This review may contain spoilers
This is the GOLD standard for fantasy, Chinese dramas!
The headline of my review says it all. This is how you create a drama! I shamelessly skip and drop dramas like no other and NEVER leave reviews. However, I felt bad even skipping 10 seconds in this drama. That’s how AMAZING this is. If this is the standard for Chinese dramas going forward, I have no doubt Chinese entertainment will reach more international audience and become even more mainstream globally.CASTING- 10/10 -Leo and Bailu were MADE for this drama. At first, I wasn’t sure about Leo. He was not my type when I began but i grew to LOVEEE Leo and I can’t imagine both lead roles going to anyone else. They brought the story to life and I really hope to see them in future historical/costume/fantasy dramas. The other actors and actresses were a treat to watch as well. All around applause for the casting!
Plot - 8/10. Overall, it is intriguing, original, and fast paced enough where I didn’t feel like i need to skip around like i do in other dramas (eg Ashes of love, starry love, LBFAD, etc). Thank god angsty and misunderstanding scenes were minimal and resolved quickly thanks to how intelligent how leads are. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the plot unfold even when the resolutions for sub-plots and ending somewhat disappointed me. Sure there were some loose ends and lazy details that bothered me (hair ornaments when sleeping, mysterious mortar in the forest) but it can’t be perfect, right?!
CGI/music - 10/10 - They are jaw dropping and can’t be missed/skipped even in the most annoying and angsty parts.
Scene cuts - 7/10 - The scene cuts didnt bother me too much, but some episodes felt jumpy and confusing. I wish they didn’t have to cut so much but it is what it is.
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This review may contain spoilers
Most beautiful and heart-wrenching c-drama I have watched
10/10 Acting. ML spoke with so much sharpness and power and authority. FL spoke with so much passion. They truly owned the role.10/10 Costumes. They looked EXPENSIVE. Beautiful costumes. Make-up was flawless.
10/10 Top tier CGI. They truly paid attention to the details. It was so beautifully done.
10/10 Storyline. It made my heart go through a rollercoaster of emotions. Truly the anti-hero male lead that is evil and does not go soft just because of his love for FL. However it is so attractive to see him evil and love FL.
Overall, Best wuxia romance drama of the century. Beautifully done. It will be difficult to top this one.
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A metaphor to steal your heart
This drama is a gem, in my opinion the best of 2023 , hands down. An adult, mature, intriguing Chinese historical xianxia drama. Those only looking for sweetness or healthy things should refrain to watch it, and avoid it .Here we have a totally unhealthy, toxic, abusive, negative relationship able to evolve, growing until it becomes pure, true and sincere.
it is a human story, made up of mistakes, feelings, betrayals, joy and pain. But what I love most is the concrete representation of the various characters. There is no clear distinction between good and evil, good or bad deeds. "A weapon can kill and it can also save a person". This sentence literally sums up the whole story.
Tantai Jin is an apathetic boy, who lacks any human feeling, who chooses to use demonic powers for revenge. it is Susu, as Ye Xiwu, who sets him on the right path. He is the one I preferred, without brakes, capable of total love and total hate. In the drama he has certain extent, because he is capable of anything. I loved that both in the novel and in the drama, he pushes himself to certain limits, but he always manages to stop in respect of others (as long as they are people who are close to him).
Susu is a character I love, focused on the mission, but rational and kind-hearted. She knows how to distinguish between good and evil, she knows how to understand, act and defend. She goes so far as to deny her own feelings for her mission. She knows their romance is doomed to tragedy, and she tries to cut those strings before giving up. And in the end, she will be the only one, besides the Master of Tantai Jin, who believes in him until the end.
Cang Jiumin, the "mature version" of Tantai Jin, is the other one I love deeply. He is serious, but also gallant and kind. it is Tantai Jin who has learnt how to love.
Ming Ye God of War, at an important stage in history. A tragic love that awakens Tantai Jin and Susu, but doomed to tragedy with Sang Jiu, a little sea princess with a cruel fate.
The third pair is the pure and smitten one, but it attracts a lot. The second pair is the sore point. In a tangle of reincarnations, they get worse and better. Xiao Lin becomes a negative person, while Ye Bingchang, from pure "green tea" (viper) becomes Mo Nv, a demon able to love.
Between a few happy moments, misunderstandings, betrayals, never revealed feelings and a destiny between demons and gods, history knows how to attract and catching the attention right away. Each episode builds in intensity, until the climax.
References to Daoism and Dunhuang culture are evident and widespread, the foundation of an entire culture.
In the finale, halfway between heartbreaking and pure hope, is the whole message of the story.
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Epic & Revolutionary 2023 Cdrama?
