This review may contain spoilers
I’ve seen a lot of wuxia and almost xianxia movies and drama in cdrama world but this one doesn’t contain so much of cringey scenes, not at all, however as a bl fan I can say that’s really appropriate for the scenes and the story since they only took those I can say worthy to be adapted live. Without those explicit romance I still cannot say that they wasn’t not love between the characters because the actors did pretty well in conveying their message with chemistry. I could say that the Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan, just by watching this, do have feelings for one another. If I haven’t read the novel nor watch the animated version, I’d still say the same. Most bl genre shows explicit romance so most bl fans would expect the same but not me, I really praise the writer and the rest behind the scenes who made this live action drama possible, they made it wonderfully and casted perfectly even without proper works prior to this—I’m talking about the supporting roles, particularly Jiang Cheng and Wen Ning’s actors! They totally amazed me. As for the music, it is amazing. It expresses the emotion that they cannot convey directly through conversation so those songs not only brought life but also story behind the character and their actions. Was this review helpful to you?
A MASTERPIECE THAT EVERY ASIAN DRAMA FAN MUST WATCH!
I have watched countless dramas from different genres and from different countries, and I can confidently say that I have never watched a drama as amazing as this. It has been months since I finished the drama and this has become my favorite drama of ALL-TIME. Most people would first doubt if they should watch this because during the production process of this drama, the general public had mixed reviews. Regardless, once the drama came out, the show was well-received despite having no veteran actors join the cast.The plotline was slightly confusing at first, especially to those who have not read the novel or manhua, or watched the donghua, but please do not let this discourage you and give this drama a chance. It gets so much better as the episodes progress, especially on the episodes around 20-35. It has a complicated and unique storyline that will make you never forget about this drama.
The acting exceeded my expectations. I never really had high expectations as the actors were mostly new, but they truly outdid themselves. Not only did the 2 main leads have such amazing chemistry, despite removing the BL element to pass China's censorship, but the supporting actors were just as good. I personally loved Wen Ning's character, Paul Yu really did an amazing job of portraying the character.
The OST was really well done and I love how the actors had a song dedicated to each of their characters. The duet of Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan for the theme song is just pure perfection. I also love how they used a lot of traditional instruments for the OSTs.
I salute the production crew behind this drama for outdoing themselves and creating a masterpiece despite the struggles they had to face during production from investors pulling out and receiving hate from anti-BL people and MDZS readers. I also salute Wang Yibo for keeping a professional mindset and still pushed to play the role of LWJ despite several fans leaving him after hearing that he playing the main role in a BL novel adaptation, I can't imagine anyone else playing the role of LWJ and doing an amazing job as he did. Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo truly deserve the awards and new fans that they gained from this drama.
I sacrificed sleep because I was so into this drama. This drama made me feel all kinds of emotions that no other drama has ever put me through. After finishing the entire drama, I couldn't watch any new dramas for a month and spent all my time watching the special edition of this drama, the live concerts, fan-made videos, interviews, behind-the-scenes, and read the manhua version. I just couldn't let go of all the characters of the drama because I grew so attached to them.
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The Untamed is a masterpiece, the storyline, the acting, the music, the costumes are also really good. However, the CGI, the camera angles, the set, the editing is not so much of a masterpiece. From the very first episode, you can see that the nevernight set looks really cheap. And during the Sunshot campaign when Wen Ruohan uses the Yin Iron to control some cultivators, the costumes look quite unpleasing to the eye. I have no idea if this drama is a low-budget drama or not btw. And also if you watched the donghua, the scene where Wei Ying comes back as a demonic cultivator was so epic. The scene in the drama was um not so epic. The 30+ episode flashback was also kinda unnecessary. I kinda wished they would've shown Wei Ying's past the way they did it in the donghua.
The acting is really good. I mean like RLY GOOD. Wyb manages to portray Lan Zhan so perfectly. In practically every shot, you can see his character's emotion just by looking into his eyes. Xz's portrayal of Wei Ying was omg so good. Especially after Wei Ying switched to demonic cultivation. You could see the drastic change in his personality. Also, I have no idea why but how on earth is Xz so capable of portraying Wei Ying's pain?!
Overall, I recommend this drama BUT only after u watched the donghua.
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Initially confusing but later on too good!
I don't know how people who have been watching Chinese historical dramas feel about this, but as my first Chinese drama, I enjoyed this a lot! Even now after watching so many other historicals, untamed has a special place in my heart. Even rewatched it many times. I watched this before reading the novel btw. and the novel is even more better. I think the cast for Wei wuxian is very well done. Became a wangxian lover for life. Go for it if u love a playful MC who turns dark. Are the supposedly bad people really bad?Was this review helpful to you?
The untamed is a story with charms.
I just finished watching the untamed. Really a nice drama. I have no words to tell. Really soothing and mesmerizing music it has.🎶 🎶🎶 The acting is superb.The plot line is well knitted with a lot of curiosity.The wardrobe and the make up is amazing. The cinematography of the series is excellent with the using of maximum technology nowadays. This is A masterpiece really !! ❤️❤️❤️ Actually I am not in to chinese dramas. But after watching this I really understand why people luv and go crazy after watching this.It is said that this drama was adopted from a chinese novel about #BL #bromance and the director has removed the BL content from the drama as China bans LGBTQ content from television and films. Anyway this is really nice than watching Boy -girl drama.😌However this is really really fascinating drama with charms!!! I was recommended to watch this by one of my friends and I am motivated to watch this drama by reading reviews in the MDL Thank you all for who let me know that such a nice drama is existing !!! !❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ I recommend this for all who love wuxia with fantasy and mystery !!!#TheUntamed #WeiWuxian #lanxhan #wuxia #historical #fantasy #romance #brotherhood #friendship #mistery
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Let me just say, if you have read the book before this series came out, you will be at least a little disappointed. Why? Because it will never be how you pictured every character and scene within your own mind. Which is why I do not watch movies or series adapted from a novel I have already read.
