Go Princess Go and Monster Killer in hot water

Pardon my far-from-perfect Chinese skills, but if my interpretation is correct, the highly-talked-about drama Go Princess Go has been taken down from video-hosting sites due to a breach of moral values. I have seen a couple of episodes of Go Princess Go and I can see that its quirky humor may not sit well with China's censorship agency known as SAPPRFT.

Go Princess Go would have been your average drama if not for its outrageous over-the-top storyline that you will either love or hate. If you are the former, you probably cannot stop watching. Fortunately, the drama is only blacklisted for the time being as its broadcasting company LeTV announced that scenes are being re-edited to accommodate SARFT's citations.

A second drama called Monster Killer, which I absolutely love, is also temporarily banned in China maybe for violence (again sorry for my weak translation skills). It's not all bad for Monster Killer because it just had a pretty good run in Hong Kong with its final episode ending at an all-time high. While Monster Killer still can't compare to mainstream dramas, it has amassed enough attention to boost the popularity of rising star Elvis Han (Chinese Paladin 5). Seriously, he is a good-looking guy with a six-pack. Who can resist?

Source: cankaoxiaoxi, People

First Look: Monster Killer (Wu Xin Fa Shi)

Monster Killer 無心法師 is a 20-episode Chinese drama starring Elvis Han (Chinese Paladin 5) and Gina Jin (Qin's Moon).

Episode 1 begins on a stormy night where a monk (Elvis Han) walks along a dreary path. An army of soldiers accidentally throw him off the cliff saving nothing except for a piece of his clothing. The monk miraculously survives unscathed and encounters Yue Ya (Gina Jin), a young girl on the run from her evil stepmother.

With nowhere else to go, they travel together to an obviously haunted mansion to procure medical supplies for Yue Ya's injured leg. True enough, something wicked lives under the well, yet the monk named Wuxin remains largely unfazed because it turns out that he is actually a demon hunter in disguise.

First impressions: Martial arts dramas are an acquired taste. Martial arts fantasy dramas even more so. I for one wouldn't tell my rom-com-watching friend to check this out. However, if you like sci-fi, you might like this.

From the get go, this seems like my kind of storyline and it doesn't disappoint. The story progression is similar to an anime where the protagonist faces different enemies along the way but there is a bigger story to connect the dots in the form of Wu Xin's nemesis Yue Qi Luo (Chen Yao). She was certainly evil but also one of the most intriguing characters in the drama second only to Wu Xin. If I had to complain, I don't understand why each character had to have some semblance of a bowl cut. 

For Monster Killer synopsis and ratings, see my 2015 Chinese drama recommendations.

The Monster Killer Stills and OST

An unexpected find since it's not as popular as say Chinese Paladin but it is a web series also produced by Tangren Media that definitely deserves the massive following that it receives from fans who have seen it.

Monster Killer is based on a novel that is written in four chapters so it's not that far-fetched to think that three more seasons may actually happen. For Monster Killer synopsis and ratings, see my 2015 list of best wuxia dramas.

The song choices are worth mentioning as well since it really fits the theme of the series that is eerily melancholic. You can try downloading Monster Killer OST here by typing the Chinese words below (no guarantee it'll work though).
Li Jian 李健 - Bei Jian Er Hu Pan 贝加尔湖畔 (Opening song)
Li Qi 李琦 - Zui Chang De Li Tu 最长的旅途 (Ending song)

Source 3lian.