Well our immortal disciple li Susu travels to past with a ton of hatred towards our ml then envisioning his conditions she begins to understand and fall in love with him 💗. After a series of misunderstandings and her a load of responsibility to save humanity she kills him in each his life time but then again she seals the evil bone in her body to not let tantai jin bear the burden of devil fetus that is his fate to be a vessel of devil god 😈 to incarnate. After her death his begins to search our goddess for 500 yrs like in the drama immortal samsara where heroine lingers in the river of forgetting for 500 yrs here it is mohe river. At last he is saved a immortal master and then meets li Susu decides to get killed by her to completely destroy evil bone, the root of hatred.It is a heartwrenching story of the pitiable past of the devil god who had gone through all the adversities in the human realm suffering hell for decades and trying to fight against the fate he was born with. As for our Susu her sole existence is to end the devil god however her love for him is neverending nice cast visual fx music and story 💗💗💗 what a revolutionary drama it is in 2023 to quench our thist for hunger of dramas
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This review may contain spoilers
My kind of favorite drama - beautiful yet angsty
As a xianxia romance drama, as expected, TTEOTM will contain multiple realms, misunderstandings, reincarnation, a war between god and evil, powerful beings, etc. But what makes TTEOTM stand out from the rest for me is their superb acting, beautiful sets, exquisite costumes, and enticing plot.The acting is S++ for the main leads. This is the second drama with Bai Lu and Luo Yunxi partnering (before they did the romance office drama Love is Sweet). Their chemistry is crazy, and make-believe says they are in love. There isn't any stone-faced kiss, the kiss looks real. They portray every sweet moment really well. Because they're enemies to lovers, you will see a lot of hateful stares, manipulation, lies, and intentions to kill each other.
Bai Lu is really good at intense situations like when she loses all hope (sadness and rage), almost dies, turns evil, and gets badly hurt. She portrays four characters: Li Susu, Li Susu turned Ye Xiwu, the original Ye Xiwu, and Sang Jiu. Every character is done well, but my favorite is Li Susu, she puts her mission above all and is willing to sacrifice for people (even when she sometimes doesn't see through the situations).
Luo Yunxi is phenomenal. He portrays the Ancient/Original Demon God, the Second Demon God, Tantai Jin as the hostage prince, Tantai Jin as the Jing King, the God of War Ming Ye, Cang Jiumin, and Tantai Jin as the Demon God. Every character is distinguishable, and even the small movements and aura are different. You can tell who the character is just by his eyes. He really brings his A game to the table. He is well-rounded in every emotion, and he is really good at playing the microexpression. It's perfect, I can't imagine another person playing TTJ. This is the role that was made for him. My favorite is the Ancient Demon God, he reminded me of Darkling, handsome, sexy, evil, and powerful. But the most memorable is the hostage prince, he seems weak and harmful, but he is manipulative and acts like a kid.
Other cast members are also really good, especially the senior actors like their masters, Jize and Chuhuang. I don't find bad acting, even the newcomers like Sun Zenni and Deng Wei are good and suitable.
The sets are so beautiful, grand, and majestic. It really takes you to another realm. The gods realm with Dunhuang style is so dreamy, the demon realm is dark and scary, the immortal sect is so relaxing with peaceful rainforest and lake, the Mohe Clam River is a cute aesthetic undersea kingdom with a lot of pearl decoration, and the Jing kingdom is lavish with phenomenal landscaping. The CGI for the sets is excellent, and you won't see it again until now.
You also won't find the basic costume, like wearing white if you're a god or black if you're a demon. It's unique, has its own style, and matches the set and character. The gods wear a Dunhuang style that is so colorful. Every character changes costumes multiple times. I even lost count of how many times the main leads change costumes, which is a lot. Every costume is so detailed, with a lot of pattern, various embroidery, and different fabrics and materials. The headpiece is also beautiful and regal. As a sequin dress lover, I really like Li Susu's pink sequin dress, it's so lovely and dreamy. For the headpiece, I love Sang Jiu's pearly accessories.
The plot is tight and fast-paced, you don't want to skip a scene. If you really like enemies to lovers or time travel plots, this will suit your taste. I think the most interesting is how the main lead is an antihero, so sometimes their action is unexpected.
What I also like are their action scenes, they're really cool and well coordinated. The music is suitable, my favorite ost is Mysterious Bird. They also have a lot of unique makeup and cute hairstyles. About the CGI, sometimes it is really good and screams expensive, but sometimes it is messy. Also, sometimes the sequence is not right and I feel glitchy, but it's acceptable.
