Modern wuxia adaptation
I love superhero movies and wuxia stories. Hence, it’s fascinating to see superhero movies imbued with Chinese culture, values and history on screen.Like a modern wuxia series, I am Nobody is the typical origin story of a nobody with great power and responsibility that might change the world. Zhang Chulan got wrapped up into the world of Outsiders after his grandfather passed. While his grandfather didn’t utter any legacy quote during his passing, Zhang Chulan quickly found out that more people wants his inherited power for their own use. Fortunately, he met Feng Bao Bao and NDT. Even if they aren’t friends, they at least aren’t foes.
As Zhang Chulan and us understand the world of Outsiders more, more questions arise about the origin of his inherited powers and other equally powerful Supreme Skills, as well as Feng Bao Bao’s origin, someone who seem to be above the Supreme Skills.
The humor is slapstick and over-the-top kind, while not my favorite, it’s something that I can grow fond of as I get more immersed into the world.
However, the story pace seem to “ran out of gas” somewhere in the middle part. Maybe it was a mismatched expectation on my part - I was expecting a story where Chulan slowly gained camaraderie and ally as we get to know more Outsiders. Like the Avengers, they come together to fight the greater evil despite their differences. While there are moments like these, I don’t feel that the camaraderie fits well into the plot and finale. Alas, it’s a story centered on Zhang Chulan and Feng Baobao. If that’s the case, some arc of the stories seem to be like filters, though it gets us to understand the side characters a little more. And since it’s clear the comic is still ongoing, it feels slightly disappointing that the greater mystery still remains a mystery.
Overall, this is an adaptation done well. Peng Yu Chang and Wang Ying Lu are well casted as the main characters. With its action packed story plot, solid characters, and stunning CGI, this is an enjoyable ride.
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Like a salad
This drama was like a salad with with a wide mix of ingredients all tossed together. It was like a combination of a xianxia story set in modern times, a wuxian story, a science fiction, a bit of a comedy, a youth drama and special effects all rolled into one. In some ways, it also looked like watching a computer game. I would say it was taking a break from the usual Chinese drama themes of fight for the throne and such.Zhang ChuLan was an orphan and a superhuman with special superpowers which he tried to hide. One day he was informed that his grandfather's body was dugged up and missing from his grave. At the same time, a mysterious Feng BaoBao appeared and claimed to be his sister.
The incidence led to the exposure that ChuLan was a superhuman. The sect which his grandfather was once part of was trying to locate him. He was invited to the superhuman contest where the winner would be the next head of the sect. ChuLan soon found out that BaoBao was a powerful superhuman who had lost memory of her early years but was way ahead of him in skills.
The superhumans lived alongside ordinary humans and was governed by an organisation called NaDongTong (NDT). NDT forbade superhumans from using their skills to harm or take advantage of ordinary humans. However, there were always rogues who disregarded this.
Who stole the body and why? Who is BaoBao? The mystery of the latter was finally uncovered in the last episode. However, the end of the last episode was another of the mix-mesh. BaoBao was to deliver a parcel but end up meeting a comic writer who drew a picture looking like her, apparently laying the ground for a sequel. They were already setting the scene for a sequel - why not lay more clue of what to come next instead of this cliche, another meet the writer or creator of the story.
As a drama, it is entertaining. But it was certainly full of illogic. The explanation of each of the eight supreme superskills was absolutely mind-boggling, may I add, very creative but made no sense.
Neo Hou played a unambitious young Taoist who was only interested in his superpowers. The first drama I watched of Neo Hou was in A Girl Like Me and noticed how handsome he was (and still is). Wanyan LuoRong who later also acted in Dashing Youth with Neo Hou, was one of the leads in this drama. Like Dashing Youth, this drama had a good number of handsome actors.
If you are interested in science fiction with a modern setting and with strong elements of Chinese xianxia (fairytale), you would likely enjoy this drama.
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fun to watch, mystery plot aint very good though
I Am Nobody (2023) 8,5/10 -cdramasuperpower wuxia modern drama which makes fun of itself and at same time tries to be mysterious and serious.
Comedy works here very well and I liked these funny dumb scenes.
Fantasy superpower setting and fights made this drama into something alike Moving[shortly fun to watch].
