On The Edge (2021)

Synopsis:

Having lost his father at a young age, He Fangzhi honed his skills and embarked on a path of revenge. From the mutton soup shop in the northwest border region where his entire family was murdered thirteen years ago, to Linqing Prefecture in Shandong, and then to Cuifeng Mountain in Zhejiang, He Fangzhi traversed north and south, meticulously unraveling the case to try and find the mastermind behind his father’s murder. On his path of revenge, He Fangzhi sensed that his opponents were all seemingly loyal and righteous individuals, who appeared to be doing everything in their power to protect the true mastermind.

Genre: Martial Arts, Drama

Number of episode: 40

Studio: Sansan Er Chuan Culture

Type: 2D & 3D Animation hybrid

Where to watch?: WeTV

Douban score: 8.1 (season 1), 9.2 (season 2)

Tencent rating: 9.5 (with > 120k raters)

My rating: Love to watch, casually (season 1), Love to watch (season 2 & 3)

Status: Season 3 complete. Waiting for Season 4

Recommended if you like:

Martial arts
Story that full of action

What I Like

To be honest, I think the story of season 1 is ordinary. Basically, the protagonist (He Fangzhi) tracks down the mastermind of his family massacre 13 years ago by killing everyone involved in it, one by one. The main aspect that makes me interested in season 1 is probably the action scenes, although the animation style is really not my cup of tea. But things start moving more intriguingly in season 2. He Fangzhi’s family massacre is actually not simple. It is tangled in the webs of schemes and conspiracies of corrupt officials in the imperial court.
The action scenes are well done. This donghua feels really “wuxia” to me. Although sometimes I think the action scenes are too many for my taste. 😂
I like how this donghua also gives us the perspective of side characters. So we get the whole story by unraveling it little by little. We get the side of the protagonist, and then we also get the side of the enemy through their point of view. This makes the story seem balanced to me. The protagonist isn’t thoroughly right, and the enemy isn’t thoroughly wrong.

My Other Comments

I actually don’t really like the protagonist, particularly in season 1. He was so consumed by revenge in season 1 that he killed some characters who were actually not the bad guys. But in seasons 2 and 3, I guess I sympathize a bit with him. In season 2, he realizes that he is only a borrowed knife to kill people. Then the consequence of his mistake bite him in his ass. We got the perspective of his victim & now he has to live with the burden.
The enemy is always the corrupt official. Season 3 throw a big question to its viewer. Would you stay loyal to your corrupt and disgusting imperial dynasty, or join the nation’s enemy to topple the emperor?

Link to watch

WeTV (season 1): https://wetv.vip/en/album/bluqvooyirb3y4a

WeTV (season 2): https://wetv.vip/en/album/767u04k6a6qmx7h

WeTV (season 3): https://wetv.vip/en/album/q9wwl1qfsp2tl6t