A Moment but Forever

Don’t judge a show by its trailers

When the trailer was first released, I wasn’t at so intrigued given that (1) xian xia is not my genre unless it’s heavy on the comedy (2) there isn’t any particular favorite actor or actress I like (3) the general perception of this show wasn’t that positive.

However, AvenueX’s gave a 3-star gold mine review on her personal scale - that the show is deeper and funnier than it looks.

Here I am.

Indeed, I like the theme and discussions of this show. Often, the characters have very philosophical discussions about what is right, what is truth, why I do the things I do, is this my right and truth?

What I like about these discussions is how perception of right and true differs from where you stand. So two perspectives that seem to be opposing can be true at the same time. What I respect is how Ji Tanyin / Goddess Wu Shuang can hold on to her stance firmly while respecting others’ viewpoints. She is kind, but not an annoying Mary Sue. Her line of thought is linear, naive, and simple but also logical, no ill-willed, and …simple.

On the other side of the coin, Yuan Zhong / High Priest is guarded, deep, and complex. He has multiple layers and doesn’t let people get close. This is due to his experiences. By right, he should be respected for his heroic deeds of saving his clan. But he is also feared by his immense power that he took to save his clan. Hence, he is the embodiment of duality in the story.

Of course, main characters are only one part of a good story. I love that the supporting characters have their own theme of stories that is solid enough for its own. They don’t exist only to push the stories along. Mei Shan is my one of my favorite supporting characters - who doesn’t love a happy go lucky person who has his wise sides. Having him around is a delight, as noisy as he is. I love the way he views life - as light as he can enjoy himself, as serious as he can gain mastery and enlightenment to survive over thousands of tribulation trials for several decades.

It’s not only Mei Shan’s story that’s intriguing - there is Tanyin’s master’s story, Xie You, on his 1000 year obsession in search of answer because of his love for craft; there is Pei Jiu / Lu Chen and Yunniang star crossed lovers story of heartwarming and pity; there is Qian Lin’s story in search of family for his family.

I love stories that have the little flickers of humor and the double entendre. Like AvenueX’s review, it’s probably the most normal logical xian xia we can get with all the scientific theories imbued in the crafts. It makes for a rather familiar fantasy story.

That said, a story that is overly philosophical can be too much, especially when the ending is so…normal of what we find in typical xian xia genre. Meaningful discussions that were a tad too long; humor that seems to disappear midway through; star crossed lover story that is too typical. Also, a story is only as good as its villain. The villain can be seen from a mile away. While a good enough “origin” story and a good foil to other characters’ story themes, I find the finale and resolution a little lackluster. It has the general problems that might deter the general audience - poor choice of attire, color grading, and passable visual cinematography.

All in all, philosophy and xian xia is your thing, worth to check the story out. On the philosophy side, it has discussions and questions that are worth thinking about. On the xian xia side, it has fresh elements included in the story that makes it a fun watch. It’s deeper than it looks.
.
.
.
“ It depends on how you define it. What you feel pity about, may not be what the person defines as pity.”

“Don’t try to figure out others using your own morality.”

“From different perspectives, the perception of good varies.”

Read More

Had some highs and lows

This was a better than average show. Had some good and bad points that made me settle on a 7.5 score. This was one of my more anticipated dramas. I’ve seen a lot of people say that it isn’t a typical Xianxia but I found it to be pretty typical as it hits all the same major plot points of any other Xianxia. I was a little disappointed as this had potential to be better but fell short in the storytelling.

The Good

Liu Xueyi carried this drama with his multifaceted character arcs. His acting was top notch, some of his best work. He was able to pull off so many different range of emotions, especially for the different stages of his journey and the different roles he played. His long monologues were pretty impressive as well. I definitely liked the focus of the story being about sins and how it can affect humans and gods. It was pretty creative to see the evolution of Yuanzhong as it related to the five sins. There were also some interesting characters such as the weapon spirits. Very interesting set of individuals that I would have loved to see more of when they were all together. One last thing I really enjoyed was the background music with the clock ticking, it really gave the scenes a sense of urgency and mystery. Those moments actually made me pay attention more.

