Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
As close as one can get from a novel adaptation.
Preamble:The best thing to come out of this series is the soundtrack, 意难平, 恨别 and I absolutely adore Bibi Zhou's version of 无羁 which makes me wonder why the demonic flute in the entire series sounded so terrible. Could they have not made a little more effort with that?
Review:
I have to admit, from the novel to the anime, manhua and TV series, the best would obviously have to be the book (even so, I only gave that a 4/5), the worst being the anime. The anime was lacking in emotions, some characters in the anime are completely unlikable, i.e.: Jiang Cheng. In the novel itself, Jiang Cheng was not irritating, he was always envious and had an inferiority complex, but he remained loyal and loved his siblings. He only turned on Wei Ying after the loss of his sister. The TV series makes up for this somewhat because Marius Wang is pleasant to look at, and he does not come across as too much of a prick (not to mention, I love his song). On the flipside, Wang Yibo comes across as too much of a one-dimensional type of actor. It would be nicer to see instances of a glimpse of a smile or something (like in the book), whereas, all we see is a semi-constipated face. He gets credit for one tiny smile towards the very end of the series. Meng Ziyi also plays a larger role in the TV series than Wen Qing actually does in the book. This is good for several reasons, there's too much cock and balls in this series, and I am so extremely glad they picked a decent looking female for the role, I would not have survived 50 hours of visual torture.
Now to delve into this series, on the surface, the acting quality, music and even the cast is rather strong. I have some issues with it but I would still advise people to watch it because it is easy to overlook some of the minor flaws. The reason for the high score is not because they were all exceptionally talented actors, it is because I saw a marked improvement for quite a few of the actors if we compared the beginning and end of the series. That's some unprecedented progress.
One of the main issues I have with this show is the portrayal of Wei Ying as being somewhat of a 'saint' or hero. This is the total opposite of the book (the real reason this was a standout xianxia book!), whereby the characters were less 'black and white'. Wei Ying was never framed by anyone, there are no true villains in the book, they were all unfortunate circumstances and bad timing. To clarify, Wei Ying did kill Jin ZiXuan out of anger and he did lose control. He also lost control at the end whereby he dies from the backlash when he destroyed half of the amulet (not due to Jiang Cheng). It is rather accurate to say that Wei Ying suffers from a hero complex (as pointed out by Jiang Cheng) and delusions of grandeur, believing wholeheartedly that he was capable of controlling demonic powers when no one in the past has ever succeeded, ultimately succumbing to it. To make it worse, seeing as Wei Ying did give up his golden core, he had a reason to use demonic cultivation. Au contraire, later when he took over Mo Xuanyu's body, despite the lack of cultivation, he could have practised, cultivated and used his sword. Instead, he chose to continue using other means which shows his lack of remorse and greed for power. What was the real reason as to why he kept the amulet, was it really for protection or for power? What about his refusal to hand it over to other people as well? Perhaps if he did not want to hand it over to Jin sect, it was understandable, but why not to Lan sect and then request for their protection? He could have handed it over to Lan Zhan since he considered him his 'partner'.
Again, this entire theme of moral ambiguity is a bit off in the TV series. Meng Yao is portrayed as more villainous in the TV series. In the book though, he is just ambitious and opportunistic. Although in the TV series, the general audience feels sorry for Xue Yang and Meng Yao, they still come across as villains. One could argue that although Xue Yang took an unorthodox approach for his revenge, he is no different than all the big sects who wanted to exterminate the Wen clan. He is also not wrong, no matter how many lives he kills, it is not the same as his finger because the finger belongs to him. If we extend this to more than a finger, such as a family member, then, the same could be said that no matter how many Wen clan members are killed, it will never return the Jiang sect's family members, so there was no real need to rid Wen Qing's branch. However, Xue Yang is portrayed as evil while the other sect leaders are saints.
Finally, although they did not blatantly kiss or anything, the protagonists had more chemistry in this show than most straight couples. As a result, this is one of the better Chinese TV series I have watched in the past year.
Conclusion:
Great series to watch with some acceptable flaws. Lovely soundtrack. Definitely worth watching if you liked the book, it is way better than the anime (to be fair I am not a fan of anime, I was dragged into it). Nevertheless, there are a lot of details missing which may be confusing for those who have not read the book/manhua. I would recommend reading the book first (in Chinese) before watching, you'll have a greater understanding and appreciation for the storyline.
Was this review helpful to you?
THE BEST HISTORICAL CDRAMA
I literally felt all my emotions watching this, i never regreted watching it. I watched ep 1 and 2 and didn’t wnat to continue but after a few months i finished it and i regreted not finishing it earlier. I wish i could watch it for the first time because it’s literally the best drama. I really love the acting and each of the charactersWas this review helpful to you?
