Veil of Shadows

Unlikable leads, repetitions, cliches and tropes

Do you like wasting your time watching something you hate? Do you want your leads to be unlikable and annoying? Do you enjoy watching one cliche after another? Do you like watching filler episodes? Do you like repetition? No? Then, this is not the show for you.

It takes a lot to make me drop a show altogether. There are shows I've watched at 2x speed or skipped through scenes. But even at 2x speed and skipping many scenes, I couldn't keep watching this.

I didn't expect a masterpiece or a 10/10 show. I just wanted a xianxia that's enjoyable. It was too painful to keep watching this. I feel sorry for the actors and other talent who had to be a part of this.

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Waste of time type of ending

Was a 7.5 for me until the ending and they practically did one thing I hate in any series that doesn't focus on said concept. They pulled the old switcheroo and ended in a way I felt just makes the entire story building pointless.

So this deserves a 5.5 in my eyes.

I won't spoil it but I'll say Stein's Gate explores the concept throughout the series. This series doesn't do any of that it just happens and it happens in the most pathetic way possible to end the series in a good note.

This series peaks in the middle part where they explore the past vs present and you get to understand their motivations and backstory. It was appealing and I enjoyed it because it was good pacing.

Where it falls apart is the start of the "story writer" part of the ending and it's something if you watch you'll realise how weak it is because Stein's Gate did it better and which is why you don't ever throw it in a series as something that just happens. It's too weak like if the entire series was like that then I'll be more positive because at least you build around that concept and explore that concept not what they did here.

I feel the story weakened immensely due to this.

World building was good, visuals was good, acting was good and music was kind of not my thing but it was okay minus the dub dub dub wub wub wub sounds as I was never into that kind of stuff.

I would love a spin off just focused on more shounen anime style of becoming a demon hunter that be great. I think they have some concepts here but they didn't explore any of that like how do humans get powers, how do humans level up, and such so I would actually be down to watch something akin to that but obviously this series is more about the main leads and love, trials of love etc... not how to become a top demon hunter and impress a girl who is trying to assassinate you and is secretly a demon.

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Tried my BEST to remain interested in this show but unfortunately it's TRASH

Chanced upon this drama because of the leads being Chen Duling and Joseph Zeng, naturally with these talented actor and actress, I assumed the show was going to be good. It unfortunately turned out to be trash here's why:

1. Story
The story and motivation behind it is nearly non-existent. Characters seem to pop out of nowhere, get a short and quick introduction and they are suddenly part of the main cast and mission. The mission itself pops out of nowhere as well.

2. Character Interaction/Dialogue
The script is very "unserious", each of the characters in this show communicate between each other as if they were part of a sitcom setting, Less Show More Tell. There's way too much dialogue without the necessary action to accompany it making the entire show really extremely dry/boring.

To summarize, while this show has decent quality VFX, Cinematography and Action scenes AND not forgetting great actors like Chen Du Ling and Joseph Zeng, the dry/awkward/boring script and story ultimately makes this unwatchable.
If you're looking for an actual quality Wuxia show check these 2 series out: Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber (2019) AND Pursuit of Jade

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Visually Amazing but Storytelling Confusing!

There is no way to deny Veil of Shadows is one of the Chinese drama that has most beautiful cinematography. The characters' designs were all well made. The costumes are beautiful. The soundtracks are also very nice and fit into the mysterious gothic background cinematoghy.

The story is actually interesting. It has this vibe of Painted Skin which it is based on. In my opinion, it is not told well. The storytelling uses,"show first, reveal later! And oh twist!", so often that its really difficult to go in depth emotionally connecting with the story because for me, I just simply lost track both on story and characters'motivations (Because characters play cunning most of the time). There's just non stop feeding in that "cool make me lost track on the taste.

The fantasy themes such as demonic power themes are very nice. However, the show repeatedly use time looping, characters role playing others in other past timeline. Especially this role playing people in the past, is something new for me, and I am not so convinced into this fantasy element theory. Nevertheless, I do like how this theory was used to develop Wu Shiguang and Wu Wang Yang romance bonding. It's such a pity that their story was sidelined later.

Ji Ling and Lu Wuyi loved each other so much. They protected each other at all cost. The drama indeed has a lot of their scenes and some are quite repeated. The drama indeed is showing their deep love but I just cannot emotionally connected to their romance despite the fact that I was initially interested in them because I like this dynamic of him being innocent , naive and attracted to her, while she's a little cunning but also attracted to him. Their past of them meeting at the valley, with him bringing her flowers and her giving him rasberries was repeatedly shown as her memory. They do have cute scenes in that star stone time loop where they role play as other couple too. With all the scenes being shown I still feel there's skipping something to them being having such deep bond. Because this couple also has to hold having to destroy each other. Ji Ling was given the responsibility of the role of Chi Wen, ninth dragon, by Chi Wen to kill this evil force, 9 head snakes, Jiu Ying, or wait until the 10th dragon appeared who is of course Wu Shiguang. And Lu Wuyi was made by Jiu Ying to hold some of himself inside her, when got killed, he can use Wuyi's body. So she needed to be destroyed or else main villain, Jiu Ying will use her to destroy the world.

