Heaven Official’s Blessing: The Ghost King and the Official

I never knew this anime would be so good; if I had known this sooner, I would have joined this fandom sooner. The beauty of the art style and how both main characters compliment each other was fascinating. I binged Heaven Official’s Blessing in two days because I could not stop watching. I only went into this because I wanted to watch the first season and dived right into the second.

Heaven Offical’s Blessing brought a story filled with twists and turns. The way it twisted the story in a way that you want to know about the main character’s backstory. It really calls out how each official has their own past and while they were praised in their living life. Yet, they all had a moment in their past, something that can be a blight on their record. And to see it unravel in each episode, pull apart history, and lay the facts before them.

The subtle love story underneath it had me giggling and kicking my feet. I will not forget how Hua Cheng is so devoted to Xie Lian. The fact that Xie Lian thinks Hua Cheng is only playing tricks on him or teasing him makes me want to shake him sometimes. Yet, they work so well together, balancing each other to sync how they think and talk. The story between them and the romance just brimming underneath the plot. It doesn’t overtake the anime; it just gives you enough crumbs to smile at. And I mean, really smile when you finally get a bit of the subtext underneath it.

This story’s progress also helps; they keep it separate, but you can still see how each interaction weaves together. When you see how they are together, you can see how natural it becomes for them during the episode. Even if one is masquerading who they are, trust between these two characters shows that deep bond.

The side characters, especially Fu Yao and Nan Feng, make me laugh so much. I love how these two just argue and banter. They are a very enemies-to-lovers trope that I hope they do later. I could not get enough of them; I expected to see them more during the other episodes. However, others came into the small circle that Xie Lian was starting to create, each giving him advice, friendship, and every caution about who Hua Cheng really is.

Meanwhile, Shi Qingxuan, the Wind Master, quietly cheers them on in their corner. They still know the implications of Xie Lian and Hua Cheng’s “friendship” aren’t going to be well received. With Hua Cheng being a Devastation and Xie Lian being a Heaven official, the Romeo and Juliet trope is happening here. And I am still here for it because the way they adapted it in this way is beautiful.

What makes this plot really strong is the history behind it. Even in mystery, the backstories that they keep dropping still give you enough to connect the dots on what is happening in the plot. While the backstory of even Offical is different, the one about Chua Heng, the Ghost King, makes me want to know more.

That threaded together slowly in season two, but now I have to wait for season three because it ended in a cliffhanger, which was so infuriating.