Only two things that I don't like make me rate this drama 9.5, not 10. First, their editing is messy. I know the problems are because they cut a lot of scenes. It was supposed to be 58 episodes, but they cut it to 40. It makes the flow too jumpy, a lot of conversation is cut, and the dubbing is not matching. It also makes the plot hole worse because important scenes get cut. Second, the ending is bad, there is no further explanation after TTJ perishes, what happens with the others, will TTJ get reincarnated? It is rushed, even though I love EP 40 because it is sad and beautiful. They should add one episode for a proper ending and not do random things.
In conclusion, I really love this drama mainly because of the leads, Yunxi and Lulu, the aesthetic, and the plot. I really love to see if they have a special episode or release a cut scene. My biggest hope is that they will release the director's cut with 50+ episodes without messy editing.
By the way, I'm still sad and still have puffy eyes, but I won't move on from this drama and will rewatch it later. I'm also waiting for YunLu's third drama, whatever the genre is, I will be seated because they are my favorite CP in C-Dramalands right now.
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Ending is kind of hurried
In the book version the ending is very good, you can feel the pain, suffering and all the people and friends gets to know the good side/sacrifice of the main lead but here in drama it all went very fast and you can't feel the same kind of emotional connection you feel in the start or mid of the story. They should make a special episode to make it clearer. But still it's okay.Rewatch value 10/10
They should make a special episode to give clarity on what happens to devil realm, what happens to the immortals who kind of died and how he sacrificed his life to save everyone. In book it's clearly written but here . 😔
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Dark Xianxia With Emotional Performances Impeded by a Plot that made me Squint.
I was never planning on watching this one, but my friend began narrating the episodes for me while it was airing, so I finally caved in.If I'm being honest, I don't know what to feel about this drama. Is it a good Xianxia? Yes, definitely.
Is it perfect? Nope.
I've been hearing right from the very start about how the drama had deviated very much from the original novel, "Black Moonlight Holds the Bad Ending Script". Yes, it's the English's translation of the original title and you have to keep it in mind.
But, I really wish that the book is much more legible in terms of characterization with plenty of in-depth analysis of each character’s motivations, because in that aspect, TTEOTM falls far off the mark.
Long after the Gods had sacrificed themselves in an attempt to kill the Devil God, a new Devil God mysteriously arises, wrecking havoc and destruction across the immortal sects. When the Xiaoyao and Hengyang sect are attacked, Li Su Su, the daughter of the sect leader of Hengyang Sect, accidentally sees the origin of the Devil God through a magical artifact which he was attempting to steal. The immortals learn that the Devil God was a mere mortal named Tantai Jin 500 years ago. The sect leaders decide to send someone back in time to kill the to-be-soon young devil god by removing the 'evil bone', which makes him destined to become one after his demise.
Li Su Su agrees to the mission and is sent back, but not without witnessing her entire sect massacred .
500 years in the past, she wakes up in the body of Ye Xi Wu, a spoiled daughter of a General of Sheng Kingdom… and learns that the person who Tantai Jin, now a captive prince from the Jing Kingdom, fears the most is her. And that she was also married to him due to her own evil plans going down the drain. Now, she tries to keep Tantai Jin alive despite her deep hatred for him as she plots a plan to remove his evil bone.
But, the more she gets closer to him, the more she realizes how the world has failed him.
That's the basic plot for the first 30 episodes or so, or 18, if you take away 10 or 12 episodes that are part of a dream arc which is literally the characters role playing as Gods from 10,000 years ago before they vanished.
I'll get straight down to what I liked about this drama:
***The Story: Takes place across a span of several years and has certain "arcs".
The beginning of the Mortal Arc, Tantai Jin's past and Cang Jiumin arc (first two episodes) and the Bo're Arc are my personal favorites.
To future viewers, I request you to view the Dream Arc as a part of the drama within a drama. It has the most solid and purposeful plot line out of all 40 episodes and it was highly satisfying and reached a conclusion that made sense and did not drag on unnecessarily.
***The Cast: Honestly, if the actors were just average, I would never have stuck past episode 24, or was it 25?
The cast were spot on, delivering immaculate and heartfelt performances that I would not be forgetting soon.
I don't remember exactly. Leo Yunxi had been on my radar since Ashes of Love and he never disappoints in pulling such villain/pathetic helpless roles. I hope there were people to take care of him on set because the amount of tears he shed in this are too much. He managed to portray four different characters with ease: the mysteriously alluring Ancient Demon God 1.0, the Demon God Tantai Jin 1.0 and whatever version we see in the drama, the abused mortal Tantai Jin, and the majestic God of War Ming Ye. His costumes were a highlight of the drama, in all shades of colors and hues.
