Douluo Continent Review

Is Douluo Continent (斗罗大陆) worth watching? Well, it is a fantasy drama that is based on a novel with an anime version available. I have neither read the novel nor watched the anime. Therefore, I have no preconceptions of how the drama should unfold and the characters’ personalities. This makes my Douluo Continent review below a little easier to write as I have nothing to compare it to and it is based solely on what I have seen in the drama. To put it simply, yes, Douluo Continent is worth a watch. But it also has its drawbacks that could turn away viewers.

My rating: 8/10
Episodes: 40
Type: Fantasy
Aired: February 2021
Images Credit: Tencent

The Cast Of Douluo Continent

• Sean Xiao Zhan as Tang San
• Betty Wu Xuan Yi as Xiao Wu
• Gao Tai Yu as Dai Mu Bai
• Liu Mei Tong as Zhu Zhu Qing
• Liu Run Nan as Ou Si Ke
• Ding Xiao Ying as Ning Rong Rong
• Ao Zi Yi as Ma Hong Jun
• Calvin Chen Yi Ru as Yu Xiao Gang / Master / Da Shi
• Qiu Xin Zhi as Fei Lan Der
• Kenny Bee as Tang Hao
• Li Hao as Wang Sheng
• Ma Dong Chen as Xiao Chen Yu
• Zhu Zhu as Bi Bi Dong
• Huang Can Can as Hu Lie Na
• Anthony Bao Xiao Song as Prince Xue Xing
• Bao Bo Yu as Xue Qing He / Crown Prince of Tian Dou Kingdom
• Shen Xiao Hai as Ning Feng Zhi
• Zhang Wen as Liu Er Long
• Wang Yi Fan as Ye Zhi Qiu
• Liu Jiao Xin as Du Gu Bo
• Ren Qing Na Mu as Du Gu Yan / Yan Yan
• Du Jun Ze as Dai Wei Shi
• Guo Jia Nuo as Shi Nian
• Cui Peng as Su Yun Tao

Main Characters

Tang San

Tang San grows up in an isolated village with a blacksmith father. He is a kind and polite young man with strong principles who will stand up for the weak. Tang San may be inexperienced but smart. His martial souls are a Blue Silver Plant and Hao Tian Hammer. He first attends Nuo Ding School to learn to be a Soul Master.

Xiao Wu

Xiao Wu is an orphan but has a cheerful personality. She is innocent but not easily bullied. Xiao Wu is agile and has speedy movements with her strong legs. Her martial soul is a rabbit. Xiao Wu meets Tang San at Nuo Ding School.

Supporting Characters

Dai Mu Bai

Dai Mu Bai is a student at Shi Lan Ke School. He can be stubborn and close-minded which makes him hard to get along with. He is always thinking of getting stronger and assumes strength is the only thing that matters.

Zhu Zhu Qing

Zhu Qing is a woman with an axe to grind with Dai Mu Bai. She hunts for him until Shi Lan Ke School and ends up being a student. Zhu Qing is quiet and courageous.

Ou Si Ke

Ou Si Ke is Fei Lan Der’s foster son and grew up at Shi Lan Ke School. He has a Support Branch martial soul but is always embarrassed about its awkwardness. Ou Si Ke is a comical man and his first love is writing stage plays and the theatre. He also loves Rong Rong at first sight.

Ning Rong Rong

Rong Rong is from the Qibao Amber Clan and the chief’s daughter. She is sent to Shi Lan Ke School by her father. Rong Rong is a little spoilt due to her status but is willing to learn and doesn’t give up easily. She is also a Support Branch Soul Master. Her martial soul is the Qibao Amber Pagoda.

Ma Hong Jun

Hong Jun is a teenager from Nightfire Village. His father died under mysterious and scary circumstances. He becomes timid and fearful until he is rescued by Tang San and joins Shi Lan Ke School. His martial soul is the Evil Fire Phoenix.

Yu Xiao Gang / Da Shi (Master)

Master is a general worker at Nuo Ding School. But he is very knowledgeable in martial soul matters and has done vast research on the subject. He hides a past and is a weak Soul Master due to his mutated martial soul which is a dog named Luo San Pao. Master meets Tang San at the school and subsequently helps him and becomes his teacher.

Fei Lan Der

Lan Der is the headmaster of Shi Lan Ke School. He seems to be money-minded and is stingy. But he does care a lot for his students. Shi Lan Ke is an unconventional school housed in a poor village. It lacks resources due to its refusal to support any sides which allows its students to pursue their own path.

