Xian Chong

A hundred years ago, immortal Tian Quan kills the Mirage Lord in a battle, and the Mirage Spirit disappears from the land of Cangshuo. However, Tian Quan's soul becomes incomplete and she loses the memory of the battle.

After the battle, Tian Quan goes down to the mortal world to work on the land of Cangshuo and adopts the immortal pet bird Li Xiao. Li Xiao quickly transforms into human form, and Tian Quan is moved by how similar Li Xiao’s appearance and behavior are to her former lover Shao Weili. Li Xiao is born with the ability to identify hundreds of herbs, and he goes out to treat illnesses and save people on Tian Quan's behalf. After Tian Quan realizes that Li Xiao has not returned home for days, she goes to Luoyi Town to look for him. To her surprise, all the people in Luoyi Town are killed and the Mirage Spirit has re-appeared.

Tian Quan and Li Xiao work together to fight against the Mirage and resolves the town’s crisis. As the Tian Quan regains her chaotic memories, she discovers that there is some probable connection between her deceased lover Shao Weili, Li Xiao, and the Mirage she killed...

(Source: iQIYI)

Tian, Quan Main

Li, Xiao Main

Caiqing Supporting

An, Yu Supporting

Jin, Zhao Supporting

Pei, Yunjiang Supporting

Jing, Shun Supporting

Jun, Mao Supporting

Chang'er Supporting

Mianmian Supporting

Gong, Yu Producer

Reviews

Dec 19, 2025

Ishawdee

Recommended

Not all gems are meant to be discovered. Some might remain hidden forever, but that doesn’t make them any less of a gem, and this donghua is one of those.

I’ll never understand why it didn’t get popular. I know Chinese donghua aren’t as widely known as Japanese anime, but even by donghua standards, Celestial Bonds feels way too unknown. It feels like even Chinese fans don’t know about it. I don’t know if it was weak promotion, an unknown studio/staff, obscure source material, or something else, but it genuinely makes me sad that such a well-made animated series with such a compelling cast isn’t watched ... by more people.

The characters are the biggest strength. There are many of them, since the story usually shifts focus to a new set of characters in each arc (or more accurately, each mini-arc). The whole series is built around these mini-arcs, and every 3–4 episodes basically feels like its own complete story. I can’t even pick a favorite, because all of them have genuinely interesting plots.

What I adore most is the sheer amount of plot twists. The show just never stops surprising you, and it never gets boring. Each story also feels like a life lesson on its own, and I always appreciate it when something I watch “just for fun” actually leaves an impact. Most series are entertaining at best, but they rarely teach me anything or emotionally influence me. Celestial Bonds does. The characters carry so much sadness, regret, love, and everything in between. They move you, they shock you, they frustrate you, and sometimes they’ll make you cry. The writing is consistently strong.

And the visuals deserve praise too. The art is beautiful, and the animation is solid, especially for a series that apparently had very little hype behind it. You can tell the animators still gave it their all.

Good characters, good visuals, good plot, good music. I honestly have very little to complain about. I just hope we get a season 2, because the story feels far from finished. I have no idea if a sequel will ever happen, but I sure hope it does.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jul 26, 2025

ReMightyRon

Recommended

Preliminary (9/18 eps)

I highly recommend it for a few reasons, this Donghua may be a bit unknown, but it is still promising and has beautiful art and animation, especially if you have already watched other similar fantasy anime, as this one contains an atmosphere that changes quickly between calm and storm, in addition to the romance and character development, the plot is interesting, the kind where you should pay attention to some details between the lines among other elements for a better understanding of the story.

However, since the series is still ongoing (07/28/2025) it is difficult to predict how the story will develop, if you like diving ... into new series and are willing to wait and see how the plot unfolds, "Celestial Bonds" may be worth watching.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Sep 22, 2025

Ready2giveup

Recommended

Preliminary (12/18 eps)

Celestial Bonds is darker than it lets on. I fully expected a cutesy romance between celestial beings, when suddenly there's children dying, plants growing from living people and manipulative demons.

