# Guardian (2018)

> A university professor and a detective team up to hunt supernatural enemies, led by the elusive Black Robe.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/69244

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 40
- Episode runtime: 45 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: fantasy, mystery, crime
- Created by: Priest
- Network: Youku
- Cast: Zhu Yilong, Bai Yu, Gao Yuer, Li Yan, Xin Peng, Jiang Mingyang, Liu Min-ting, Wang Chaowei
- TMDB rating: 7.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8551028/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: eerie, atmospheric, melancholic, sincere, tense

## Synopsis

Guardian (2018) is a Chinese supernatural mystery series created by Priest and broadcast on Youku, adapted from a popular web novel. University professor Shen Wei (Zhu Yilong) and detective Zhao Yunlan (Bai Yu) are drawn together when ordinary-seeming crimes reveal supernatural enemies, and the two must work across the city to uncover the hidden forces behind them. The engine of the series is a steady investigation: each stretch of the forty-episode run follows a mystery, peels back a layer of the mythology, and tightens the net around the elusive Black Robe, a shadowy antagonist whose identity is kept veiled. Supporting principals including Zhu Hong (Gao Yuer), Da Qing (Li Yan) and Guo Changcheng (Xin Peng) fill out the investigating circle. The format is a single continuous season of forty episodes, serialized so that the mythology builds on itself. The tone blends eerie, atmospheric dread with warm, devoted friendship between its two leads and a melancholic undercurrent of past wounds. Viewers who enjoy Supernatural, The Untamed and Constantine will find a similar pairing of rational investigation and occult danger, delivered through a distinctly Chinese web-drama lens.

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