This feels like someone wrote a fanfic and filmed it
This... Is... Uh, the largest budget of a fanfic being filmed that I've seen.I went in not finding any information on the series, but as a fan of this universe, decided to give it a try. This seems like a typical next Gen fanfic, with basically enough tropes in it that you can make a drinking game out of. It has your signature bromance, BL if you squint, angst, sacrifice, will they/won't they romance, tragic background, damsel in distress, etc etc. And despite the campiness, its contents were captivating enough that I binged this in 2 days. Know that that I didn't manage to finish the remake version of Blood of Youth net series (Great Journey of Teenagers) past episode 2, so this at least was enjoyable.
Both acting and cinematography were good, visuals, choreography and CGI also good. Of course, there's no huge demigod sized avatars battling with city destruction moves, but I enjoy the classic wuxia story with a bit of CGI to help express qi. I can't say much on music though, they recycled the music and songs from the original series so there's a sense of familiarity, but also nothing really new there.
Pacing and story is where it hit a slight snag. The first one could be contributed to this being the new style short series so everything happened at decently fast pace. In a way, it made the funny moments meant for tension relief feel more like face-palm moments because there's not enough time to build proper tension that you need relief from. The whole series is only about 5 hours long if you take away all the opening and credits.
Story... I think this would have been a better standalone story outside of the BoY universe because there is quite a bit of information that feels contradictory, or doesn't make much sense without at least another series or three to explain why such things would come to be. Don't get me wrong, I loved the little references to the world we know, but a number of them also felt like "Hey, that's not right!" It took away from it a little because of that, but otherwise it was enjoyable enough to keep me entertained for a few hours.
Like I said, I did watch this in 2 days, so there was something right going on there. But I'll probably not watch it again unless I'm trying to show a friend who is also into the fandom.
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Lead female was good but her character was over hyped more than xia xhioa I liked that villain ye zixin. But still the actors gave their all. And the bond chemistry of both male leads keeps me going.
Still can be better story, more detailed scenes, like every classic drama have. But ok as both male leads covered for me. Loved them. ❤️
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Great acting but messy plot line.(lots of scenes just don't add up)
The plotline is a bit messy, not well arranged and the episodes don't always continue from where it stops which makes the drama a bit confusing and annoying to watch.But the actors tried their best which I could notice and see that throughout the series.it's rare for the acting in mini dramas like this to be good but these actors gave it their all which is why I continue to watch the drama.
Even though the plotline wasn't that enjoyable,I could bear it because of the acting.
Overall, it's okay to watch when there's nothing else but I definitely can't rewatch.
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Honest n critical review- what u shud know before making it ur next watch!
Let's start with my opening statement - actors and visuals are GREAT.. storyline uhmm.. debatable. I'll tell you why.The reason why I watched this drama was because Dashing Youth, The Blood of Youth and Blood River were fantastic dramas.
Into the details!
1. The actors: all the main actors did a fantastic job overall, and I especially loved the female villain. Even though the scope was limited as it is a short/mini drama, the actors did their best and it can be seen.
2. Storyline/plot: there isn't much to the story tbh, so if u r expecting a plot like the three dramas I mentioned earlier, get ready to be disappointed!
3. Scenes: many a time, the scenes seemed unrelated making it hard to follow the plot. Also, the opening of the next episodes could be completely different from where they left off in the previous episode.
4. Chemistry/brotherhood: written and portrayed very well! Hats off!
In short, if u r bored and hv nothing to watch at hand, u can try it out. I didn't find anything really attractive in this drama to put it in my rewatch list. For ppl like me who value storylines more, it was kinda disappointing.
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