This leads him to an encounter with the mysterious Hua Cheng, who reaches under the curtains of Xie Lian’s rickshaw, offering his hand. However, in that episode, the gods force Xie Lian to cross-dress as a bride to lure the Ghost Bridegroom. Up until its second episode, TGCF seems like your typical Chinese mythology, featuring Qi-cultivating gods interacting with the mortal realms.
The first job that Xie Lian is tasked with upon his return is to solve the mystery of the Ghost Bridegroom-a rumored ghost who kidnaps brides-to-be in a remote village. Though talented in the martial arts and compassionate in nature, he is the laughing stock of Heaven due to his previous mishaps. A same-sex romance, front and centerĪdapted from a web novel of the same name, Tian Guan Ci Fu (also referred to as TGCF for short) opens with a brief introduction to our main character Xie Lian, a god who ascends for the third time to Heaven after being banished twice before. The series is US animation distributor Funimation’s first Chinese acquisition, and its story revolves around two characters with a very unexpected relationship.
Tian Guan Ci Fu (天官赐福, or Heaven Official’s Blessing in English ) is a noteworthy addition to China’s growing anime (known as donghua, in Chinese) industry for many reasons.
