This review may contain spoilers
Unexpectedly good
I usually don't prefer to watch prequels after having seen the "sequel" so I've been holding off on this one for a while. Even the Americanized name isn't the most appealing. But I have to say that this one may be the best one of the three. It makes me almost want to re-watch the The Blood of Youth.For me, the growth of the relationships between everyone in this one was done much better than the sequel. The bonds felt much more natural and believable but in turn, the pacing ends up slower than The Blood of Youth. I didn't bother trying to tick and tie every event between the two series because this just isn't one of those that is meant to be that detailed. They did a good enough job letting me appreciate going "oh hey.. that's the younger version of that character". The standouts in this series for me were definitely Master Li and the ninth prince. I've come across the actor for the ninth prince a few times in other series and he really has a great look for either a protagonist or antagonist role. The scene with Master Li just breezing through his attempted assassinations is pretty epic as well. Then there's Ye Ding Zhi and his tragic life. I'm glad that despite his best friend having grown up in such a different lifestyle of privilege, was ultimately the one who stayed true to him.
My only qualm with the story is how too much is revolved around the females. I'm not against sacrificing for the love of your life but the men really did give up way more than the females did. As for Ye Ding Zhi's love, she was really undeserving for just sitting around waiting to be saved. And because both men were obsessed with this one woman, the war was eventually triggered. The blame lies with the king because he has the greater responsibility in considering the lives of his citizens.
Finally, after having watched all three related series, I don't think they did Blood River justice. While it was also enjoyable, it just doesn't tie as well into the overall universe.
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We are all stories in the end...
Great series! Came late to the scene by a couple years and kind of annoyed with myself for waiting so long to watch this because of a couple negative reviews. Yea, there will always be something that annoys the hell out of you... looking at you, Wenjun!.. However, aside from wanting to knock some sense in a few and respect in others..(and stop a certain disgusting drugging). It was a great series. I can truly appreciate the intricate world created and the many tales woven to make the main story whole. You quickly have your favorites and your own personal hit-list and before you know it 40 episodes are done and you are sad to say farewell to the truly "good ones" but we are all stories in the end... So, make it a good one, yea?Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
what a journey!!
The humour: it worked for me, it’s hard for me to pinpoint what makes the humour work for me and what not, but it just feels like the characters are having fun and not that the humour is written for the audience. It did fade a bit as the story got heavier, but it din’t disappear.The cast density: soooo many characters, and I love most of them, they all matter! (Let’s also mention the amount of good looking characters). I loved the eight disciples, they have different principles, different temperaments, different ways of standing upright in the world. Master Li collected different people with conviction not power. But besides the eight disciples, there were still so many interesting characters, Dongjun’s family for one, so fun - and explains his interesting character.
Of course, baili Dong Jun - the emotional spine. The joy of watching him grow over more than a decade without rushing it. I usually dislike time jumps, they break the immersion for me, but it worked well in this story about youth.
The friendship triangle, I loved their loyalty without conditions. Neither of them abandoned their friends. There is this one line “he didn’t blame you. but I do” - I loved his honesty and the pain that this was. Ah honestly the friendships baili Dong Jun had and the things that happened made me cry quite a bit of times.
Now the romance: at first I was bothered by the lack of chemistry but I stopped caring. For me, this drama shows that love is just part of life, I didn’t need to see the chemistry of reasons why they fell in love, however saying that, love is not just a part of life, this show cleary shows also how love moves the world… there was this part where Yue Yao and Wen Jun where complementing each other on how beautiful they were and Ji ruofeng said “the kind that… brings disaster to the country”.
I loved this journey. I loved the failures. This story doesn’t always compensate you with a victory for the protagonist, but that was just a part of their youth and how they get shaped into their protagonist roles haha.
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sediakan emosi
walaupun cerita dia mcm susah nak faham tapi bagi aku jalan cerita,ost dan semua yg di tayangkan adalah menarik dan menyeronakkan dan berharap akan ada banyak lagi cerita mcm ni dimasa akan datang. setiap episode ada rahsia dan ada jalan cerita yg menarik dari mcm mcm segi.dan disebalik cerita cerita mcm ni ada jugak pengajarannya kalau pandai cari hehe kepada semua pihak yang menyediakan cerita ni dari awal sampai akhir terima kasih untuk usaha menyediakan kisah yang menarik dan yang terbaik 🥰Was this review helpful to you?