This drama will always have a special place in my heart
One of the best dramas I have watched in terms of acting, writing, OST, storyline. Untamed will always have a special place in my heart. It was an emotional rollercoaster, I felt every emotion being portrayed on screen. It was perfect, there was never a dull episode. I usually don't watch Chinese dramas since they are so long but this one could have a hundred episodes and I would never get bored. It was that good! The actors were incredible in this, they really sold the storyline. Xiao Zhan's acting was perfection, he really became Wei Ying. The power Xiao Zhan has, even the other actors were amazing. Especially Lan Zhan he had few lines but his face told us everything. You can tell how much longed and loved him Wei Ying. Every episode was beautiful to look at, it was visually stunning. It should be in a museum, especially Lan Zhan holding the scene in the snow, which was a testimony to his love and loyalty to Wei Ying And the OST, it deserves all the awards. I still listen to it to this day and sometimes cry over it because the emotions are still raw. Everyone should watch this drama at least once in their life. It has so many life lessons and meaningful messages. I'll never forget this drama.Was this review helpful to you?
A masterpiece
I have watched the anime 'Mo Dao Zu Shi' and the novel 'The cultivation of demonic arts' The untamed was based on. I am so in love with the cast, the plot and the emotions. I've rewatched The untamed twice and even though I knew what was coming in later on episodes it still broke my heart seeing Wei Wuxian fall apart, though me rewatching it was definitely worth the watch as I understood it more than I did when I first watched it.The acting is really good. The actors did well with their roles and really put in more effort to make the characters emotions hit the viewers. Xiao Zhan did amazingly well with making Wei Wuxian's emotions show. I loved every bit of it. Wang Yibo also did amazingly well especially since Lan Zhan doesn't show his emotions that well, he did a great job with showing them.
Overall I just love it and how they made it.
Was this review helpful to you?
gay panic
bdusbdgsisj i love this so gay you must watch it ! its such a good story, its long drama but its so interesing, i recomended it to you all. go and watch!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
(●♡∀♡)(๑♡⌓♡๑)(｡♡‿♡｡)(✿ ♡‿♡)(◍•ᴗ•◍)❤( ◜‿◝ )♡(｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡(•ө•)♡(灬º‿º灬)♡(´∩｡• ᵕ •｡∩`)ෆ╹ .̮ ╹ෆ(｡・//ε//・｡)♥╣[-_-]╠♥♡(> ਊ <)♡
Was this review helpful to you?
Best Chinese BL Drama Ever! Everything Visual Affects To Stunts Are All Wonderfully Done! 10.0 STARS
1st I Wanted To Say How Much I Love, And Adore Wang YiBo, And Xiao Zhan So Very Much... And I Am Not Going To Lie, I Was Pretty Against Watching Any BL Stuff. Funny Story I'll Just Say This The Day I Decided I Wanted To Watch The Untamed I Was Having A Seriously Bad Day, I Wanted To Watch Something That That Would Take My Mind Off Of What Was Annoying Me, But Something I Would Not Pay To Much Attention To... So I Thought. I Watched The 1st Three Episodes The 1st Day. I COULD NOT TAKE MY EYES OR FOCUS OFF THE SCREEN. I Was So Enchanted By Xiao Zhan's Beauty, And His Handsomeness As Wei WuXian. I Was Memorized, And Taken By Wang YiBo's Beautiful, And Gorgeousness As Lan WangJi. They Both Played There Parts Accurately, And Played There Parts Very Well... I Don't Care What Anyone Says, From The Very 1st Episode I Could See, And Feel That Wang YiBo, And Xiao Zhang Were In Love With Each Other In Real Life. The Way They Look At Each Other, The Way They Look Into Each Others Eyes. That Is Love Not Friendship... Even My Husband Could See The Love They Both Have For Each Other. (If You Watch The Full Behind The Scenes, Everything Is Shown, And All Is Shown.)Anyways This Chinese BL Drama Is 100% The Best Ever... The Story Line Is Really Good From Beginning To The Very End... Lots Of Twists, And Turns, The End Will Be A Shocker, But You Soon Will Figure That Out. All The Actors, And Actresses Did There Parts, And Played There Parts To A Tee. Yu Bin Playing The Roll As Wen Ying... All I Gotta Say Is He Had Me Laughing So Hard Sometimes, Because Of His Goofiness, But The Best Part Is When Lan WangJi... ***Don't Want To Spoil It For Anyone So You'll Just Have To Watch, And See For Yourself*** The Stunts, And Visual Affects Are So Amazing. The Music Especially The Ending Credit Song Is So Beautiful It Called WuJi And It Is Song By My Two Most Favorite Boys Wang YiBo, And Xiao Zhan. I Watched This Whole Drama In Less Then A Week... I Hate Myself For Not Watching It Sooner, But As My Husband Says Better Late Then Never. I Rather Late Then Not To Have Know Wang YiBo Or Xiao Zhan... Ever.
