An American Writer's Thoughts on Japanese Animation

When I’d Rather be Reading a Card Game Tie-In Novel from the 90’s… – Xuan Yuan Sword Luminary Spoiler Review

A strange title, I know, but I’ll get to it. First, it’s time to take a look at Xuan Yuan Sword Luminary itself. Funnily enough, it’s also based on a game, one out of a massive series of RPGs. But don’t worry if you’ve never heard of the Xuan Yuan Sword series or the particular game this show is “based on”. I hadn’t, and from what I’ve looked up about it after the fact it doesn’t really seem to have much in common with what’s on the screen.

Set in a fantasy world that resembles a mythical version of ancient China, Xuan Yuan Sword Luminary follows a trio of characters who had their village destroyed by the burgeoning Taibai empire. Sisters Yin and Ning escaped, though the younger sister, Ning, lost her arms in the process. Meanwhile, Zhao, a boy that both sisters had a crush on and who had deep feelings for Yin himself, was taken by the Imperial forces to serve as a slave. Zhao assumes he’s the only survivor of his people, and the sisters similarly think they’re alone and that Zhao was killed like the rest. Years later, exceptional circumstances drag the three back together on opposite sides of a major conflict.

Sounds like the recipe for some high drama, doesn’t it? But even the best recipe can fail if the execution is botched, and the execution in Xuan Yuan Sword Luminary is… a problem, to say the least.

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