"Qi Refining for 3,000 Years" is the story of a man so stubborn he avoids death for thousands of years, and so self-assured he fights manifestations of his inner demons for fun. It's fundamentally a donghua based on a single gimmick, like the many isekai and some romance anime out there, but it executes the gimmick well. The story doesn't only focus on Bai Qiuran's cultivation, but it also never forgets the fact that he's limited to what someone in the Qi Refining realm can do.

Unfortunately, the devil is in the details. Many mediocre anime has a good story with a bland protagonist; Chinese novels and donghua often go the other way, with compelling or likeable protagonists and a mediocre plot and execution.

Plot

The plot is a major flaw of the story. It felt more like one thing happening after another.

At one point, they have to journey through the eight sufferings of Buddhism. Rather than using the full potential of that setting and digging into Bai Qiuran's insecurities- of losing Ruowei, perhaps, as leadup to the final battle- they only show him brute-forcing his way through and exhibiting his power, protecting the four disciples with him (who are fairly useless throughout).

The first half of the story is a little better in this regard, with the story being tied into Ruowei's and Xiangxue's characters. However, because the two arcs covered in this donghua are so separate, you're left wondering "Why did we cover all that?"

Art and Animation

The animation is a style of 2-D Chinese CG, reusing assets and leaving maid and background characters with the same face and outfit. It's a little annoying and definitely not high-quality, but they pull out a bit more budget for big fight scenes, making them fun to watch. The character designs are also good, ignoring the sexualization of the female characters.

I wish the execution regarding expressions and emotions was better, both in how the facial expressions were directly animated and the focus on them. You can see in non-CG and higher quality CG animation, how a face can completely shift, or various effects can be used. In Qi Refining for 3,000 Years, a lot of that felt flat.

Music

I loved the opening song and enjoyed the ending song, which is rare for me with 'Zhongguo Feng' style music. They're both fun and upbeat, and the opening song is also dramatic. It's good enough to somehow make an opening that was entirely reused footage a rare skip for me.

Otherwise, the soundtrack is nothing to write home about, but it's pretty good. There are some tracks they use multiple times which are definitely recognizable, and bring in feelings of whimsy, dramatics, or suit an exciting battle. In general, it's at a normal standard for a non music focused anime.

Characters

The main characters- Bai Qiuran, Tang Ruowei, Huangfu Feng, Su Xiangxue, and Xue Ling- are all likeable.

I've already sung the praises of the main character, but he's very fun to watch. The show also doesn't ignore his age. He's at least 3,000 years old, has the life experience and skills to show it, and the other characters all look up to him, with the whole cast being younger than him (as the majority of his friends he knew in youth have passed on or ascended). At the same time, Huangfu Feng, Su Xiangxue, and Xue Ling are all adults, and thus can have a more equal relationship with him, where they banter and fight together. The individual dynamics between Bai Qiuren and each of them are very fun, well-executed, and different from each other, and I'm especially a fan of Bai Qiuren and Xue Ling; Xue Ling is the "Ghost Errand", similar to the Grim Reaper, who appears only to Bai Qiuren, a cheater of death. After all this time, they've formed a somewhat friendly relationship.

Su Xiangxue also stands out as a character with one of the most fleshed-out backstories, being unwilling heir to the Demon Realm. I won't go too into detail here, but it's always nice to see female characters with protagonist-level backstories outside of stories centered on them.

The core of the story in the amount the donghua covers is the relationship between Bai Qiuren and Tang Ruowei. Ruowei at the beginning felt charming and well-written, but her character started to wear on me eventually. Not because of anything to do with her, besides maybe not getting enough attention, but because three similar characters were introduced.

Of those three characters, I liked Huangfu Feng's disciple when she was first introduced, and the focus was her dynamic with Ruowei. However, introduction of 2 other disciples, and the forcing of a harem-style situation between them and Bai Qiuren, didn't do her any favors.

In terms of side characters, Jue Yunzi was definitely entertaining, as was the rest of the quirky side cast. There are also two brothers in the story; I won't spoil their plotline, but it was a nice bit of emotional drama.

The villain is openly one-dimensional, but his pairing with the Wisdom Immortal makes scenes solely focusing on the two of them not drag out and rather show exposition through dialogue between two very different people, which is a good method.

Conclusion

I'd say Qi Refining for 3,000 Years is a good watch if you already like or are interested in the tropes involved. There are definitely many things I enjoyed about it, and I wouldn't rate it lower than a 5. However, it's ultimately an average to mediocre show.