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best drama I’ve seen so far!!
This show is so fantastic!! from the acting to the score and also it has very beautiful sets!! I loved the two main characters Lan Zhan and Wei Wuxian and because of them I watched the donghua ver. as well as read the comic and novel versions. the only (minor) set back for me is that the story is confusing at times and it was only after seeing the various other formats that I understood most of what was happening in the show. still it was amazing and it’s going to be hard for another drama to top this one <3333Was this review helpful to you?
The two leads are very talented actors and bring the character of Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji to life.The stoic demeanor of WYB and playful attitude of XZ gels up so well with the characters.
The story is complex and the direction has been top notch to edit the story in such a way that it follows the source material and yet bring in freshness.
The actor who played the main antagonist has also done a phenomenal job .I felt so appalled by his character and that's something.
The music is very soothing to ears and the lyrics are wonderful and suits very well with the mood of drama.
Overall a great watch.I am going to miss the characters so much.
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My husband loves anime and I love watching dramas like this and normally he cant stand my dramas but he loved this. The bromance in this series is outstanding and the loyalty makes you want to believe this actually happened lol.
I'm also glad that they didnt put any long winded romance storylines in this and the back stories to each character was not too long winded and built up so much and then all the actions happened at the end.
I actually enjoyed it more than Eternal Love which ranked highest on my list for a long time. Please bring out a season 2!
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This review may contain spoilers
A BEAUTIFUL MASTERPIECE (MUST WATCH)
First, let me just say that you don't even need to read my review to know that you must watch The Untamed! Just trust me, watch three or four episodes and decide if you want to continue (I guarantee that you will). But if you're still unsure, then read my review (or others) and I will try my best to keep this spoiler free for you (: (there's like one paragraph with spoiler so just skip that)I wanna start my review by saying I'm very picky and critical when it comes to films or shows. I don't give out 10/10's easily. I don't even give out 9/10's easily so it's even harder to get a 10 from me. Only three BLs (yes I'm including this even though it's censored) have ever gotten a 10 from me. Which are: The Untamed, History3 Trapped, and I Told Sunset About You. I've watched all 50 episodes of The Untamed THREE TIMES through. That's how much I love it.
Story: AMAZING. I can only come up with maybe two faults in this entire show and that's 1, the wigs aren't the best but you learn to ignore that, and 2, the graphics/sfx isn't always the best (like that dog/wolf thing lol - if you know, you know). But honestly, those minor things never take away from the magic that is The Untamed. At least not for me, and that's why I didn't deduct from the grade because of these minor flaws. Because other than that, the show as a whole is perfect. The storyline has so much depth and complexity. You find yourself completely invested in the characters and what happens to them that you'll find yourself crying into your pillow multiple times. But I wouldn't have it any other way. Honestly, I went into The Untamed original just wanting to follow LWJ and WWX storyline since I knew it was based off BL source material. It took me a while to get around to watching it since I knew it would be censored and not outright obvious BL, but I eventually decided to just give it a go after hearing constantly how good it is. I'm glad I did because wow, the only way you'll be able to ignore the romance between WWX and LWJ is if you're not very observant to the subtleties.
[SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH and go to the next paragraph if you don't want to read SPOILERS] For example, the show is literally named after them because WU (from Wei Wuxian) JI (from Lan Wangji) roughly translates to The Untamed . Next is their song WUJI which Lan Zhan composed for Wei Ying and named it after their combined/ship name. Another example is them calling each other zhiji (which by the way, this scene replaced the scene in the original source material where they kiss) which has a lot of deep meaning to it. It would take ages for me to explain so I'll link this blog for you to read if you're really interested https://hunxi-guilai.tumblr.com/post/612161034673946624/all-right-guys-lets-have-a-conversation-about but basically, it's kind of like soulmates. To call someone your zhiji is to say they know you in a way no one does (not even yourself) and the meaning of 'knowing' here is apparently a big deal. Like, back in that time, it was better and more meaningful than to simply love someone because 'love' back then wasn't what it means today. A zhiji type relationship is one worth dying for. It can be platonic or romantic, but if you pair it up with all the other 'subtle' things in the series then it's obviously romantic. And WWX even says that it's more than enough to have one zhiji in his lifetime. Don't even get me started on how the only person Lan Zhan lets touch his sacred headband is Wei Ying when only his "spouse, parents, or children" are allowed to touch it. Or him basically proposing using two healthy chickens when he's drunk. Or how the morning after getting drunk, he was scared he may have let it slip that he LIKED him. Or Lan Zhan getting jealous over Wei Ying saving Mian Mian. Or the gay porn book Wei Ying pranked him with. Or all the freaking bunny references (the rabbit God in China is the God of homosexuality) like when there's a shot of two bunnies 'kissing'. Or after Wei Ying's resurrection, how Lan Zhan literally breaks all of his clan rules for him out of fear of not making the most of their time together - or that he was still wearing mourning robes after 16 years lol or that he brought up Ah Yuan for him when Wei Ying was like a father figure to him before ugh we love a happy family. OH and Xiao Zhan (Wei Ying) was calling Lan Zhan a "trash bf" for not standing by him etc, and the directors and cast talked about their love and yeah. ANYWAY.