Bai Lu, I finally found a drama of hers that I could actually complete. It's not that her acting is bad, but I've never managed to find her works captivating enough to make me sit through all the episodes. As for her character… that's another rant entirely. But, I could tell the difference between the occupied Ye Xi Wu and the free Li Su Su.
Supporting characters were portrayed well by the relatively lesser known cast, but they managed to steal the scenes several times - particularly Ye Qingyu and Pian Ran. I liked Deng Wei as Gongye Jiwue and Shang You a lot more than Xiao Lin. (His mortal avatar.)
***Costumes and CGI: Whoever was behind the computer screen lost his mind cause the CGI was stunning for a Chinese Xianxia. It did fluke at some points, but overall, it was a highlight. Costumes were inspired by traditional Dunhuang paintings and the characters looked like real God's in the posters. It came in all colors and I coveted several headpieces worn by many of the cast. But, my favorites definitely are from the Bo're Arc.
***Soundtrack: Plenty of Original Songs, but my most favorite one was Mysterious Bird by Sa Ji. There were several action scene soundtracks that I loved.
Now… let’s get down to the cold pricklies:
***The Character of Ye Xi Wu and Plot:
Tantai Jin is heavily softened for the drama, and apparently, Ye Xi Wu was too. I don’t know what the original treatment looked like, but I was confused by her. I was never once convinced that she truly loved him - particularly during the mortal arc of Tantai Jin. Except for a few well targeted words spoken by Pian Ran that unsettles Xi Wu, and a handful of scenes, she seemed to be hell bent on getting her mission accomplished and had no time for romance. Granted, their fates were pre-determined and she was on a mission. But, how am I supposed to believe that these two were fated to be together at some point in their life regardless of the ending? I'm not sure because it was all 'tell' and no 'show'.
It’s understandable as she had witnessed the destruction of the world via this dude’s hands, but she appeared almost cunning and insincere in most of her actions even after she found out that she was his Achilles heel. Her character seems to have been under utilized. At one point, it turned into a "Tantai Jin" show. We see his motives and reasonings in depth, yet I do not think the same attention was paid to Li Su Su's character. She appeared to be fooling around a lot in the Mortal Arc, which made no sense. Then, boom! She gets an epiphany and things just plunge into a dead end. The story went around in circles for the first arc and by EP 24, I lost all hope.
Bai Lu and Leo Luo’s explosive chemistry helped to elevate their “romance” to a phenomenal level, but it was painfully obvious that the script was leaning towards Tantai Jin’s backstory. I could tell when he began to thaw and when he began to truly care for Ye Xi Wu.
For someone who was abused throughout his life and did not possess an ounce of trust in anyone, I could not understand why she underestimated Tantai Jin’s actions. He had proven his sincerity over and over, but how come she never saw through it? She did prove herself, but her duty outweighed her trust and love.
Personally, Li Susu was better than Ye Xi Wu.
But, had many novel and dramaland characters had her temperament, I doubt that there will be many happy endings.
Bai Lu is an excellent actress, and she attempted to give it her best shot for sure. But, till the very end, I did not know what was going on in Li Su Su’s mind.
Even in the final episode, I just couldn't help but feel terrible for Tantai Jin.
As for pacing, the first 20 - 22 episodes were definitely the strongest ones for me. Even the Bo’re Dream which I loved. Then came the latter half of the mortal arc and boy… I feel like I missed swathes of character development or should I call it regression? Everything can’t be attributed to editing, but also, to inconsistent writing.
I found it an absolute chore to follow through after EP24. There were several questionable decisions and miscommunications that seemed plain awful and squeezed in to somehow conclude that part of the tale.
[As usual, we have brainless immortal sects like any standard xianxia, so it was of no surprise. And what's a xianxia without a pesky God of War around?]
One particular plot point legit seemed like a deux ex machina that was a gateway for the drama’s flamboyant ending, which just irritated me. A very regular xianxia style ending, which barely lasted for 3 minutes. An attempt was made to make it emotional, but too late, I grew used to the drama’s reliance on their powerful cast and music to make up for damages.
Side characters appear and disappear as they see fit - and apparently, several scenes were cut, though I have no idea how it would have impacted the story. Pian Ran and Ye Qing Yu in particular were just forgotten.
That being said, I still do not know how to rate Till The End of the Moon. The cast and crew obviously put their heart into it. I’ll have to go through a re-review before finally rating it, but for now, I give it a solid 8.
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Loved it
OMG.... How can a story holds 3 stories within.....?I seriously have no words to make. I just love the show.The effort made everything so good. I strongly recommend if you like mixed like stories thats on Devil vs God.❤️❤️❤️The making.... The graphics.... The story..... The action..... The acting....
everything soooo gooood.
when the story get ended I feel so sad. first reason i am gonna miss the drama. secon one just go and watch it... you will find that.