A Friendship That Fought Against Fate/ A journey of Growing
Two people with same starting point and aspirations. In the avenue of rose, one walked the path adorned with petals and other walked the path of thorns.The hunger for power and throne of the adults changed the destinies of their innocence. Yet the childhood promise made back then held their strings of fate together. But what is predestined cannot be predicted. No one knows how circumstances can change the choices they promised on, to the choices they made.Also, I enjoyed the master-disciple interactions. The dynamics were fun to watch !
Baili Dong Jun's character was well-written, a responsible spoiled brat with an unhealthy amount of love for liquor and a soft heart for the people he cares about. I particularly enjoyed his interactions with his father. His friendship with Ye Dhing Zhi and their story were the highlight of the drama for me.
Ye Dhing Zhi's character evoked mixed feelings, it made me both sad and mad. Sad because he didn't deserve such harshness, and frustrated and mad due to the choices he made that led him to his predicament. The journey from Ye Yun to Ye Dhing Zhi was tough!
The fight scenes were great and I did enjoy everyone's arch. I love that they all grew up to be mature martial artists.
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Underrated Drama
StoryIt was awesome and smooth. I only skipped romantic parts about Wen Jun. Baili and his fam , Ye Ding Zhe , Master Li , Lei Mengsha and his laugh , Sikong Chenfeng and other martial artists were great to watch. I laughed , cried , got angry and felt proud while I was following their story.
Acting
They all were superb.
Music
I have already added to my fav list.
Rewatch Value
It was nice to catch Bali Dong Jun’s side and it was painful to watch all things Ye Ding Zhe had and him turning into an evil. For the friendship , family bond , the fighting with passion they have , it is definitely watchable.
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Waste of time to watch this show as Animation version is awesome; best eg of how you can mess up
I watched about 8 episodes and got lost as to why this story is slow even though the sword fights and story twists seemed to be well done. Then I decided to watch the animation The young brewmaster season 1. Animation is Great.This is an example of how badly you can remake a well done tv show.
Many important twist / scenes were deleted which if present would have given the interest for the viewer as otherwise the show is boring.
Good things were the screen cast are great looking and fresh deal as compared to any other equivalent Chinese tv show.
However the director messed this up with bad fight scene graphics compared to animation, bad script, deleting important background information, etc.
Overall waste of time and money that could have been well spent.
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Dashing youth what a fitting name....
Wow! How many beautiful men can you pack in one show? While I know the ML is the main character, I find myself wishing every single male that pops up will stay throughout the whole show! Each episode has been like getting a surprise every day. I keep wondering which beautiful guy is next. I love the comical parts as well. I can tell this will be fun to watch. Hopefully it doesn't loose steam along the way. Keeping this momentum up will be difficult.Was this review helpful to you?
Awesome fight scenes
I have just seen six episodes but this series is awesome. Handsome actors and awesome fight scenes. It has very little romance which is my qualification to watch chinese dramas but i was hooked frombthe first episode. It has vibes of "The legend of heroes" which came out in 2024.Its an awesome watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
Dashing Youth? More like Dodged that disappointment.
Dashing Youth opens like it’s auditioning for a wuxia museum—gorgeous CGI, elegant duels staged like paintings, and enough sweeping landscapes to make tourism boards jealous. But by episode two I was already drowning in the “Eight Young Masters of Bei Li,” plus Sikong Changfeng and Dongjun, and wait—I thought Changfeng was the lead? Apparently, this drama collects handsome young swordsmen like Pokémon. Every time a new pretty boy shows up, I have to pause to remember who the last one was. By episode three, I was already feeling character fatigue: too many sects, too many man buns, and at least four of them look like they share the same wig stylist.The irony is that the fight scenes are gorgeous, the CGI stunning, and the cinematography chef’s kiss. On the surface, it’s a feast for the eyes. But spectacle alone doesn’t anchor a story. Compared to The Blood of Youth, which kept its emotional core tight around a small group and their bond, Dashing Youth scatters itself across factions before the journey even settles. Instead of intimacy and chemistry, it feels like a parade of entrances demanding their own theme music.
Eventually my patience ran out by the 10% mark, so I peeped reviews just to see if I was being dramatic—and nope. Some of the reviews confirmed my instincts: the spectacle stays high while the plot never tightens, the ensemble remains overwhelming, and apparently the finale ends with…the bad guys winning? Forty episodes of that chaos? No thanks. I curate for resonance and closure, not emotional self‑harm.
