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Emperor Qiang Long-
This whole series couldn't function without the emperor. In fact, the audience would be a lot smaller without him. The series would have hit a dead end in any age group above 20. Yes, I know real emperors of ancient China weren't nearly as forgiving as he was in Huan Zhu Ge Ge. But we believe what we want to believe, right? So in this movie, the emperor is simply a kind, family kind of guy. Some of the most hilarious scenes occur when he asks Xiao Yan Zi to recite the poems she wrote - "Cockroaches and mice!" In the sequel however, the emperor lost some of his dignity, at least in our eyes. He was such a womanizer! His "infatuation" with Xiang Fei was ... ugghh...let's not go there.
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Ling Fei-
Thank God for a person like her in the series. She's the helper, the savior, the one inkling of support in the palace. Ling Fei isn't exactly pretty, and she has her strict, haughty side. When she commands servants, she's strong and unforgiving. But she has her charming side. When she faces the emperor, she always says the RIGHT thing. In other words, she calms down the emperor, makes things alright. Xiao Yan Zi would've been toast long ago without her. There's a certain balance. When you face an enemy like the queen, you've got to have someone of authority to back you up.
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The Empress
The villain everyone loves to hate. Xiao Yan Zi would've been just way too lucky if all she did was confuse her way into court, obtain the title of Princess, receive the care of the emperor, and the love of Yong Qi. She MUST have someone to go against her. And someone as powerful as the queen is the perfect choice. You gotta hand it to her. She's relentless in her quest to destroy Xiao Yan Zi and her mob of friends. She's so paranoid it's almost sad. The reason she's so suspicious, of course, lies in her insecurity. Being shunned by your husband is no good business, and yet she remains so blindly devoted to his well-being. The only perk is that she takes severely nasty measures toward Xiao Yan Zi in the name of "meaning well."
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Rong Muo Muo-
Three words are enough to describe her: witch, witch, and witch. Which means the actress did a hell of job interpreting this role. She's the villain of the villains. Her indespicable tactics are beyond nasty. Needle pins, finger crunchers, voodoo dolls, anything. Her every move, be it the swing of the eyes or a wily smirk, spell out VILLAIN. Not to mention ugly. Up until now, I'd always wondered where they ever found such an ugly old woman to play this role. But when you consider she is a veteran actress and a drama teacher in China, you got to hand her some respect. She seals this role down pat. She makes you fume and nothing else. When she falls on her rear, everyone cheers. If she hadn't turned "good" in the end of the sequel, I would've given complete thumbs up for her almost- execution in the original.
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Xiang Fei-
My heart goes out in sympathy for her, both in the series and in real life. In the series, she was the beautiful Muslim princess who was forced into marriage with the emperor. Head-strong and ever faithful to her true love Mong Dan, she really was walking on egg shells for much of the movie. Her life was plagued by a blessing - the fragrance that she was born with threatened to be the guide in tracking her down whenever she tried to escape. Though her hard work paid off in the movie, she would only meet tragedy in real life. This is in memory of Liu Dan, aka Xiang Fei, a promising young life cut far too short.
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Ching Ar-
If you ask me who is the only female with real brains in the Huan Zhu series, my top vote goes to Ching Ge Ge. Sure, Zi Wei has intellect, but NO brains. (Why Zi Wei would continue helping Rong Muo Muo is forever beyond me). Ching Ar is the only truly smart young lady in that series. She's articulate beyond words, saying the "right" thing every single time. Again, a "good" character like her was needed in the sequel to balance the "evil" in the queen mother. She's the lucky star that helps Xiao Yan Zi and her gang get out of sticky situations time after time. She finds her self-respect and matures. Should there be a miracle and Huan Zhu Ge Ge 3 comes out, Ching Ar's story would only just begin. Qiong Yau left more than a few loose ends in the last minutes of Huan Zhu 2, when Ching Ar and Shiao Jian seem to meet love at first sight. Who knows... anything's possible.
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Sai Ya-
It's been said that the Huan Zhu series made overnight stars out of all the actors and actresses -- except one. And that is Sai Ya, the Tibetan princess who arrives in the first movie, causes a firestorm when she wants to wed Ar Kang, and ultimately snatches up his little brother Ar Tai. It doesn't surprise me that she didn't get instant fame. That's cause she was more annoying than cute and more noisy than funny. She came at an inopportune time. When the emperor held a Qing vs. Tibet Wu Gong match, everyone cheered alongside Xiao Yan Zi and wished the gutsy Sai Ya would just shut up. Later, when she proclaims she wants Ar Kang for a husband, everyone almost fainted along with Zi Wei. Everything Sai Ya did went against the flow. But in the end, she finds a lifelong companion in Ar Tai, and finally goes back to Tibet...good riddance. Who'd want a bratty little princess like her stealing the show?
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