🤠🌞🌙❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
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Superb!
This drama is superb. The drama appeared on my recommended list on YouTube and of course I jumped on it immediately. With Luo Yun Xi (Leo) and Bai Lu as lead actors, it is a must watch for me. I have been looking out for Immortality, a Leo's drama, for ages - completed production but is not released and so this one is a compensation - actually an excellent compensation.The style feels a little like Ashes of Love and Ten Mile Peach Blossom. If you enjoy either of these two dramas, you are likely to enjoy this drama. There are be some comments about plagiarism by a YouTube reviewer. The romance of the two leads spans three lives and in the dream, there is a God of War and a jealous third party, just like in Ten Mile Peach Blossom. There is this crossing of the river of the nether world - just like Ashes of Love. In an episode, when the dream is going on, for a moment I thought it resembles Ten Mile, but the story develops very differently and is very intriguing. And it certainly beats Ashes of Love, in my opinion.
Leo's and BaiLu's onscreen chemistry is excellent. The alternation of love and hatred was so well portrayed, with lots of fighting as well as kissing scenes. With Leo's excellent acting as a 'tortured' person who then rises to great heights, you see his superb acting skills displayed in this drama. He is a master of facial expressions - evil smile, sadness, forlorn, 'I-am-in-charge', happy, gentle and loving - he does them all befittingly. Alongside with him, Bai Lu is just as outstanding.
Of course, the costumes were fabulous, especially for Leo's, regardless of as the king, God of War, or the demon king, he is very regal. He is quite thin but still manage to look very majestic. Then there are all those graceful manoeuvres in his fighting scenes - he certainly put to play his ballet dancing skills very well.
And this drama has one of the best soundtrack. I have not come across a drama with so many lovely music pieces and so I say this is the top drama for music.
Additionally, do I need to add a very good looking cast with outstanding acting skills - China really has a big pool of acting talents.
I see mentions of a Part II and hope that Part II won't be like the Part II of Royal Nirvana - a completely dark turn of the drama, or like Joy of Life or Princess Agent where the sequel never see the light of day. These are going to spoil the mood completely.
I give this drama a all-round thumbs up.
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The show put in effort to bring eye-candy scenes to your eyes.
I just am in love with complexity of the story. There was definitely flaws in the show whether it is the poor character shaping of the FL or the choppy cuts in the end of the last arc due to regulation issues. But my bias towards all the good side makes me wanna give this show a solid 10 because I’m just so impressed by the layers and layers of story unfolding in front of us. So, I applaud the TTEOTM team whether it is for the beautiful CGI, the amazing costumes, the actors and actresses’ acting, they brought this epic story into life. And I’m a satisfied audience to have witness this beauty coming into form.Was this review helpful to you?
it saw good
so the intro was what knocked me off literally in less than 1 minute as soon as th intro started i was like this is gonna be great not only that all the ost was a banger i love all the vocals. now come to the MC for me Tantai Jin (Luo Yunxi) is pretty much a fallen hero because he did nothing to anyone even in his first life where he had die in the cold almost everyone hated him for no reason. The side characters even throw rocks at him when he wasn't even paired up with FL this character truly lived a fucked and sad life. i like it because although he knows that no one would see him as a human being hurting he still put up a strong front even when he wanted FL to kill him he never try to tell her the truth he let her assume he killed his own master. this was one of his character flaws but it was a flaw that i like the reason being if she had truly loved him she would have found it out on her own but she didn't truth be told i think Tantai Jin love felted one-sided because he seriously takes all attacks she throws at him and he let her get away with it because it was his love for the FL that protected her from himself. i truly liked this character Tantai Jin.Now on to FL she was an okay character that learn nothing from her past life like lets be honest all her past life Tantai Jin did everything for the FL to please her in a way. She straight up assumes that he was bad even knowing that he wasn't evil it pains me that every time she tried to save TTJ and says shit that she loves him when she didn't mean it and TTJ believe her heck even i would have fallen for her too but in the end, she was the one that fell harder because at the end she cried bucket when she saw the tomb of ML. ML fell first for FL and it was FL that fell harder for TTJ. There is a saying " you never know what you have not unless u lose it" and this can be said for the FL.
Anyways the ML and FL have chemistry and it fucking set the screen on fire for me. yes my heart was being ripped out from my chest when i saw how much TTJ suffered when he tried to save her with the yin and yang bracelet and when he was looking for Ye Xiwu for 500 years in the underworld. To be honest i would have rather him not feel love at all because it was this love that made him fall to this doom in suffering and torment but it was also what he need the most to heal his heart that had given up on the world that treated him worst than garbage. TTJ made me feel for him because in the end he sacrifice himself for everyone just for the love he has for FL.