At other hand pseudo mystery and search for answer made me remember one much more worse drama - Psych-Hunter (2020) which was kinda same in way :mystery doesnt means you need logical answer:
ok mine plot description will be little weird 😂 ... you can seek out some synopsis on net.
plot - in the world are superhumans called Outsiders. ML is Outsider student living for more than decade as normal person, cause of his grandfather violent and mysterious death. Sadly for him Outsiders world finds him and destroys his normal life for knowledge which his grandfather hid. ML will slowly dvelve into Outsiders world with help of enigmatic girl which makes him his :slave:
genre - comedy, wuxia, fantasy, mystery
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I have mixed feelings about this one
I liked this drama but you know the feeling that something was good but you just feel a little unsatisfied because it was so close to being great ? That's how I feel about this one.Let me start with positives:
- Interesting plot
The plot had an interesting setting. Though it was slow, it gradually built the suspense and mystery and made you continue the show
- Great casting
The casting was great. Since it was an adaptation, I saw the original character design and I must say that the live action actors suited their characters really well. The acting of the main leads was also good though some of the supporting cast could've been better
- Good action scenes
While the action scenes could've been more realistic, I didn't mind them. Even the spell positions which usually seem cheesy when done wrong, didn't look awkward and felt natural to the plot setting.
Now lets move onto the negatives:
- Too cartoonish for a live action adaptation.
I know it's an adaptation and the original one had some silly humour and body language, but I wish they refined the character's actions or made it more realistic for the live action adaptation. It would've made the viewers more immersed in the story. The unrealistic slapstick humor took me out of the story sometimes and was cheesy to watch
- The weird pacing
The plot pacing was all over the place. I get that they want to relieve the tension using some humor but the moment they decided to show comedy threw me off. Comedy scenes and serious scenes are introduced at the most unexpected times and I didn't how to feel when watching an episode because it suddenly turns light after being so serious.
Overall, it was an interesting watch and I get why people like this show. For me personally though, it was just fine but was so close to being great. So that was a little regretful. But it was a fun watch. 8/10.
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This review may contain spoilers
Good storyline
The show had a great storyline however I was not a fan of the ending. I did not really connect to the other parts of the story and felt like I was written in a rush. There were some parts that did not contribute to the storyline however those parts were fun to watch and were a good break from the main storyline. Despite plot holes and some unanswered questions, it is pretty funny and unseriously serious. The actors did an amazing job in portraying each character and the theme song is an amazing listen. Overall a good watch. Waiting for season 2 now!Was this review helpful to you?
This amazing fantasy drama was very surprising, constantly!
Not the usual genre that I would choose, however, I am glad I did.The characters are well written and acted. My favourites were; Zhang Chu Lan who often looks nonchalant whilst tackling his fears, (listen to his words some of his insights are text book psychology and have huge impact on others), Feng Bao Bao her fierce martial art skills and the duality of innocence are wonderfully captured, Wang Ye maintains his aloof monkness but is shaken by visions of a hurtling train full of dead people and Zhan Chu Lan about to approach a catastrophic danger. his role is to try to influence Zhan Chu Lan to give up his quest for past answers.
There is a lot packed into each episode and yet is never felt rushed. The story line is sometimes hard to follow because so much is being revealed but I also like that we as the audience are not underestimated.
Sufficient detail is given to each characters super chi powers and the choreography, cgi and sfx were great.
At the heart I enjoyed this youthful drama because of the friendship and kindness shown amongst the badass action.
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Need more CDramas of this genre
Enjoyed I Am Nobody and excited to see part 2 to complete the rest of the story. One of the top series of 2023!The Good
This was a very fun and exciting watch! The plot was very strong and had a great setup with world building and character setups. The comedy was well placed in this fantasy drama and balanced well with the seriousness of some of the situations. The CGI and VFX was done very well and showcased each person’s power really good. I especially enjoyed all the fight scenes because they didn’t only just rely on people standing there with CGI but had actual choreographed fighting as well. The acting was done so well with all the unique characters and each left me engaged and interested in their stories. I also appreciated the OST. Well placed songs throughout.
The Bad
Not too much negative but sometimes there were moments that were too silly and the scenes became a little sidetracked from the story and I wondered about the relevance and where it was going.
This is a high must watch! Would love to see more CDramas created in this genre.
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Great Story but with a cliche ending!
Towards the end, all the character and it's developments took a drastic turn directed for a cliche end.. that was unbelievable. Except that... this is an okayish drama. It had great potential... started great... but the further developments were very cliche.I liked some characters, especially the FML and ML... but they spoiled their Arcs. FL character had great potential.. but it was all brought down to just exploring her memory.