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But Yah remember to grab your Tissue, you will be crying like a baby.
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After I finished this, i read MDZS as i rewatched this show and then began the anime and soon i find myself 7 months later, rewatching episodes over and over again
You will not be disappointed!!
I cant stress enough how much this show is amazing and how perfect the chosen actors and actresses fit each character smoothly. Sometimes i wonder "couls it have been better?"
But then i come up with the thought that, "No. It cannot have gotten any more better than this." It is now my top #1 favorite drama.
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MASTERPIECE
soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo goooooooooooooooooood i love the bromance worth it i love the drama i am rewatching it for the 15 time overall i have to say I LOVEEEEEEE ITTTTTTTTTT I SOOO DO RECOMEND IT ONE OF MY FIRST AND BEST DRAMA I CAN'T EVEN FIND A NICE DRAMA AFTER THIS ONCE AGAIN IIIIIIIIIIIIIII LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE ITTTTTTTTTT IT IS A MASTERPIECE I AM IN LOVE WITH THE LEADS THEY ARE SOOOOOOOOOOO HANDSOME AND CUTE THE BROMANCE IS EVERYTHING INN THIS DRAMA IT IS IN MY NO 1 LIST SORRY FOR THE OVER REVIEW I JUST CAN'T HELP IT THISS DRAMA IS SO GOOD AND THE ACTING IS JUST SOOOOOOOOO BEAUTIFUL PLEAASE DOOOOOOOOOOO WATCH IT SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DRAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWas this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I really really enjoy watching series and movies but there is always this prejudice about the East Asian dramas. I came across the series after I read the novel (which I loved sooo much) in which is based. And it was TOTALLY WORTH IT. It was an amazing experience and I will explain why.STORY
I have read the book so I knew the basic story. But it made no deference nor I was bored. It doesn't matter if you know the story or not because the writers and the director made it a whole new experience. These series explore themes like what is wrong and right, if everything is what it seems etc. No one is black nor white, good nor evil but everyone has both sides like in real life. I really loved the explanation of the story when everything was reveled but they didn't show well the main villains reasons. As for the bl theme, I think because China's restrictions they couldn't show it but it wasn't needed something big. There plenty of really nice scences with looks and dialogue that shows the deep relationship between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji.
ACTING/CAST
Let's be honest. I cannot imagine anyone better than Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan for the main roles. I think they are almost perfect. Great chemistry, great acting, you feel like they are the characters. I never heard or watched them before, but after the untamed I loved both of them. As for the second roles, almost everyone was really good. Maybe Jiang Cheng's actor and Jiang Yanli's actress sometimes made it a bit awkward (for the second I think it was more the character than the actress' skills.)
MUSIC/SCENERY/SPECIAL EFFECTS
But what I really loved in these series is the music, the scenery and the costumes. They are the real value of the drama. Every scene, every palace, every room it was perfect to the last detail (I loved especially Lotus Pier). The costumes has the difference in details for every sect and character. OK maybe the special effects wasn't really good, but for this needs a lot of time and effort for so many episodes. And of course, the music. I was amazed when I discovered that all the songs with lyrics was sang by the cast. I had wuji on repeat for days.
OVERALL VALUE
These series made me appreciate series with a lot of episodes. I didn't skip even 1 second, not even the titles. I fell in love with this universe and story all over again and became one of my favorite series of all time. If you like Asian historical things and fantasy is the perfect series for you. But I highly recommend them to everyone.
(English is not my first language so I am sorry for any mistakes)
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While the show is a lengthy 50 episodes it never felt like any of it was fuller or like the story was dragging at any point. The show takes you on a journey with these characters and it really develops them very well over the long length of time the show is set over. Speaking of characters I absolutely feel in love with all these characters. It was that perfect combination of good consistent writing, perfect casting, and great acting that creating one of those shows that will be remembered and live on. Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo both really carry this show. Even though they had to get rid of the BL aspect of the story, they both still had a chemistry that really came through. Xiao Zhan really brings a lot of heart to this series and I dare anyone to not fall in love with him after watching this series. Wang Yibo really impressed me in this show. He is able portray so many emotions through the subtle changes while still maintaining his stoic expressions and not having many lines. The supporting cast is also absolutely incredible. This show also had some incredible villains. They stuck that right balance of evil and sad that made me want to stab them and give them a hug at the same time, especially Xue Yang. There are to many of them to talk about individually but really just know that there was no bad one in the bunch and I was extremely impressed with everyone.
The ost was beautiful and fit the show perfectly. The instrumental pieces really set a nice mood and always fit the action that was happening on screen. Also the main song from the ost is amazing I love it and have not stopped listening to it since i started watching this show.
Overall, this was just an absolute delight of a drama to watch an emotional roll coaster. With all that dramas that come out per year it's easy to watch them and then let go and never give them much thought again. The Untamed is different this is a show that leaves in impact that you remember it. You remember the world, the story, and the amazing characters and you want to revisit it. It's a show that leaves you wanted more and just wanting to go back and watch it over and over and over again.
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