The ending is questionable. It is happy end but it skipped explaining things especially how Wu Shiguang did to time loop and bringing back Wu Wangyang and other 9 tail foxes back to life (after Wangyang and others sacrificed themselves to protect pillars of the world for not collapse), and also how did weasel demon, Youchi come back to life after sacrificing. Its like timeloop was changed and some happenings are deleted. But its not shown well. So Wu Shiguang was very powerful but why it took him too much strength to get rid of the villain, even Ji Ling spirit that came back was more powerful? The viewers really need to make up things on their own to the story.
As for Ji Ling, he was actually already dead but his soul can still come back after some theory add up and his soul go inside the time loop crystal to rid of Jiu Ying putting the thing inside that can permanently seal part of his in her. Ji Ling succeeded and get rid of villain in that time loop. The ending shows Ji Ling and Lu Wuyi in another timeloop of life that they are just normal people who met and fall in love again. So I take that as happy end because main characters reunited and happy at end of drama. As for why and how did that happen, the drama do not tell and left to viewers to just think on their own. (This kind of thing was done and twisted in drama that for some viewers this ending not something to be trusted) For myself, I think about a lot of symbolisms and theory use, i cannot really find strong substance in it. It just seem to go just randomly on whatever it wants to. Just like when the last timeloop, villain was slained and get rid of. Some dead characters such as Youchi come back to life but not others, I cannot really find substance on how and why that is. That left me with unserious confused impression 🤡🙄, which is my overall rating to the drama is not so high. I give it 6/10.
Even that so I will still recommend this one to anyone who enjoy Guo Jingming previous works (visual is guaranteed) and to fans of Ju Jing Yi and Tian Jia Rui. Maybe you will probably connect with it than I do.

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Amazing visuals - complex story

If you were confused in the first 4-ish episodes, don't worry! It will get better. They intentionally don't reveal all the relationships behind the characters, and it will slowly reveal itself throughout the show.

The first few eps do not define the entirety of the drama. The drama has multiple storylines that develop on top of each other.

APPEALS (10/10):
- Makeup: amaaazing makeup!!! it allowed the closeups to be fully captivating!
- Outfits: so many beautful outfits to keep us on our toes! Hyped up each scene.
- Director: GJM knew what we wanted to see more than what we knew we wanted to see! I had to rewind several times to check how the shot went down- so epic!
- Cinematography/videography: holy cow the action shots and closeups were so good, Espeically with the crazy good makeup and outfits!
- Animations and effects: All the animations were well placed and well done! The first few eps are just a teaser of the quality you can appreciate throughout the drama.
- Actors: They are all super talented and versatile., especially Ji Lin/ Wu Yi multitasking different frame of references.
The foxes really knew how to be otherworldly. Something felt different and I couldn't put a finger on it, but I think its their slow eye/head movements, slightly snake like.
- Music: I have to praise the music choice for this drama. It really tied it together and hyped up the scenes.
- Storyline: I appreciate the character developments and different arcs throughout this drama. The main lead role isn't as strong, and you follow several different characters grow together.

MEHS:
- I felt the ending (last 2-3 eps) got a bit long - stayed for the fight scenes but skipped minor character closings.
- I couldn't keep up with the different names/characters at some points, and still don't fully understand all the details- but I think these minor details make it good for rewatching.
- I felt Wanyang's role was pushed away at the end. Shiguang's character was slightly misplaced- with a big role to fill, but little umph. His frizzy hair was a bit annoying. Both of them were cool at first, but then they became an old couple and their love story was dry. I was really hoping for more action from Wanyang.
- Deaths of Ji Lin/ Wu Yi were overly complex by the end. I think I was worn out to care whether they appeared or not

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Veil of Shadows.... is not that bad?

Okay. My second work of GJM. I personally don't think it was bad. At the start of the drama, I really did not think that I would enjoy the drama. It has so many plot twists that I was struggling to keep up. Matter of fact, I almost dropped it on the 6th episode. But, one thing that really really upset me was the use of artificial intelligence. Yes, a lot of dramas use it nowadays, but I'm disappointed at how much it was used in VOS. I really think it would have been better without it, but that's just a personal opinion. The use of CGI was balanced though.