Moving on i don't like the 2nd lead couple which was Ye Bingchang (Chen Duling) and Xiao Lin/ Gongye Jiwu(Deng Wei) don't get me wrong i like both actors but i swear i fucking hate the character that they act i can't stand these two they make my blood boils because most misunderstandings have steam from these 2 between the main leads. I may not like the 2nd couple but holy fucking shit the 3rd couple fucking killed me i like Ye Qing Yu (Eddy Geng) and Pianran (Sun Zhenni) they were the best i like this ship as much as i like the main couple ship although i don't too much like the FL character they make good chemistry.
Did i like the end kind of i'm not complaining i know what i was signing myself up for when i started watching this type of drama because the almost never have a happy ending. I also feel like going to rewatch it and fucking rip my heart out again from my chest.
Hats off to the creators, actors, actresses, and directors for creating and making this show happen.
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Love you till the end of the moon?
The light to my darkness,To my night you are that fallen only star,
Dearest Yin to my Yang,
I’ll stay with you, Till the End of the Moon.
I’ve been through the journey of TTEOTM from the time it was announced that Luo Yunxi and Bai Lu will be pairing up together once again and that too for a Xianxia. For all the ‘Love is Sweet’ fans this is more than a treat. I shall rightly say, I trespassed my time with the flow of this drama. The day I knew it was an adaptation of a novel, I read it ardently which only made me more and more impatient to witness it with my eyes. This drama is not completely the same story but I’ll say, the pleasant changes will only please. The drama version took me into it irrevocably deeper. All the clips of the efforts that went into this drama only made me feel like this is my child. I just wished that this succeeds and it did. The talk is real. TTEOTM deserves it.
“You alone, livened up the entire world~”
To the audience now entering into this whole new world of Tan Tai Jin and Li Su Su, this might be a story of a Devil God who was once fragile and a Heavenly immortal who is up for making all the wrongs right. But what you are going to experience is their world of love. A love that’s deep, filled with care and concern, filled with hate and resentment, heart wrenching, miserable, toxic yet still being its own tonic to that toxicity.
“This is the world that loved you, loved by you~”
If not because of Li Su Su, the world might’ve ended in the hands of Tan Tai Jin. It’s his love for her that took away the devil in him. Being born with the Devil Bone was not his choice but how to lead his life, to some extent, was. It was a very difficult path as it’s not easy to change fate. But he was resolute to change it for the good and Li Su Su was the catalyst. TTEOTM depicts how love can make this world beautiful.
The story moves fast, it doesn’t loosen the grip. I watched it while it aired and couldn’t resist myself for the days but as you watch it now, I bet you’ll binge watch the whole thing. This one gets you sleepless.
However, I do wish that it could’ve come a while early before all these censorship issues. I would’ve been too happy to watch it for a longer time without all the cuts that this drama has to go through. Which was pretty brutal to say cuz it, sometimes, feels rushed and ended abruptly. How can I complain it on the drama when I know that it’s the biggest victim here. Anyway, TTEOTM still wins for me.
“I wanna borrow the moon that’s about to fall from the edge of the sky. I wanna hang a glittering butterfly there~”
This beautiful love story has so many many good things to talk about and to name a few, they are…..
Story. Fast. Not at all boring. Unique. I love the connection of all dots from here and there which runs through all the three supposed worlds. It’s an intelligent writing in my opinion. Moving away from the the original novel also brought in fresh changes which are, I think, satisfying. The story gave a lot of scope for debate and discussion of Why? What? How? This is worth binge-watching.
Closure. Something that I really appreciate in this drama is the closure. Misunderstandings do happen, more often a lot. Characters change but the fate seems the same. There is immense love hidden deep in their hearts but constantly their trust is broken. Yet they try to hang on and still stay with each other. However, when question arises, “Until when?”, this beautiful mirage they created for themselves breaks. Albeit, they realise. The do’s and don’ts that would’ve been done and avoided and the forces that led them to the way they ended up. The story ends but with a licit knot. Properly wound. Closed. I hate dramas with a lot of misunderstandings and more if they were not solved. Here, though misunderstandings exist, they are realised and an effort is made to stop from the repetition and I appreciate it a lot.
Characters. Here, the characters possess the story. The story creates the characters. A perfect blend.
I’ll not tell more about Tan Tai Jin and Li Su Su. I’m emotional. I have no words. They have my heart. A world was made for them, I got a free ticket to that world and I’m not coming back. No way. I just wanna stay here with them. That’s it. Rest, you watch!
