019 and thought he did great. Through that series, he showed off his acting chops. He’s an actor I have had my eye on ever since then.
His other dramas didn’t live up to the hype of Goodbye My Princess but I thought The Starry Love might be able to beat his other drama.
He displayed his good acting skills by playing four distinct characters. Even though he’s the same actor, the audience can clearly tell the differences between each character.
What was distracting was his voice as You Qin. At first, I thought his voice was dubbed like Dylan Wang from Love Between Fairy and Devil. Soon after, I realized that’s his own voice in the drama.
Chen Xing Xu’s voice didn’t match the character, You Qin but it matched when he played La Mu (out of all the characters, he suited that character perfectly with his mature voice). His real voice is too deep for the character. I thought I was the only one who thought this but even online netizens made fun of him for it.
I don’t follow the actor close enough to know if he purposely made his voice deeper in The Starry Love but it was a mismatch with his face as Shao Dian You Qin. It greatly affected my viewing experience.
Li Lan Di
I have never watched any of Li Lan Di’s dramas or movies. She’s a new actress to me.
It turns out she’s a child actress.
No wonder she’s good at acting. She has years of acting experience under her belt.
She pulled off a believable Ye Tan. I wasn’t so sure about her in the beginning but eventually warmed up to the character. Li Lan Di has a cute face but surprisingly, she also fits when she’s ‘evil’.
Since this wasn’t the best storyline and she lacked chemistry with her co-star, it’s not easy for her to stand out when so many factors are against her.
To be honest, I don’t know how I feel about her just yet. I’ll need to watch some of her other projects to form a more accurate opinion of her.
My Thoughts on The Starry Love
I was hesitant to write a drama review on The Starry Love because all of the past drama reviews I’ve posted on my blog are ones I at least somewhat enjoyed watching. I would even rewatch some scenes of specific episodes. However, I did not do that for this drama.
There were not any strong attachments to any of the characters. Sure, there was sympathy for how Ye Tan grew up and some cute romance scenes but that was basically much it.
How did this Chinese drama get such high reviews?
I don’t agree with the majority who said how great this drama was.
There was a lot of potential at first but the interest died down as I continue to watch. The switching bride plot was intriguing. It’s not exactly the most original storyline but it was something I was looking forward to watching.
While watching, I knew there was potential that I would turn this into another Chinese drama review so because of that, I was committed to the show and watched it until the end. It was more out of duty and fairness in my review rather than interest and excitement.
Will I watch this again?
No.
Chinese Drama – Chong Zi
When The Starry Love was airing, it was competing alongside another Chinese historical drama called Chong Zi. The plotline is pretty similar to The Journey of Flower because it’s about a love story between a disciple and her shi fu.
I couldn’t even watch past five episodes before I got bored and gave up watching it.
There were too many comparisons between Chong Zi and The Journey of Flower. It’s extremely challenging to top a Chinese classic drama.
Also, the leading actress, Yang Chao Yue has work to do in her acting. She’s not wowing anyone with her acting performance just yet.
Between Chong Zi and The Starry Love, The Starry Love wins but it still cannot compare to other xianxia dramas.
Final Thoughts – Starry Love
Watch The Starry Love if you like xianxia dramas and have extra time but don’t set your expectations too high. It probably won’t end up being one of your favourite Chinese dramas.
There are better xianxias like Love Between Fairy and Devil and Love and Redemption.
Now to You – Starry Love
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xoxo,
Nicole