ML character could have been utilized more.. towards the end, they gave more importance to side characters than the main leads...
Plot is great. Acting is great. But the developments are poor. Ending is cliche. Like a dragon ball Z ending where all the characters join their hands to defeat the villain.
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Unique storyline. FL is incredible!
ep 1 . thinking to myself "hmmm is this something I would really watch all the way through?"but the high ratings made me curious.
Ep 3 in "This is kind of funny & entertaining"
Ep 11 in " OMG why am I crying?"
The FL casting is just perfect. She's one of the most beautiful unique looking actresses & she pulled off the character perfectly.
I am sure this story isn't for everyone. It's a lot of weird humor with OTP personalities.
For me I love the unique story line & most of the casting. However since this is the first time I've seen Wang Ying Lu as Feng Bao Bao, so looking forward to her future works!
Beyond Feng Bao Bao?
Well there's Neo Hou, I am happy to see him beyond the Chinese Ken doll character dubbed in proper voice. A lot more personality with Wang Ye's character.
Enjoyable watch!
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Great cartoon to live action
One of the best examples I've seen for a live action remake of an animated series.Honestly, I watched it for Neo Hou and so I wasn't really that interested in what the MC was doing and what the whole plot was besides what Wang Ye was up to. I did get sucked into the drama and was pleasantly surprised. But I think my favorite aspect of this show was the fight scenes. An amazing adaptation. This is what I want to see when they do cartoons into live actions. It was campy and cringey and had a lot of playful comedic expressions and movement as it is intentional for a good adaptation of what happened in the cartoon. It doesn't take away from the plot or the serious moments at all.
And the fight scenes were incredible. This is what I want to see when incorporating martial arts into magic/bending! Every ATLA adaptation can take notes!
The show was good overall, and I will definitely go back for a rewatch, especially of the fight scenes.
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Pretty solid - amazing fight scenes and CGI that feels natural
Overall I really enjoyed the drama! I usually don't like how live adaptation of manga/manhwa/manhua turns out, they tend to be either overboard, underwhelming or too fake - but the drama adaptation of 一人之下 is solid.I'm impressed with a lot of things-
- Fight scenes (choreographed very well with 10/10 CGI effects that fits very well)
- Natural comical scenes (sometimes when funny scenes from manga/manhwa/manhua gets animated it can feel fake like they're forcing it to take a live action form and it just doesn't work - but in this case for 异人之下 it doesn't feel too forced, idk how to describe this, it's just done well)
- Well-styled characters (not too many fake-looking wigs, either they styled it to look natural, or they adapt to have more natural real life style than forcing the styles to look 100% like how they appear in the manhua)
- Acting (not 110% impressive but overall feels pretty solid and not awkward, Neo Hou did an especially good job in portraying Wang Ye and so did Wang Ying Lu in her role as Feng Bao Bao)
- Drama theme song (I love it! Super hyped!!)
Not so good parts, imo-
- Story flow (ending felt kinda rushed, some progressions felt a bit random and too convenient, that would make you go huh?)
- Kinda typical storyline (maybe cuz I used to watch A LOT of shounen anime so that whole progression is quite the norm for me, but still refreshing to see a live adaptation done so well!)
Understand it's not a full adaptation of the series so it's gonna be hard trying to tie up loose ends as there are many parts of the original story not included. But overall would have appreciate if it feels more... whole, idk? Gonna watch season 2 and see how it goes though, I'm hopeful and excited!
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This review may contain spoilers
one of the best fusion of modern and ancient adaptation
went into this show without knowing anything about it. it was in the last episode i knew it was adapted from a webcomic and subsequently an anime.and usually adaptations tends to be worse and not good but this show is one of those that do justice and right up amazing!
my favorite character: Feng Baobao.
damn, her weirdness is a vibe. haha. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE her.
my favorite CP: Wang Ye & Zhuge Qing
come on, who doesn’t? their onscreen chemistry was solid.
my favorite side character: Feng Shayan
I love badass female characters and even though she wasn’t the inheritor to her father’s power, she still prove to be badass.
other supporting characters were awesome too, include Lv Liang etc.
I have to admit some parts I have to FF because I just want to reach the climax part and they still keep talking. but other than that overall a very good and well done production.
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