So let's start with a more fitting intro:
Celestial Bonds is a Chinese Fantasy, Romance anime with dark, supernatural and mystery elements.
While our MC meets someone who reminds her of her long lost lover, they both uncover mysteries that plague their world.

OVERALL
I like the anime because it doesn't shy away from unsettling scenes without resorting to SA. I like to watch mysteries unfold and learning the motivations of anyone involved in the events. I love a ... strong female lead and learning more about the world. That said this anime is not without flaws.

ARTSTYLE
The style is consistent and delivers what it promised. While it doesn't feel unique, it's solid.

CHARACTER DESIGN
I especially love the MC, she is feminine and dresses as such without being sexualized, has a strong silhouette and uses a simple but effective colour pallette. When she fights her clothes are beautifullychoreagraphed along the fight. That being said she has the strongest design and even our male lead looks a little bland, not bad but nothing memorable either.

ANIMATION
The animation is solid with extra attention to action scenes. Doesn't compare to big house names, but I didn't expect it to.

PLOT
While the premise is simple enough, the story revolves around smaller events being orchestrated by a bigger force. While you have a sense of where the story is going, you never know what tragedy will happen next. That said, it's not really the type of mysteries where you get enough information and mysteries often get solved with new information, and more the type of mysteries that take you on an emotional journey as you learn more about the world and its people.

WORLDBUILDING
There's a lot of thought put in the worldbuilding . Political factions, history and those behind the scenes. Though the start may be confusing as you're directy thrown into action in a fantasy world, too much info would slow the pacing down.

PACING
The first half of the series felt decently paced to me, in the later half I do start to feel it's more conversation heavy and more often than I'd like "telling instead of showing".

SETTING
Beautiful scenes, creepy scenes, fantasy scenes all add to the overall atmosphere.

CHARACTERS
I love some of the characters more than others. With a lot of time spent solving mysteries we get little interaction with anyone who serves the MC. We get a vague sense of their dynamics but I feel it isn't explored as much as any given character involved in the events. We mainly get to know the mc, her "partner" and someone she fought alongside with. I love the MC but other characters feel a bit lacking.

RELATABILITY
Chinese romance differs from most types of romance in that it's almost extremely slow burn type romance and this anime is no different. To me that's a preference, but I imagine it's not everyone's cup of tea. That said, I like Chinese romance because it focuses on the little world 2 lovers build with every interaction, with every small gesture and pure authenticity; I don't always feel that buildup in this anime.

MOTIVATION
This somewhat ties in with what I typed earlier, we really only know the MCs motivation and that of those involved in events. Said motivations are fun to watch as they unravel, but still too little about the beings around the MC.

CONCLUSION
I know I gave it a high score but mostly because it exceeded my expectations and I found it enjoyable. I hope my review helps you decide if you may also like it!

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Donghua Recommendations Part 2

by Safreaka

44 Entries · 24 Restacks

Romance (Donghua)

by zongxina

23 Entries · 49 Restacks

Fantasy Historical ""China""

by oooooooooooooops

12 Entries · 5 Restacks

	Poll: Xian Chong Episode 18 Discussion zongxina - Sep 28, 2025	3 replies	by Xealias »» Jan 15, 3:38 PM
	Poll: Xian Chong Episode 12 Discussion dragynfaerie - Aug 20, 2025	1 replies	by Xealias »» Jan 14, 6:58 PM
	Poll: Xian Chong Episode 17 Discussion dragynfaerie - Sep 21, 2025	0 replies	by dragynfaerie »» Sep 21, 2025 5:04 PM
	Poll: Xian Chong Episode 16 Discussion Worvrammu - Sep 16, 2025	0 replies	by Worvrammu »» Sep 16, 2025 1:28 PM
	Poll: Xian Chong Episode 15 Discussion dragynfaerie - Sep 13, 2025	0 replies	by dragynfaerie »» Sep 13, 2025 9:29 PM