Episode 99 proves you shouldn’t trust any elite
If you have watched most or all of the previous episodes of the Chinese donghua ‘Tales of Herding Gods‘,and been as obsessed with them as I am, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that, now that we have hit Episode 99, and even though protagonist Mu’er went to great lengths to save the Emperor’s life, the Emperor still doesn’t trust him.
So much so that, soon after Mu’er kills the crown prince, and the Emperor’s younger son is now named as the new successor to the throne in his place, both the Emperor and his son are already plotting to destroy Mu’er if he doesn’t do exactly what they want him to.
This then was pretty much the theme of ‘Tales of Herding Gods‘ Episode 99, as we see the Emperor and his son already suspicious of Mu’er, who they now call Minister Zhongsan, but also willing to use the Emperor’s own daughter, Seventh Princess Ling Yuxiu (aka “chubby girl”), to keep him under control if needs be.
Well, why wouldn’t they, as it’s pretty obvious to me and probably to you, that their only goal is to exploit him for their own gain.
In particular, both the Emperor and the Imperial Preceptor were injured in the battle for the throne, and they now need Mu’er to heal them.
Anything else then, including going after Mu’er and his sect, can apparently wait until both men are healed.
Meanwhile, Mu’er and the sect members of his Heavenly Devil Sect already know the Emperor cannot be trusted, as they believe he will move against the sect as soon as he has eliminated the two holy lands.
Mu’er, however, is more naive than his fellow sect members as he believes, as long as the Imperial Preceptor is still alive, the Emperor will not attempt to destroy the sect.
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All I can say is I will believe that when pigs fly as, from watching almost 100 episodes of ‘Tales of Herding Gods‘, it’s been pretty much proven again and again that not one of the elite members of any sect, or any government official, including the Emperor and most of the royal family, can be trusted.
To make things even worse for Mu’er, the Emperor has pulled in the evil Little Poison King (aka Fu Yuanqing) to help heal him and the Imperial Preceptor.
The Little Poison King used to be a disciple of Mu’er’s grandfather, the Jade Face Poison King, but betrayed his master to his enemies.
Since then, he has been pursued around the world by various people connected to the Jade Face Poison King until he sought refuge with the Imperial Preceptor.
Now, it looks like he is intent on threatening Mu’er, while showing off his own poison skills as he tries to best him.
Of course, while his threats are overt and he really is a vile little man, am I the only one that thinks, if he ever tried anything nefarious, Mu’er would simply hand him his ass on a platter?
All in all, though, Episode 99 carries on this superb story incredibly well as, even if it isn’t an episode full of thrilling battles or daring escapades, it does add another layer of intrigue to a plot already laden down with it.
It also gave us a chance to see Mu’er and the Seventh Princess cement their relationship even more.
Something that has been cute to watch over the last couple of episodes as, while Mu’er has definitely grown up and become even more responsible since they first met, so has she.
The superb ‘Tales of Herding Gods‘ plot
One thing I have loved about the ongoing donghua is how well the plot and its characters have been written. Right up to Episode 99.
Especially as so much of the plot involves intricately detailed political intrigue and backstabbing, and includes characters who go through some major character development as their journey is ongoing.
People like Mu’er who appeared as a small mischievous child in the first few episodes, then grew into an energetic teenager, and then into a young man who carries huge responsibility on his shoulders, but never let’s down the people he cares about.
Or like several of his grandparents who, after their “grandchild” has grown up, re-access staying in the Daxu, and decide they can probably be more effective out in the real world.
Having watched over a decade of donghua series as well, I can absolutely guarantee getting a Chinese animated series this well-written throughout just about all of its almost 100 episodes is rare.
That this one also includes stunning visuals and superb animation makes the Sparkly Key-animated ‘Tales of Herding Gods‘ even more unique.
In fact, I would be hard-pressed to name more than a handful of donghua that excel in just about every way like this does, wouldn’t you?
With Episode 99 now having aired, and its 100th episode on its way next week, ‘Tales of Herding Gods’ also shows no signs of having that stellar writing slow down, or its fascinating characters becoming less interesting.
In other words, we may just get another 99 or 100 well-written episodes of the animated series (it is adapted from an extremely long novel series), and I have to say I would be up for that without any complaints.
‘Tales of Herding Gods’, Episode 99 is now streaming on Bilibili in China, and will also be dropping on Bilibili’s Donghua Animation YouTube channel soon. (Watch its trailer below).
If you have recently downloaded the new international Bilibili app, keep an eye for it hitting that platform soon as well.
If you haven’t yet, that’s another thing I recommend you doing — download the app (on the usual app platforms), as you will not only find ‘Tales of Herding Gods‘ with English subtitles, but many other top anime as well.
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