I Have A Kind Of Funny Story To Tell This Was Around Or Covid-19, And My Mom, And I Were At A Chinese Restaurant, A Lady Was Sitting By Herself, Long Story Short I Went To The Bathroom Came Back, And The Lady Was Sitting At Our Table, I Asked My Mom What Was Going On, She Said The Lady Didn't Want To Eat By Herself, Anyways After We Ate, She Wanted To Add Us As Friends, But Because She Was From China She Said The Government Restricted There Social Media Accounts... They Couldn't Have Facebook, And Others... At That Time I Was Not Into Chinese Drama, So She Said We Can't, Because You Know Wang YiBo, Or Xiao Zhan... I Can't Remember If She Mentioned 1 Name Or Both, But I Told Her I Had No Clue What She Was Talking About, She Gave Me A Look Like WHAT? Anyways About 6 Months Ago I Just Realized She Was Talking About Those 2 My 2 Most Favorite People In The World. Had I Known I Would Have Fallen In Love With These 2 Back Then. When She Said The Names I Could Berely Understand She Though, And Back Then I Had No Clue How To Spell Chinese Names Like I Do Now, But Trust Me, I Wish I Would Have Looked Them Up Back Then.
There's Alot More To That Story, And Why The Government Is So Strict About Social Media In China, But You Will Have To Research All That On Your Own. ALL I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT ALL THAT IS THAT ALL OF IT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED!!! THAT IS WHY ALMOST 5 YEARS LATER, AND THERE IS NO UNTAMED SEASON 2!!!
Was this review helpful to you?
BLESS YOUR SOUL WITH THIS!
Do I need to say anything? This is probably one of the best series that has ever been released from China.THE WRITING, THE STORY, THE CAST, THE OST. With one word MASTERPIECE !!!!!!
I watched this 3 times already because let's be real, it's addicting. Just an amazingly done series.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHARACTERS-----OH MY GOD!!!!!!
JUST DO YOUR SELF A FAVOUR AND BLESS YOUR SOUL WITH THIS!
This is going in my top ten dramas for sure. The emotion you get while watching this is... I can't even put that in words. I'll definitely re-watch this again in the future.
Was this review helpful to you?
The beautiful sets and outdoor landscapes are breathtaking, very detailed and ornate. The costumes gorgeous, and I appreciated our heroes having more than one change of clothes even if both wore mostly black (Wei Wuxian) and white (Lan Wanji). The score was the biggest hit of all. It was hauntingly melodic and expressive, reflecting the pain, joy and lighter moments in the drama.
There is no denying the importance of the storyline and how central the messages of loyalty and love are in this piece. How jealousy and hatred consumes a person and how malicious gossip can destroy lives. We feel for the main characters, we grow to love them and feel for them so deeply, that by the last episode we feel truly sorry to say goodbye. I loved the BL between our main leads. It was tastefully expressed and one, I think, important to the drama. I am glad for the decision to include it.
I am looking forward to more productions of this caliber.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
The movie
I have watched this before back in 2020, I saw an edit and had to do a re-watch for 2023. It is so worth it. I have read both the novel and the manhua. I will say I am disappointed about the censorship of their romance but I guess due to their policies they had to do it like that. The ending at first looks like they go their separate ways (not in the novel, or manhua they go together and I love it), but after Wei Wuxian plays the flute, he turns around wide-eyed, I'd like to think that Lan Wangji came back ;') which is just a perfect ending. Despite the censorship, they snuck in many of the scenes and even in a subtle version which was beautiful.The bro or friend-zoning part did piss me off ngl but I also think of that as Wei Wuxian at the time not knowing of his feelings for Lan Wangji. Also, Lan Wangji's subtle reaction to it gets me. I would have liked if the author continued more about Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian's reunion ;'( maybe one day they will have their happy ending as best friends again. However, I am happy about how the adaption started and ending despite the censorship of some of the favorite scenes. I could also go to the manhua and re-read that or the novel. I'm glad they made this. I do not think I'd find another relationship like Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian because their characters were so beautiful. Especially what Lan Wangji did when Wei Wuxian was gone for 16 years ;'')
Was this review helpful to you?
A perfect drama
This is one of the best Chinese dramas I have every watched. The casts, story, production, costumes, music are all wonderful. I don't read the novel so I had to watch many ananlysis of the story and charaters on Youtube and re-watch the drama up to the 4th times to fully understand the story and the meaning of many scenes in the drama. Yet I never feel tired of re-watching this drama. The story is very touching and reminds me of the meaning of true love no matter it is between family members or friends. All the characters are expressed very well through the great acting of the whole casts. I like Lan Zhan who is peformed by Wang Yibo the most. He is one of the most elegant and gorgeous characters I have ever seen and Wang Yibo perfectly expressed Lan Zhan's personalities and emotions throughout the story. I also love the OST of this drama. They are my all time favourite music.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Surpringly amazing !!
I have to say personally when i started this show i wasnt that interested . I didnt know either of the main actors but it was on netflix and i saw so many other great reviews . What really made me watch this was the super cute merch on aliexpress . I sluged through the first 15 episodes which for me felt most like backstory but then it turned out amazing !! Each episode is definitely necessary, if you find yourself getting bored then please keep going ! Its definitely worth the watch !! I grew to love both sean and yibo and i now try to watch everything they are in ! Fantastic job !!Was this review helpful to you?
