Meng Qi Shi Shen was a really genuine and fun series to watch from start to finish. Although the animation was inconsistent it made up for it with its strong character writing and sakuga moments.Writing - One of Meng Qi Shi Shen's greatest strengths is that it never took itself too seriously. When the tension was too high it always managed to bring it down with a well timed joke or two and it made me laugh out loud numerous times throughout its run-time.
Characters - The heroine was also the star of this donghua, she was independent and talented and didn't take too much shit from the boys. I also thought the boys themselves were well-written as well. Both boys had good chemistry with the heroine and both were able to develop their relationships with her in a way that felt natural although I do wish we would have gotten the chance to actually see the boys interact with each other more and not just with the heroine. The good character writing extends to the supporting cast as well. Some one off characters that we only get to meet for an episode or two were still memorable and left a lasting impression despite their short amount of screen time and they really helped to flesh out the world and make it feel lived in and believable.
Animation - As I mentioned before the animation in this series is inconsistent. At one moment we'll have this beautifully and smoothly animated cooking scene immediately followed by some janky and jittery animation that could clearly use a few more frames. And this janky animation could sometimes really clash against the gorgeous backgrounds that the characters were put against.
Plot - One of the weakest aspects of this donghua is that the plot kind of bounces around a bit. It seems to lack a little cohesion as the beginning few episodes seemed very slice-of-lifey before meandering off in a different direction later.
Overall Meng Qi Shi Shen is a fun romp with excellent background art, food animation and soundtrack with some standout songs (especially the opening and ending themes!). If you're just looking for something you can turn your brain off to watch, why not this one?