Acting/Cast: PERFECT. Seriously. All the acting was great, by the physical actors and the voice actors. You could barely tell it was dubbed which *claps* well done to the voice actors, really. All the actors really fit their roles well and executed them perfectly. Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan will forever have my heart.
Music: BEAUTIFUL. I could write so much about the music in this series, and how freaking well they use it to impact the scenes significantly and beautifully, but I don't want to write an entire novel in this review. However, I have all the songs on my playlist, I love them that much. Especially WUJI. It can make me cry just listening to it, no kidding. Plus, every time you hear it in a scene (and the different versions), you instantly know it's a LWJ & WWX scene.
Rewatch Value: INCREDIBLE. I could rewatch this for the rest of my life and I'm not really someone who rewatches shows or movies unless it's been ages. But I love this so much that I could never get sick of it.
Overall: PHENOMENAL. All I have left to say is that you should give it a go because I highly recommend you do!
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An appreciation for MDZS is almost a prerequisite.
8/10IMO the drama doesn't stand up on its own. An appreciation for MDZS is almost a prerequisite.
Over the years, three separate attempts were made before giving up on this drama. Until I recently fell down the MXTX donghua rabbit hole and binge watched all three series of MDZS donghua in a matter of days. So I restarted and finished TU, finally.
I like the MDZS story. The live action is ok. I was moved in parts but it lacked humour. Actor performances varied, LZ only came to life later on. I have not read the novel yet but I know of the relationships that are omitted in both the donghua and the live action. I don't mind this, if you're looking for it, the subtle looks and smiles are there.
I suppose the biggest complaint of the drama is the pacing, I watched a lot of the show at 1.5x and it didn't feel sped up at all, I often went to increase the speed to find it was already at 1.5x (Netflix max). The first 20 episodes were verging on boring, when are they going to "get good"? 20 episodes of lashings and getting beaten down.
The next 13 episodes, a lot happens and was actually paced better than the donghua.
The drama becomes far more interesting when we're finally out of the ginormous 33 episode-long flash back and deal with the matter in hand.
The ending, the final showdown, was a big let down. Visually non threatening, in fact I was often just distracted by the red paint on WWX's neck or ZWJ looking like handsome squidward. The heartbreaking moments for ZWJ....meh, I felt nothing here. I felt more heartbreak for Xue Yang. And then finally 5mins of WWX walking in the mountains...huh? What?
Random observations. Wasn't it uncanny how much Jin Ling looked like Jin GuangYao? The opening credits was bland, I skipped every time.
Honestly, I'm just glad I've finally completed it. I doubt I'll ever rewatch, maybe fan made edits, the fandom is very talented.
Off to go appreciate more MDZS in its various forms (manhua, audio, novel).
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Love the leads!
I can see why the main characters Sean Xiao and Wang Yi Bo became super famous after this drama. At first watch, I stopped watching it. It was months later I returned and not let the CGI bothered me that I enjoyed the story unfold itself. I am happy with the drama and make sure to check on the new dramas by the two new actors. The lead characters' chemistry really didn't flourish until after 10ish episodes but once the spark flew I was invested in their well beings and allowed their actings to take me to the world they created.The drama is worth the time on the story between the leads.
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This review may contain spoilers
as near to perfect as makes no difference
There's no point pretending this is an absolutely perfect series, because there's no such thing, but this comes so bloody close that it might as well be.I originally wasn't going to write a review for this, as much as I loved it, because there's 41 pages of reviews on this site for this series and the majority of them are positive - does it really need one more?