So yes, I dropped early — and I’m relieved that I dodged that disappointment. I’ll give it a respectful nod but this one is definitely better admired from afar than survived up close.
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neo amazing actor
akting neo emang nggak perlu di ragukan sih, bagus banget woyy, kepincut neo sampek semua drama nya aku tonton, pas iblisnya keluar gokil sih, cuma sayang gjm miss treat neo, semoga didrama2 selanjutnya nggak dpet treat kyk yg gjm lakuin, nggak sabar menanti drama2 selanjutnya neo hou, semoga sehat selalu,,karirnya makin bagus, dan makin bersinar,klo dashing youth sayang banget banyak adegan yg di cut, apalagi adegan perang nya, terus cerita baili dongjun nya malah nggak fokus ke baili, overall ok sih yaWas this review helpful to you?
Amistad y lealtad
Para comenzar puedo decir que esta serie tiene personajes muy interesantes, tal es el caso de su protagonista, Baili, es un chico super guapo que evolucionó mucho a lo largo de la historia pero conservó el corazón noble que siempre ha tenido, en un principio era un chico flojo, travieso y engreído, pero por todo lo que aprendió, logró ser más fuerte y a querer esforzarse por buscar la justicia y lograr sus metas, me encantaba que era presumido con quien debía serlo: con quienes querían hacerlo de menos o con su padre, nada más por molestarlo porque era muy estricto y quería llevarle la contraria, pero a pesar de ser un niño consentido, de buena familia, jamás hizo de menos a sus amigos, más que eso, eran hermanos para él y nunca dudo en apoyarlos; Ye Ding Zhi también era un chico muy dulce, que tristemente sufrió toda su vida injusticias que lo llevaron al límite, él solo quería ser feliz con su familia y no se lo permitieron; Changfeng es otro chico carismático, un gran amigo y muy humilde y sencillo, este trío a pesar de no conocerse todos directamente, son un ejemplo del amor tan grande que puedes tener hacia tus amigos, de que por ese cariño haces lo que seas por apoyarlos y protegerlos, incluso si te ves afectado tu mismo. Hablando de otros personajes que también me gustaron mucho, serían obviamente el increíble, poderoso, misterioso y excéntrico maestro Li; el noble y bondadoso príncipe Xiao Ruo Feng ; el tierno, leal y super precioso inmortal blanco; y el divertido y alocado que siempre me sacaba una carcajada Meng Sha.En cuanto a la parte romántica, en eso creo que no me encanto como lo llevaron; para empezar la pareja de Baili, Yue Yao me cayó bien pero no la ame, era una buena chica que un principio tenía esa meta de salvar a su pueblo, pero al ver que con ello lastimaría a muchas personas, desistió y quería buscar algo que beneficiaría a todos, eso estuvo genial, pero no sé, siento que le faltó chispa, estaba siempre al lado de Baili, pero me hubiera gustado que fuera más que eso, que brillara por sí sola y también que la relación entre ambos no fuera tan ordinaria, si no un poquito más intensa. La novia de Ye Ding Zhi me desespero completamente, fue una historia de amor tan aburrida, nada más se conocían de niños y cuando se vieron de grandes ya se amaban intensamente, y sé que la pobre sufrió mucho, pero también tomo tan malas decisiones que afectaron a muchas personas y no cambiaba, fue de los personajes que no tolere; y bueno de las otra relaciones no se pudo ver mucho, así que no vale la pena mencionarlas.
En cuanto a la historia en sí, me gusto el inicio, fue divertido y lleno de aventuras; el final estuvo muy impactante, todo el tiempo ocurrían cosas que te sorprendían, pero siento que en el medio si hubo muchos capítulos de relleno, que me aburrieron un poco, habían diferentes grupos de villanos por decirlo de alguna manera, que no sabías cómo iba a terminar todo, quién iba a salir ganando o como se cruzarian las historias, pero tal vez algunas de historias estaban de más porque terminaron demasiado fácil y no tuvieron un gran impacto al final.
En conclusión, podría decir que es una buena serie, en que prima el valor de la amistad y la lealtad, así como también las disputas por el poder y cómo estas pueden afectar a personas inocentes con tal, que estas personas sigan controlando y manipulando todo; pero que a pesar de ello, siempre habrá quienes estén a favor de la justicia y luchen para que esta pueda triunfar.
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