The Bad

There were lots of plot holes. The biggest one being Ji Tanyin’s soul oath. She made 3 oaths but it seemed to only trigger when it came to her identity. Also, the fact that the gods in discipline hall knew about what was happening in the mortal realm and who were good and bad but didn’t know what was going on in the heavens. Seemed like there were only 8 or 9 gods and one attendant, no other people there!? This made the divine realm seem very empty. Last major plot hole was during the activation of the five sins world ender, seems the destruction caused by Yuanzhong just got swept under the rug and he was still deemed a good person. It’s not like he didn’t have comets falling and destroying a city with people in it. Doesn’t matter that he didn’t complete it. Her soul oath should have activated and it should have activated when she fell in love with him but didn’t. The other downsides to this show were the story pacing. There were too many episodes and a ton of filler scenes. There were lots of times where the story was progressing and then it would just slow all the way down. Ji Tanyin’s character could have been elevated for me. Would have liked to see more conflict with her choice to save him or kill him to take the hand or to even struggle with understanding more of his nature. It was surface level, typically she just believed and followed his every word and shutdown anyone who had differing opinions about him. That leads into another major problem I had which was Ji Tanyin’s character consistency. Sometimes it seemed a little off. She was immediately cruel and harsh to Fu Yiu Jun’s character for no reason but nice to Qian Lin’s character even after knowing his initial intent. Made no sense to her character since she was supposedly kind to all. They made a point to mention that several times throughout the show so I thought that was written a little odd. Also some inconsistencies in Tang Yan’s acting. Sometimes I couldn’t tell what emotions she was feeling because she had no distinguishable affect. A good portion of the show, she didn’t emote well. Next, the second couple could have been cut out completely. Their love story added no real value to the overall story and they were very uninteresting. The love story with our main couple was a little bland for me as well so some of their scenes dragged when nothing much was happening. The final thing I will point out was the costumes, makeup, and sets weren’t great.

Read More

Great Cast, Engaging Story

Acting and Performances:
The acting was excellent. The male lead showed great range and depth, really bringing the character to life. The female lead and the supporting cast also did a great job and made the story feel real and engaging.

About the Ending:
The ending was disappointing. It felt like the story could not decide between being sad or hopeful, and in the end, it offered no real closure. I do not understand why so many shows go for this kind of half-sad, half-open conclusion. Life is already full of difficult situations, why not give the audience a moment of clear happiness, especially when we turn to stories for comfort or enjoyment?

To the writers and director: while this kind of ending may aim to be artistic or thought-provoking, it risks leaving viewers unsatisfied. Offering emotional resolution is not a cliché, it is often what gives a story lasting impact. I am not sure if you have noticed, but this type of ending often affects ratings negatively. Which is a pity, because the rest of the crew did a great job.

Still, despite the “meh” ending (not completely sad, but definitely not happy), I do recommend watching it.

Read More

Not your typical Xianxia romance dramas

Not much action in the first few episodes and I was hoping there would be since it was a fight between the D3mon clan and them. 
I dropped it at episode 19 and after 2 weeks lol I picked it up back. I still think there was something missing and I couldn’t put a pin on it. 
Slowly things just started getting drag after they all left the mountain and then things picked up back a little and we got more actions.
No doubt that the leads had chemistry and I feel like we didn’t get much of their love journey. I also hopes that the ending would have been better but I understand the concept.
For me, it was a great drama but I have watched better Xianxia romance dramas.

Read More

If you're a Liu Xue Yi fan...

After reading the novel and loving it, I was looking forward to watching this drama. However it was nothing like the book...no, not even the ending. The book was a HE. The drama was not. It was a maybe, eventually, some day, some time she might, hopefully find a way to come back. Meanwhile she might be a butterfly, a bug, the breeze, etc....

To say I was disappointed is an understatement. I had such high hopes for this drama.