Well, I've decided that yes, it does.
As I stated above, no series is perfect and this one is no exception, but the only thing to really complain about are the sometimes rather bad special effects. The giant turtle and the giant wolf spring to mind, plus the non-appearance of a lot of the creatures the cultivators are supposed to hunt thanks to China's daft censorship laws.
Speaking of which, I'm going to get this complaint out of the way early. I was disappointed that a BL novel was adapted in to a censored series, but only in the sense that there were no kissing scenes. I'm a romantic sap and that's all I would have liked to have seen. I'm sure other people wouldn't have minded the, ahem, other stuff, but I would have been happy with some kissing.
HOWEVER this series is a romance in everything but name. It's very much a gay romance in the style of Hollywood during the Hays Code. Everything is implied and hinted at, sometimes very blatantly (the two main leads consider each other soulmates, ffs), so unless you're completely oblivious, you can see the two main leads are in love.
It doesn't stop there, however, as there are implications of romance between two of the other characters who aren't a couple in the book. If you watch it with a shipper's eye, it's very clear. This review is tagged for spoilers, but I don't really want to spoil things outright, so i leave anyone reading this to see for themselves.
On to more positive things.
The casting for this entire series is perfect. I don't think there's a miscast part in the entire line-up, and this has a *lot* of characters, so it would have been an easy thing to do. Xiao Zhan as Wei Wuxian and Wang Yibo as Lan Wangji was a casting masterstroke. They embody their characters so well I 'm certain no other actors would have worked. Xiao Zhan, in particular, is a fine actor.
The chemistry between the two leads is palpably there, which makes getting absorbed into their story so much easier.
The storyline itself can be a bit confusing, as we start out in the present time for the first two episode, and then a 31 episode flashback tells the backstory. i would recommend reading the Wikipedia article on The Untamed if you find yourself confused when you start watching. It helped me a lot. Especially understanding things like courtesy names and other concepts that someone who doesn't have an Asian heritage may not get.
I know some people may balk at the fact that this series is 50 episodes, but they are only around 42 minutes or so and they go by very quickly when you're engrossed in the story. There is also a shortened 'special edition' of the series on YouTube consisting of only 20 episode if that makes things easier.
One of the best things about this series, aside from the brilliant casting and all the lovely scenery (Lotus Pier is gorgeous and I want to live there) is the music. There is, of course, the main theme named 'Wangxian' in the series by Lan Wangji, but officially 'WuJi' on the soundtrack by the composer. There is a duet version by Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo, plus the version that they each sing individually.
'Utter Innocence', Wen Ning's character song sung by actor Yu Bin, is lovely, and Xue Yang's character song 'No One Knows' sung by Charlie Zhou is the complete antithesis in tone and melody to his actual character. Also, and I know this is an overused cliche, but Charlie Zhou has the voice of angel. It's unbelievable.
The soundtrack is on iTunes if you, like me, decided you had to have the entire thing on your iPod. It's also on Spotify.
This series is Chinese, and the version I watched has been subtitled. I don't know if it's available dubbed, because I don't watch dubbed media (that's a personal preference, not a slight on anyone who needs or prefers dubbed media). It's available with English subtitles on Netflix and Rakuten Viki. I'm fairly confident other subtitles and dubbing are also available, but you would have to look at your Netflix and Viki settings, respectively.
So, to sum up, this series is impeccably cast, incredibly acted, features stunning scenery and gorgeous costumes, has an engaging and interesting storyline, a memorable soundtrack and I love it so much.
I hope you do too.
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I’M IN LOVE
The first 3-4 episodes were a bit confusing but every other episode was SOOO good. My love for this show is beyond anything I can describe.Every character has their own story and development where every micro expression is important. The actors of Lan Zhan and Wei Wu Xian played their roles excellently. Lan Zhans character is something I personally have never seen before. He didn’t have many expressions yet he still had so many. I fell in love with this show and the two main characters, to the point where it’s hard to let them go now💔.
I’ll have to say rewatching the show is probably a very good idea though. Some of the details and names/plots might’ve fell though which wouldn’t be surprising taking its complexity into account.
Now that I’ve finished this masterpiece I can’t wait to read the novel to get a better feel of the story from its original “state” and obviously to experience their uncensored bromance😉
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