Film Name: 魔画情 / Fantasy Romance / 魔畫情
Tony Leung plays a cartoonist whose life resembles a crumpled sheet of drawing paper—his mind brimming with wild ideas, yet his sketches are constantly rejected by editors for being “too bizarre” or “nobody will read them.” He huddles in his rented attic, subsisting on bread by day and staring blankly at his canvas by night. Even when the landlord comes to collect rent, he dodges him. He’s the very picture of an “unappreciated genius.”
Until that rainy day traffic accident. He was rushing to meet a deadline on his beat-up bicycle when he carelessly collided with a parked car. As he rubbed his arm and scrambled to his feet, he saw a girl in a wedding dress standing beside him, her eyes filled with bewilderment. She was the little ghost played by Joey Wong—a bride who should have married that day but met her end en route to the church. Without ever catching a glimpse of her groom’s face, she became a wandering spirit in the mortal world.
New to the mortal world, the young ghost knew nothing: she mistook neon lights for stars and tried to bite into a bag of convenience store potato chips, only to bite air. Fortunately, she encountered the seasoned ghost, Deanie Ip. The two “ghosts” sat on a park bench under the moonlight, sharing their life stories. Ye Dexian’s voice trembled with tears: “My husband passed away early. I couldn’t resist meeting my pre-marriage lover, only to be caught red-handed. My three-year-old son and I were both drowned in a pig cage… I’ve lingered in this world all these years, waiting for a chance for my son to be reincarnated.”
The young ghost’s eyes reddened as she listened, then shared her own story: “My parents arranged my marriage long ago. I didn’t even know if he was tall or short before they stuffed me into a wedding dress… Now that I’m a ghost, at least I don’t have to marry.” Though she said this, her eyes still held envy as she watched couples holding hands on the street—until she encountered that cartoonist again.
That day, the artist sat before his paper, so troubled he was pulling out his hair. The little ghost approached curiously, peering at the half-finished girl under his pen. She secretly used her ghostly power to add a few strokes. With that single touch, the stiff lines suddenly came alive, and light filled the girl’s eyes. The artist froze, as if suddenly unlocking a creative breakthrough, and his pen moved nonstop. From then on, the little ghost became his “invisible muse”: when he hit a wall, she’d blow fallen leaves from the window onto his paper; when his editor was being difficult, she’d secretly swap the editor’s coffee for vinegar, forcing him to nod in agreement.
Slowly, the manga artist’s name became famous—his drawings always carried a gentle, ethereal quality. Readers said, “It’s as if you can see the characters’ heartbeats.” He moved into a spacious studio, no longer worrying about rent, yet he always felt something was missing. He often spoke to the air: “If only you could see.” The little ghost hid in the corner, smiling at him, her own happiness growing. Yet her body grew increasingly ethereal—the yang energy of the mortal world acted like a magnet, slowly draining her ghostly form. Her silhouette became more transparent, even sunlight able to pass through her.
While the human and ghost quietly developed feelings for each other, Ye Dexian finally received the opportunity she’d waited decades for: an emissary from the underworld approached her, offering her son’s reincarnation in exchange for capturing the little ghost. Ye Dexian clutched the talisman the emissary gave her, her hands trembling—the little ghost was her only friend in the mortal world, yet her son’s reincarnation was her sole reason for living. Staring at the ghost girl’s frail state, she finally closed her eyes: “I’m sorry. My son can’t wait any longer.”
What she didn’t say was that the ghost girl wasn’t an ordinary spirit at all—she was the Blood Demon’s betrothed. Years ago, when the ghost girl fled their wedding, the Blood Demon’s rage overturned the banquet in the underworld. He had been searching for her ever since. Ye Dexian took advantage of the little ghost’s sleep to bind her with talismans and handed her over to the underworld authorities.
When the cartoonist returned home, the studio was empty — on the sofa where the little ghost often sat, only a lace-trimmed thread from her wedding dress remained, one she had secretly hidden away. Driven mad with worry, he searched frantically until he found Ye Dexian sobbing uncontrollably on a park bench. Only then did he learn the truth: the little ghost had been taken back to the underworld, forced to marry the Blood Demon.
“I’m going to save her,” the cartoonist declared, clutching the thread with unwavering resolve. Following clues from Ye Dexian, he found the entrance to the underworld—a pitch-black forest where ghostly shadows hung from every tree. The underworld was far more terrifying than he’d imagined: boiling pools of blood, wails of the damned, the Blood Demon seated upon a lofty throne, black mist billowing from his body. The little ghost girl was chained beside him, her face as pale as paper.
“A mere mortal dares to trespass in the Netherworld?” The Blood Demon sneered coldly, unleashing a black gale with a wave of his hand. The manga artist was blown into the wall, coughing up blood, yet he scrambled to his feet. Picking up shards of glass from the floor, he charged toward the Blood Demon. He recalled the little ghost girl helping him blow away leaves, remembered her hiding in the corner, smiling secretly. With each blow, his courage grew—love had become his hardest armor, even against a Blood Demon capable of destroying heaven and earth.
The little ghost watched him, covered in wounds, crying out, “Run! We’re not meant for the same world!” But the cartoonist rushed to her side, using every ounce of strength to snap the chains. “Whether you’re human or ghost, I’m taking you with me.”
But the Blood Demon’s power was too great, and he was soon knocked to the ground. Seeing him on the brink of death, the little ghost suddenly smiled. She mustered her last ounce of strength and threw herself at the Blood Demon. The moment her body touched it, a blinding light erupted. “I ran from my wedding not because I feared you, but because I feared never meeting him again.” With those words, her form vanished completely into the light.
The Blood Demon, scorched by the light, roared and stumbled back. When the artist climbed to his feet, the entrance to the underworld was closing. He reached out, grasping only emptiness. Later, he returned to the mortal realm and spent his life drawing pictures of a girl in a wedding dress. In the corner of each painting, a tiny lace thread remained—the only tangible link between him and the little ghost girl, spanning the worlds of the living and the dead.
The entire film portrays the romance and regret of a human-ghost love affair with heart-wrenching poignancy: the young ghost traded her life for a fleeting romance, while the cartoonist spent his remaining years guarding an invisible memory. By the end, you understand that some loves—even when separated by life and death, even when destined for tragedy—are worth fighting for with every ounce of strength. Because the moment you meet that person, it is already a lifetime.
Please specify：Anime Phone Cases » Fantasy Romance 1990 Film Review: Bold and daring! A down-on-his-luck cartoonist encounters a bride-to-be ghost. Their human-ghost romance propels him to fame, and to save his beloved, he bravely ventures into the underworld to battle the Blood Demon.