One character that stole my heart would definitely be Pian Ran. That little fox demon is no less an angel. Be it the best partner for Ye Qingyu or the best friend for Ye Xiwu or the best assistant to Tan Tai Jin or the best Cupid for the latter two…. All of her acts were as beautiful as she is. Pian Ran deserves Ye Qingyu. Not me, but a majority has fallen for her through this drama. I wish she shines brighter in the future.
Ye Qingyu. A righteous man till his end. He is smart, handsome, and not someone who lets unworldly principles to rule over good. He stays obedient but also knows the line and extent. At the end, all he wants is goodness. He strives, he strides, he succeeds. Family is his responsibility, love is his passion, valour is his strength. An impressive unshady character. Ye Qingyu deserves Pian Ran.
P.S: I wished that I could see more Pian Ran and Ye Qing Yu.
Like the majority, again, we agree upon who is that one character which was a sore to the eye and no doubt it is Ye Bing Chang. She deserves the ‘Bitchang’ title! In all the three lives with all the three names, she was always the thorn and the real devil. How I wished that I could punish her with all the worst punishments in the world, I swear I’d become a devil to bring her down. Hate her.
Xiao Lin. Sigh! A character with great potential but completely ruined. He is one character I felt like was the writer’s fault. He was portrayed to be this unconditional lover, a pure Pearl like character who is so patient, so heavenly. For a while that was still believable. I think the leniency he had towards Ye Bing Chang irrespective of her acts made his character less interesting. And this is only about the mortal realm era, mind that! Cuz in the dream arc and immortal realm, his character was just negligible. At least as Sang You he seemed sweet and good irrespective of the less screen time but as Gong Ye Jiwu, he just made me angry. What was Gong Ye Jiwu’s character even? A Fool? I guess! All of his actions were just so foolish. His intelligent image seemed fake. Boy was ruined. I think it is the character I have complaints about in the whole drama.
I loved Zhao You and Qu Xuan Zi. Their little bromance was cute. I love how great of a father Qu Xuan Zi is. He let Su Su live her life the way she wants. He believed in her and knows that she is an adult enough to take the right choices. And I love love love Zhao You. The best master! After Su Su, It was only him who trusted Tan Tai Jin and gave him a new beginning as Cang Jiu Min. He was not that conventional master. He was funny and sweet.
Si Ying, Jing Mie. Devils but cute ones. Though their unnecessary efforts in the name of bringing the lord back were making me frustrated, I shipped them together. Haha. They came like wind, vanished with the wind.
Ye Xiao a great dad, grandma Ye was so cool, Ye Ze Yu… might have been the grey one but grew to be a man, Chuntao… a cutie. The Ye family (ofc except that stupid Ye Bing Chang), though had a very less screen space, saved some seats in the heart.
Nian Bai Yu…. Thank you for the loyalty. Throughout the drama, I kept wishing for good people to accompany Tan Tai Jin and make him feel loved. And all the people who chose to do that are my favourites.
Costumes. Oh my my! What shall I even say about the costumes in this drama? One word- Stunning! The Devil God’s outfits are my favourite! The details on the black outfits are soooooo good! Tan Tai Jin as the Emperor of Jing had another set of splendid outfits. The intricate detailing was so good. Ye Xi Wu had outfits that fit her character very well. The Jewellery needs to be particularly mentioned. How alluring! The chain like jewellery in the mid partition of Ye Xi Wu’s hair was so nice and beautiful on her. Sang Jiu’s wedding dress is so unique but cute which suits her adorable image very much. The Devil God marriage outfit is just out of this world. The BTS shows how much time and effort went into creating so many beautiful costumes and how carefully they are made. All of them need to be put in a Museum or an Art Centre for sure! The last outfits of both of them are chefs kiss😘.
Makeup. Very pretty. Perfect. You can argue with the walls if you are not on the same page as me in this. Periodt. The Clam clan makeup in the dream arc is so dreamy and cute. The pearls, the shimmery eye makeup, wow! Very delicate. I just loved the sleek thin winged eye liner on Luo Yunxi so much. His eyes looked more extensive which indeed helped him to portray his minute emotions more through his eyes. And also the different eye lens colours determined the different Devil God versions. The makeup definitely helped in determining who is who. The devil turned Sang Jiu was just so nicely done. Her makeup emphasised the deep hatred and her desire for revenge. Special appreciation is to the Huadian (the art on their foreheads). It made all the complex makeup come together very well. The red detailing on the Devil God, the white on Ming Ye, the white and yellow one on Su Su and Gong Ye Jiwu are so delicately done. Bai Lu as Li Su Su looks so fitting with the ‘Lady of Spirituality’ title. She looks calm and serene as she should. I felt like I was in heaven with a Goddess! The space buns are hella cute! Ye Xi wu also looked so good. The nice airy bangs look very good on Bai Lu. Bai Lu in costume dramas is always so incredible. All in all, just by the makeup and costumes, you can easily determine in which character they are. Each so different.
