The iQIYI heat index for White Cat Legend 大理寺少卿游 has just reached 8,000. It depicts the story of Li Bing, the son of the former magistrate of Dali Temple, an ancient judicial body, who returns after an unexplained three-year hiatus and assembles an unlikely team of allies to investigate crimes. The story has origins in both Manhua (comic books) and Donghua (animated series). It sounds like any other detective novel, but the protagonist of Ding Yuxi turns into a strong white cat.
The story begins with the meeting of Ding Yuxi’s Li Bing in the guise of a cat and Zhou Qi’s character Chen Shi, an innocent, sincere man from the province who is searching for his brother. They get drawn into a case with a “cat demon.” Their first alliance grows to include a broader group of officials from Dali Temple, each with their special talents and eccentricities: Wang Qi (Feng Man), Alibaba (Wa Er), Cui Bei (Vesta Ding Jiawen), and Sun Bao (Zhang Yicong). Next, Miles Wei Zheming portrays a general whose confrontations with Ding Yuxi are worth observing.
Since it’s a live-action film, one cannot but draw parallels with the original. There are a lot of good detective books in this category, but some have complained that this one isn’t that deep. The inclusion of Ren Min’s character, who is absent from the original, is likewise met with opposition. In a predominately male cast, the 24-year-old actress makes a special appearance. Li Bing is a human with a cat’s face in the Longhua. Ding Yuxi can’t look the same, but it’s entertaining to watch the actor adopt a cat’s behavior. In addition, I kind of like White Cat Legend because of its characters and their friendship.