Having said that it wasn't all bad:
1. Liu Xue Yi was amazing in this role but that's unsurprising. He's a fantastic actor and he looked very good in this part. He's also the only reason I gave this 8 stars. Without him, I would have dropped the drama after the first 3 episodes.

2. The OST is awesome!


So, if you're a Liu Xue Yi fan and you haven't read the book then give this a chance you may like it. If you have read the book, forget everything you've read and you may enjoy the drama. Otherwise if you're like me you'll spend almost every episode saying "That's not what happened in the book."

If you don't know any of the actors and you love very slow burn romance fantasy, a gorgeous male lead who is morally grey and a SE then give this a try.

Read More

Better Xianxia script than the typical ones; however, I found it boring and draggy.

A Moment, but Forever is an Xianxia costume drama starring Tiffany Tang and Liu Xueyi. This is not a typical Xianxia where immortals are fighting demons. The script focused more on the relationship between Ji Tan Yin and Yuan Zhong. Although it incorporated elements from the heavenly and demon realms, the plot and pace are more human-centric and less reliant on CGI and special effects, unlike other Xianxia dramas.

I didn't like the pace of the drama. I found it slow and draggy. I watched it at 2x speed, and the on-screen chemistry between Tiffany Tang and Liu Xueyi was awkward. I think Tiffany Tang should not participate in idol dramas, especially those of the Xianxia type. She is too old for this type of role. She should focus more on modern dramas that fit her age range, something dramatic that stretches her acting ability.

Synopsis: To retrieve the Heavenly Realm's treasure, Goddess Wu Shuang descends to Earth to assassinate Yuan Zhong, the high priest of the Youhu Clan. In the process, Wu Shuang discovers other secrets, and the two fall in love and join hands to save the world. In the war between gods and demons, the artifact "God's Left Hand," which Heavenly God Taihe uses to seal the demon, is severed and falls into the Mortal Realm. Taihe and the other gods fall into an eternal slumber, and the Mortal Realm hasn't had a miracle ever since.

My Reviews:
1. Acting: 7
2, Script: 6
3, Music/OST: 6
4, Production Quality: 7
5. Cinematography: 7
6. Rewatchable: 5
7. On-Screen Chemistry: 5

Overall Rating: 6

Read More

Bastante especial!

Eu não gosto de series de fantásia. Não gosto mesmo, assisti inteiro poucas, e parei no primeiro episodio de muitas. É tudo muito fantasioso e falso. Sai muito da realidade para mim. Mas essa, é uma das poucas que me apaixonei. Outra coisa que não faço é ver séries com final triste, se descubro que o final e triste paro de ver. No entando mesmo sabendo que o final seria agridoce, resolvi tentar, primeiro pelo ML, otimo ator e lindo, segundo.... na verdade não tem segundo, so por ele mesmo, visto que o contexto não me agrada. Vamos aos prós e contras.

Prós:
- a atuação é impecavel;
- você acha que o vilão é um, e no fim descobre que é algo totalmente diferente;
- eles estão juntos do inicio ao fim;
- não há triangulo amoroso, nem separação por nenhum motivo;
- é coerente do inicio ao fim, quando uma promessa é feita, ela é cumprida;
- faz você pensar em alguns pecados da vida, por um angulo diferente;

contras:
- do episodio 20 em diante, ela fica um pouco cansativa, para a historia ser fechada sem nenhuma ponta, foi necessário desenvolver mais o que estava acontecendo;
- a historia secundaria tinha muito tempo de tela, confesso que pulei quanse todas as partes deles;
- muito dificil fazer o ML entender as coisas, ou ele se fazia de sonso;
- não curti muito as musicas;

Final:
- tudo se resolve rapido, eles tem uma vida juntos e viajam bastante, mas não tem um para sempre, talvez ela espere ele em algum lugar; vale a pena assistir!

Recomendo:
sim! vai ser um bom tempo gasto com ela, te prende, te faz pensar, te diverte e deixa um gosto de queria mais unas 5 temporadas;

Read More