Tang Hao

Tang Hao is Tang San’s father. He is a blacksmith but has a secret past which he refused to tell his son. His wife has died years earlier when his son was still a baby. Tang Hao is a scarred man and likes to drink. But he has a powerful martial soul which is the Hao Tian Hammer.

Wang Sheng

Wang Sheng is a student at Nuo Ding School. He befriends Tang San and Xiao Wu but has to be subservient to Chen Yu due to his family background.

Xiao Chen Yu

Chen Yu is the city Governor’s son and a student at Nuo Ding School. He sees himself as the students’ leader due to his status but has a bullying attitude. His father is also a tyrant. Chen Yu’s right-hand man is Liu Long. He also has an interest in Xiao Wu.

Bi Bi Dong

Bi Bi Dong is the Chief of Martial Soul Hall which is a powerful Soul Master sect. Her husband was the former chief who has since died. Su Yun Tao and Hu Lie Na are her direct disciples.

Hu Lie Na

Lie Na is from Martial Soul Hall and Bi Bi Dong’s direct disciple. She shows interest in Dai Mu Bai and pays her way to become an observer at Shi Lan Ke School. She is smart and observant but remains untrustworthy due to her links to Martial Soul Hall.

Prince Xue Xing

Prince Xue Xing is a royal family member of the Tian Dou Kingdom. He is an uncle to the Crown Prince but they are not on good terms.

Xue Qing He / Crown Prince of Tian Dou Kingdom

The Crown Prince is a cautious and astute man who can see the danger posed by Martial Soul Hall towards the royal family.

Chief Ning Feng Zhi

Chief Ning is the leader of Qibao Amber Clan and Rong Rong’s father. His clan is one of the more powerful and respected ones around.

Liu Er Long

Er Long is the headmistress of Lan Ba School. But it is a downtrodden school with no students.

Ye Zhi Qiu

Zhi Qiu is from Cang Hui School and appears mysterious. He obediently carries out orders and does not hesitate to kill. He is also a powerful Soul Master due to his unique martial soul.

Du Gu Bo

Du Gu Bo is a Grand Soul Land Master with 9 soul rings. He is also a Venom Grand Master who specializes in poisons. He lives in a cave and is only interested in research with support from the Tian Dou Kingdom. Yan Yan is his granddaughter.

Du Gu Yan / Yan Yan

Yan Yan is from Tian Dou Imperial School and her grandfather is Du Gu Bo. She meets Tang San while hunting for Soul Beasts with her 2 guardians.

Dai Wei Shi

Dai Wei Shi is Dai Mu Bai’s elder brother. He is a powerful Soul Master with 4 soul rings. He is an arrogant man who constantly looks down on his younger brother.

Shi Nian

Shi Nian is a teacher at Cang Hui School. It is a small and obscure school with little details available. He has a Spirit Control martial soul.

Su Yun Tao

Su Yun Tao is from Martial Soul Hall and Bi Bi Dong’s direct disciple. His mission is to protect Hu Lie Na.

Synopsis

In Douluo Continent, Soul Masters and Soul Beasts are natural enemies. Soul Masters need to kill Soul Beasts in order to advance their soul skills. The older is the Soul Beast killed, the greater the power that will be acquired.

Tang San grew up in a far flung village with his blacksmith father. His mother died when he was a baby but his father has never told him anything about her. Tang San has been practicing to be a Soul Master through the Xuan Tian Records which his father reminded him to keep it a secret. A chance encounter with Su Yun Tao from Martial Soul Hall leads him to a martial soul awakening rite. A martial soul is inherited from either one of the parents and Tang San is curious about his mother.

Tang San’s martial soul that appears is the Blue Silver Plant which is deemed to be weak and useless. But he has full soul power which is rare. Su Yun Tao recommends Tang San to study at Nuo Ding School to learn to be a Soul Master. Before he leaves the village, his father helps him to uncover his second martial soul which is the Hao Tian Hammer. Having a twin martial soul is also rare and his father tells him that he must keep his second martial soul hidden.

At Nuo Ding School, Tang San gets to know Xiao Wu and the two automatically share a close bond. His need to protect Xiao Wu from a powerful school bully starts a series of events to lead them on an adventure that uncovers more about his family’s mysterious background.

Douluo Continent Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

Douluo Continent has a cliffhanger sort of ending. It is like the end of Book 1 in a multi-book series to me. It is definitely the type of ending that gives room for a Season 2 as it is clear that there is much more to the story. While you may hesitate to watch it because the story is incomplete, the ending makes sense. In other words, most of the answers to the early mysteries are revealed.