Weapons. One fact about the weapons used in this drama makes them unique is the dynamism. I like how even the weapons have a character and were so well designed accordingly. The Devil God’s all three weapons and their forms are so unique to the costume drama screen. They are not conventional and the transformations of them is so good. The God Slaughtering cross bow, the devil bone and the Demon God sword woahhhhhh!!! Spectacular! But my favourite is actually Su Su’s Jade sword. Though it appeared very rare, I love the way it looks. I mean, it’s so unique! It transforms into a harp, a pendant, a jade….all hearts!
Sets. Huge! Splendid! Jaw dropping! Just what such a high budget Xianxia requires. The palaces, the war places, the realms are very nicely designed.
CGI: this drama was shot in few months but the CGI took years! Man, look at the drama, every detail…. It’s evident! Turning a green screen into something so amazing is pure art. And more than anything, you believe! I am transported and I don’t wanna comeback. The Devil God’s Spirit thing looked so magnificent. The Demon Artefacts and the visual transformations is majestic. The art of the realms is so elegant. CGI stole the show. Also, respect to the actors for imagining all of this in their heads and delivering such outstanding performances. It is not at all easy!
OST. All those beautiful lines I used in my review are from the Drama’s OSTs. I love them. They gave drama to the drama. I- I- I LOVE THEM! No words, just beautiful and close to my heart. Love the lyrics, love the composition, love the instruments, love the drama in them and I love how each song was rightly played at the right scenes.
This drama isn’t perfect folks. A few rigs and rags are still there. Nonetheless, what’s called perfect if imperfections don’t exist?
The dislikes for me in TTEOTM:
1. The abrupt cuts: 😭
2. Bad lip-syncing: is it because of the cuts or was it shot that way? Especially in the Immortals-Devil God world. Idk?!
3. The rush: the story is complicated. It needs to be explained well with its own time. But because of the rush I didn’t understand several parts. I read the novel but the story started drifting away from the novel so it’s new to the ones who read the novel too but it gets very confusing. It goes on so fast that at one point I felt like, “yeah.. let’s see what happens I’ll understand it eventually”and was left confused for a long while. (You’ll understand however!)
4. Chen Du Ling as Bing Chang: it’s true that she made us believe that she is Bing Chang and made us hate the character as it should but…. Sorry to say this honey, your acting needs more polish. Her face, at many parts of the drama, had literally no expression.
Whatsoever, TTEOTM is a brilliant, regal, grand and an epic drama! Flaws can be ignored with the flow. You don’t want to miss witnessing such grandiose for the mere cons. My dislikes are only to be transparent about it but honestly, deep down, I don’t think they even matter to me in anyway. So I recommend you to watch it no matter how fuzzy you feel about this. It’s worth your while.
“In the past, I was a blind man living in the dark. I was trapped in a void for twenty years. Everyone say the sun is bright and warm. But I didn’t know what exactly true brightness means….. until I met you.” - Tan Tai Jin to Ye Xiwu
He was ill-fated, lonely, miserable, misunderstood and mistreated so much that all the little things Ye Xiwu did, sprouted seeds of love in him. In him, who was a desert. So the trees of love that grew in him is his greatest treasure, his only companion, his only faith, his only belief. He won’t let that love go, he won’t let that tree die…. To the extent that he even doesn’t care about his existence.
I can watch a thousand more seasons of TTEOTM with the same cast and never be tired of it.
I only wish that the Chinese industry stops thinking of anything else and cast Bai Lu and Luo Yunxi in another drama together. Their chemistry is just off the bounds. I already feel sad that I won’t have them together on the screen. So just please pair them up for another one!
Anyways, Luo Yunxi and Bai Lu, get them their Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Couple awards! I’m now not a fan but an AC to them🤣. LOVE THEM!
The end……..Season 2? Epilogue? Special cut? I bet there is some sort of drama extension for the way that ended! So, I’m just patiently waiting!
Wow, I wrote a whole book as a review😭. I love this drama so much, I think I’ll miss it so much, I think I want another season of it so much…. I wanna cry😭
You people better watch this!
Love will always find its way people. Love is the curse, it’s the cure. TTEOTM is love!
“Actually, the sun and moon can shine together,
Light and darkness can overlap with each other,
Love and hate have blurred boundaries~ “
I cried a Mohe river in this drama!
From now on, for me, it’s not “I love you to the moon and back”. It’s “I love you TILL THE END OF THE MOON!”
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