Story:
I love how they incorporated Chinese folklore into the drama. Besides that, the plot is so all over the place. Xiaowei was introduced like she was the MAIN antagonist and some secret "ninja-hiding" fox and the sixth episode is the last we saw of her? Are we serious? There were so many characters that were introduced under the impression that they were very important, but they're so forgettable. I had a friend of mine who introduced me to this drama, and after watching it, I wanted to make some small talk with her about it. I talked about Xiaowei, Yu Shengwei and Han Ba, and she looked at me with a confused expression and asked me who they were. Mind you, this friend of mine was non-stop sending me VOS edits for days. I felt so confused as so many actors play so many characters! And some of them were given names, but it turned out to all be the same person?? Tian Jiarui and Yan An was worked to the max with how many characters they were playing. The arc where Lu Wuyi goes into the soul of Ji Ling's doll will never not be confusing to me. Does that mean the world is still in a time loop? Because if LWY cut off her tail WHEN she went into the doll, why doesn't that make changes to the original timeline?? I'm also confused on how Ji Ling and Wu Shiguang's master suddenly rose from the dead. Like, did I miss something??? I heard rumors that there was going to be a sequel so I really hope the plot wont be as messy.


Acting:
Perfection to the tiniest bit. The casting was perfect and the chemistry between TJR and JJY was so entertaining and perfect. I might now be a little obsessed with Xia Zhiguang after his performance here. He nailed every emotion to the tiniest details, and you could tell in his eyes that he was yearning. Wish he sang an OST for Veil of Shadows though. This is also my first JJY drama, and her acting didn't disappoint. TJR did a great job too, easily going to be big in the future. I almost thought he was some underground veteran actor, but he only recently made his debut and he's already exceptional. Will be tuning into his future works. Not the actor/actress's fault, but I really felt that the main leads shouldve been TJR and JJY. We barely get much stuff from WSG and WWY, and the main couple should've been them.


Music
TJR and JJY's singing blown me away. I find myself playing the OST on repeat because IT IS THAT GOOD. VOS did not disappoint with the OST and I was blown away by TJR's singing. He really is an ace. Exceptional acting and beautiful singing.


I'll make sure to rewatch this after my watchlist has cleared down, but an OK drama for me. I really like the outfits though especially for JJY. I'm very excited for the sequel, just hope the plots.... can uhh lessen a bit.

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Good production, cinematography, costumes, etc., but story felt a bit repetitive

The story, at the start was refreshing and interesting. With main casts that despite not being the direct "main character", play a big role into the story and have their characters built well throughout the whole 29 episodes. Though personally, I think it became a bit too repetitive at some points. But this could just be my personal opinion as the plot twists felt a bit lacking for some plot points. Regardless, it was well written out and I think 29 episodes is the right amount of episodes for the story to fully play out without boring people too much.

The production design is splendid, from the set to the costumes, a lot of details were put into them. Especially if you watch an interview with the costume designer herself, you'll know that she and her team put in a lot of effort to make sure the costumes were immaculate. Down to the smallest of details. Which you can see from details like Wu Wangyan (Chen Duling) and Lu Wuyi (Ju Jingyi) (as well as the other nine-tailed foxes)'s hairstyles would oftentimes have nine-tailed details (e.g., hairpins and little tail-like beads). The costume designer also worked on My Journey To You, Fangs of Fortune, Till The End of the Moon, A Dream Within a Dream, Love Beyond the Grave and more. Hence, you know she's really skilled in costumes, which pulls the viewers into the story even more due to the elements that tie everything together regardless of whether or not the viewer realises this consciously or unconsciously.

Something I'd like to say is that to be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of Ju Jingyi's acting, which was why I was kind of aversed towards watching this. Though I'd say her acting was really good in this drama! Not sure if it's because of Lu Wuyi's character but she did a splendid job in portraying the cunning yet cute and caring fox.

Chen Duling and Zheng Shunxi's chemistry is amazing, I never thought CDL would look that well as a fox demon but she fits the part immaculately. I think many people were worried that Tian Jiarui's character is this might come off a bit too repetitive in reference to his previously bigger roles like in My Journey to You and Fangs of Fortune, though to me, this perfectly showed his acting skills. A bit awkward in some instances but despite that, didn't make it hard to watch through his scenes. As he's still a rather new actor, I think he's actually doing an amazing job as it is now. Definitely seeing him getting better and better as he films more dramas or even movies.

Scene stealer and "MVP" would be Yan An! I've never actually watched much of his works as I dropped Fangs of Fortune before he came on screen (as far as I can remember). But him as Li Jie and Yuan Wuhuo was amazing! Though the two didn't share much difference in personality, you could still clearly tell who's who if you pay attention into certain details (which comes into play as a rather important point, so no, it's not a bad thing). And I think it felt interesting to me to watch Yan An act as such stoic and evil characters since I knew him from Pentagon and their more "refreshing" songs rather than darker concepts like this.

All in all, splendid story to watch through which good visual effects and storyline. Though I myself wouldn't really go out of my way to rewatch it, I wouldn't mind doing so if a friend invited me to do so.

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