In the last scene of Episode 40, Xiao Wu understands that she has to leave Tang San and is saying her goodbye with a kiss. He is unconscious following their fight with Bi Bi Dong. Tang Hao has appeared to save them. Tang San will recover but his father advises Xiao Wu to leave him until she becomes stronger as their relationship will cause them a lot of danger. You can check out my Douluo Continent episode summary for more details.

Who Is Tang San’s Mother?

Tang San’s mother was a Soul Beast who had transformed into human form. Soul Beasts can do so once they have reached a certain age which is measured in terms of millenniums. His Blue Silver Plant martial soul is inherited from his mother.

The Xuan Tian Records was created by his mother who had special powers. It is a new training method that can enable people to be Soul Masters without the need to develop their martial souls. She was killed by Chief Qian Xun Ji from Martial Soul Hall because of it. If her method works, Martial Soul Hall will lose its relevance and vanish.

Tang Hao’s Background

Tang San’s father is an ordinary blacksmith on the surface but he was Chief Qian Xun Ji’s right-hand man in the past. He is known as the Hao Tian Soul Master. However, his relationship with Tang San’s mother who was a Soul Beast resulted in them being hunted down. After the fight with Chief Qian Xun Ji and the death of his wife, Tang Hao hid himself in a secluded village to bring up Tang San. That is why he tells Tang San to keep the Xuan Tian Records and his Hao Tian Hammer martial soul a secret.

Tang Hao also refuses to tell Tang San about his mother and the past because powerful forces are involved. He wants Tang San to be strong enough before the truth is revealed to protect him.

Is Tang Hao Behind Cang Hui School?

No, Tang Hao is not involved in any of the dirty deeds done under Cang Hui School. It is an illusion created by the people involved to mislead others and lure Tang San into the fold.

Who Is The Smoky Figure?

The smoky figure seen murdering Su Yun Tao and meeting with the King of the Soul Beasts is the Grand Ghost Master from Martial Soul Hall. He plans to assassinate Bi Bi Dong because she is the one who killed Chief Qian Xun Ji. His main plan is to have Cang Hui School win the Soul Master School Contest organized by the Martial Soul Hall. Then, the team members will act when she gives out the prize. But the plan fails as she has known about it all along and he is killed along with his cohorts.

Xiao Wu’s Identity

Xiao Wu is also a Soul Beast who has transformed into human form. That is why Tang Hao fears that Xiao Wu and his son will share the same fate as him and his wife and wants her to leave. Xiao Wu’s age will make her a valuable Soul Beast and she will be hunted. This will also put Tang San in danger if they are together.

Xiao Wu has hidden her identity from Tang San all along but he still wants to protect her when Bi Bi Dong reveals her secret in the last episode. Bi Bi Dong knows Xiao Wu’s identity because she could get into the secret chamber in the Grand Chrysanthemum Master’s room. Only 2 people and Soul Beasts could do so and Xiao Wu’s identity is thus exposed. Xiao Wu’s origin also explains her instinctive ability and closeness to other Soul Beasts as well as her ability to absorb and transfer soul power.

Master’s Past

Master has a mutated martial soul which destroys his ability to absorb further soul rings. His original martial soul is the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Tang Hao was his idol and hence, he joined Martial Soul Hall and did a lot on research on mutant souls while he was there. He also got into a relationship with Bi Bi Dong who subsequently abandoned him to marry Chief Qian Xun Ji. He left Martial Soul Hall after Tang Hao disappeared.

Master and Lan Der are old friends. Together with Er Long, they used to be a formidable team of Soul Masters. Master and Er Long come from the same tribe. She loves him and the team disbanded after he got involved with Bi Bi Dong. When they meet again in Episode 25, she is still into him while he is often embarrassed by her boldness and flirtations and would not admit his feelings for her.

Master meets Bi Bi Dong again in Episode 35. She shows signs of yearning for him but he has moved on and has no interest to go back to the past.

Dai Mu Bai & Zhu Qing

Dai Mu Bai is actually a prince from Xing Luo Kingdom. But he is often bullied by his stronger elder brother who thinks he is useless. That is why Dai Mu Bai badly wants to be stronger and thinks having greater strength is the only way to defeat his brother and show his worth.

Zhu Qing is Dai Mu Bai’s fiancee although none of them has agreed to the arrangement by their families. They have met only once years ago and Dai Mu Bai had kissed her then. But he couldn’t recognize her when she showed up. She wants to defeat him to break their engagement. But after going through a lot of events together, they begin to genuinely care for one another. They plan to go back to Xing Luo Kingdom together after their graduation.

Who Is Hu Lie Na?

Hu Lie Na is actually Bi Bi Dong’s daughter. Her real name is Qian Ren Xue. But she has been ordered by Bi Bi Dong to hide their relationship and is thus known as her direct disciple. Lie Na craves for her mother’s recognition and her plans to control Tian Dou Kingdom is also to prove her worth to her mother.

Douluo Continent Review – A Slow Start

Douluo Continent is a fantasy drama. Hence, you will see fights with monsters and other CGI effects throughout. While you will also have those in xianxia dramas like Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms and Love And Destiny, the fantasy flavor is heavier in Douluo Continent. Therefore, you might need to keep an open mind if you are not used to this genre.

On the positive side, the story itself is easy to follow. There is nothing too complicated about it despite the unknowns related to the male protagonist’s background. The suspense is nicely executed unlike Legend Of Fei. Basically, viewers are just being taken on an adventure to slowly discover the male protagonist’s family secrets. The curiosity and the need to know will gradually increase as the story moves on. In that sense, the drama starts off slow and gets a little boring after 10 episodes or so. But it gradually picks back up for me after 20 to 25 episodes for a strong finish.

Plot Twists

For people who have not been exposed to the story of Douluo Continent before this, the plot offers a bit of twist and turns here and there for some surprises. This helps to keep the drama interesting with some level of unpredictability while keeping it largely logical to the viewers.

On top of that, there are also comical moments to lighten the mood at times. It is not overdone to the extent that it changes the overall tone of the drama that is largely serious but it provides viewers with more varied personalities for the team of 7 students of Shi Lan Ke. The contrasts help to bring the characters to life and add spice to their interactions as a team.

Is Douluo Continent A Romance Drama?

Douluo Continent is not a romance drama in my books. But is there any romance at all between the leads? Well, yes, but subtle. They regard each other as siblings but stick to each other and care for one another like lovers. I would say that they are treading a grey area between siblings and lovers. So, it is not the usual romance drama that involves flirting, wooing, dating, and the inevitable misunderstanding. If you have the inkling that it is like Love And Redemption or even The Wolf, you can discard that completely.

The relationship between Tang San and Xiao Wu is largely platonic. There are no kisses except for a peck in the last episode. The chemistry between the leads is also the brotherly and sisterly type to me which is consistent with how they see each other in the story. While you can detect the undercurrents of something more in the relationship, it is not the focus of this drama and that part of it is not developed further.

Having said that, this kind of subtlety is also something different from the usual full-blown romance. I’m okay with it as I’m not hard-up for an intense love story like Ashes Of Love or Eternal Love Of Dream. If you are, then Douluo Continent might well be a disappointment. But on the brighter side, there is no love triangle and lovers quarrel to annoy you.

The Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

I know many people like to have happy and unambiguous endings for the dramas they watch. While Douluo Continent doesn’t have an emotionally satisfying ending, it is also what gives it its uniqueness. You know there is more to the story and yet, it ends there. But at the same time, it doesn’t make you feel that it is a lousy or vague ending unlike Love Of A Thousand Years. Instead, it has the feel of a fitting conclusion after 40 episodes. It is like a signal for us to take a breather and stop there for the time being.

The only thing I don’t like about the last episode is that we are not shown the big battle between Tang Hao and Bi Bi Dong. Hence, we don’t know what transpired during the fight. The scene is abruptly cut to the 3 of them (Tang Hao, Tang San, and Xiao Wu) having already gotten out of the arena with Xiao Wu bidding goodbye to Tang San. I guess they would want to save the story on Bi Bi Dong’s fate for Season 2 and the fight would certainly make an exciting flashback then.

My Verdict – Watch!

I’m not a huge Sean Xiao fan and hence, my recommendation is not because of him. Instead, I like the plot and this is where it makes the drama worth watching to me. The story is well-executed and there are no obvious plot holes that I can see. I have no idea how it differs from the novel or anime but the story in the drama itself follows an easy to follow sequence of events that increasingly heightens your curiosity as to what will happen next. It doesn’t evoke intense feelings and bring you on an emotional roller-coaster but draws you in to follow the protagonist’s adventure through effective story-telling with a continuous dose of suspense.

While some stretches might seem a tad boring, they don’t get too drawn out either. The pacing also improves as the story develops further. As mentioned, don’t expect Douluo Continent to be a full-fledged romance drama and you will enjoy the subtlety of the leads’ relationship. A further warning would be to be prepared for a clingy female protagonist. Perhaps some viewers may not find her particularly likable. But I find her behavior understandable once I have watched until the end.

For this Douluo Continent review, I would give it a score of 8/10. It is different from the usual historical dramas with their overused romance and power struggle plots. So, do give it a try even if you are skeptical of fantasy dramas. At the very least, it successfully moves away from cliches which not many dramas have bothered to do.

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