Livia B C

I used to have the same impression of Xie Lian than you, but I changed my view after reading the whole novel. Xie Lian is actually a very simple character! Extremely light in mood, decided, and consistant! Why he seems so complex is because he is very well resolved with himself, and this is something that most of us never achieved! He is very calm and essentially good, but he at some point made his peace with his "dark" moments. Which is basicly accept that he can feel all range of emotions and make mistakes, like everyone else. He is basicly the same troughout all the story, the difference is that when he was young (up to his first banishment) he wasn't at peace with himself because he was still young and lacked some wisdom and some experiences in life. After that, he is the silly and good guy that has chosen his own path and understands that the human nature has flaws (gods too). He's not inocent at all! He knows cruelty, sadness, regret, shame, hate. He has all of those and he knows it! He does not avoid any of those! He has just chosen to live by "One is enough". That's the moment where he makes sense of himself and the world. This is being mature and wise. In my oppinion, anyone who can portray a variety of emotions (especially silly kindness) and can express confidence without arrogance, is able to portray Xie Lian. (I came here to say that Xie Lian is a simple character and ended up writing so much!🤣 Sorry! That's my love for the character having a hard time to shut up!🤣)

Eu já não ligo pra censura. É inevitável! E o que me atraiu na história não foi o BL em si (apesar de eu gostar desse casal). Então estou esperando que eles consigam "traduzir" o BL pra uma amizade convincente. Já as cenas BL eu não estou esperando que tenha nenhuma. Mudanças na história por causa da censura... dá pra eles só retirarem o BL e não mudar nada. Só o passado do Hua Cheng que eu acho que talvez eles acrescentem alguma coisa pra "justificar" melhor a motivação dele pra quem for assistir sem saber que é baseado em uma história BL. (Se bem que em teoria a motivação dele é adoração/devoção, que é o que faz um sentido lindo pra história! A gente é que compra essa ideia por causa do romance! 😆) Fora isso acho que o roteiro não vai seguir a novel 100%. Eu espero que o todo ainda seja fiel a história! Mas por enquanto a gente não tem como saber. Se bobear, só vamos ter uma ideia depois de assistir o primeiro episódio.

Eu já adorei os atores pros protagonistas! O que eu assisti com o Zhang Linghe ele me pareceu um ótimo ator! E o Zhai Xiaowen, apesar de eu não ter assistido nada dele atuando, ele me passa muita "vibe" de Xie Lian! Meu medo é só com relação aos efeitos especiais! Mas essa parte acho que sempre prefiro não esperar muito não!😆

I also thought on the assistants! Maybe he's organising to be with each crew on the most important moments and leaving the rest to the assistants. Otherwise I don't think he would be allowed to be in both if he couldn't work properly on them!

I'm guessing two at once then! 😲 We will probably have some news on that still this month.

Wait! He's directing 2 dramas that will be filmed at the same time? It can be done, but still is a lot of work! I don't know about Hua Rong, but HOB has the cast getting together, rumoured to be doing script readings, they've started trainings (with swords and some especial effects stuff). It's said they will start filming this month. Does this mean that they will spend a few months only "training" and filming actually begins much later? (I'm a bit lost, and very curious about this)

There are kisses and an openly romance between the main characters (not only on the extra chapters). Censorship in China doesn't allow that. It's not about censoring a visual thing, it's the BL romance itself. Because of the censorship rules, you can expect all BL novel adapted to drama/live action to be changed into a bromance and have it's story adapted to make sense out of that.

I have to mention this because it's funny how we (everyone) see the same thing in very different ways. That guy from the photo, he is indeed handsome, but I don't think that he looks like the HC from the manhua at all!!!🤣 I think nobody does, actually. That's the "problem" with amazing art, it extrapolates reality to an unreachable level. (This manhua has one of the most amazing art that I've ever seen in a manhua, manga, comics, etc!❤). I've finished reading the novel a couple of days ago and now I'm more comfortable that the characters aren't so hard to play. Wich doesn't mean that they aren't absolutely amazing! I've been watching Maiden Holmes (started just to check on Zhang Ling He, kept watching because it's a cute entretaining drama) and Zhang Ling He's character there actually has quite a few things/behaviours similar to HC. Main difference is that he's mainly a "good hounorable boy" while HC has the "antisocial, arrogant bad boy" vibe. The actor still doesn't have a face that I would have imagined for HC, but I'm becoming quite interested/curiois in how this will turn out! It will not be as good as the novel or as beautifull as the manhua, but if I'm able to enjoy it at least as I've enjoyed The Untamed, I think I'll be happy with it! Or at least I hope so!🤣

Actors often don't. Some, after getting a role, will read the original work for extra material. But most will follow the script and the director.

I'm betting on the other odds, that these young actors are very talented and a smart choice from the production!😆 But I know it's still a 50/50 chance! The donghwa is what got me in HOB! But since it's a different media it still looses content. But my only dumb complaints about it is that XL looks too old and HC isn't pretty!🤣 But for that we have the manhwa, wich has absolutely gorgeous art!!! For the full content, I don't expect anything to be better than the novel! My biggest corncern for the drama are actually how they will adapt some details since the BL has to be censored. Adapting this way is not an easy or simple task to make. If it doesn't make sense in itself, no cast can save it.

I understand this concern! I know that this is a possibility, but I don't really share this concern!😅 Part of good acting is actually how the actors are directed. So, even all being young and inexperienced, if they have the pottential, a good director can get it out of the actors! And I've seen way too many young and inexperienced actors being amazing just from the start! (Like, actors with 17 and 18 years old in their first job) I don't know if these actors will be good, but being young and inexperienced doesn't really worry me. But I know that most people need to see something to be confident in that. From those actors, the only one I've seen acting is the one that supposedly will play Hua Cheng. If nobody told me, I would never guess he's an inexperienced actor.😅 To me the odds are 50/50. It can be either good or bad. But I haven't seen anything yet that concerns me. But, as I've said, young and inexperienced isn't an issue for me. I understand a lot of people see the half that can be bad (they won't be good at acting), but I consider the half that can be good (new talents revealed). Either is possible! If I had seen them acting and thought they were really bad, then I would be definately worried!😅

Yes! But I was quite shocked with some reactions especially at such an early stage of the project! I saw someone here mentioning that the chinese public/fans were very harsh/difficult. I think that only now I'm getting a picture of that! And I honestly laughed when I thought they were just like the mortals in TGCF!🤣 It actually made me realose how those comments don't matter much! And I've never had a dream cast for this drama. I couldn't see anyone as the main characters!😅 So, I'm just hoping for the essence of the characters and story to be there, and for this drama to be enjoyable!

I think that the strenght needed for both characters will come from acting, not looks. Maybe I'm also too used to the asian aesthetic to not feel the need for older faces/actors. HC isn't such difficult to play, so I'm not that worried. XL is an extremely light character! I actually feel that he seems younger at 800 than when he was 17!🤣 He looks more silly and with less worries. Although he is much wiser, his looks don't inspire trust in anyone. He is never seen as an "ancestor" (someone who should be respected). The tricky part for the actor (any actor) will not be the looks or the age (although I was hoping for someone young and cute!🤣), but to portray the slight changes of mood. And XL has many of those, while never changing who he is. The "cute, happy, silly and light" mood is the main one, but there are some specific moments that the mood changes and has to have the right weight. But this can be helped with directing the actor, the drama itself, etc. Honestly, I'm starting at the point that no one they cast for XL will be able to portay him perfectly!😅 And I'm hoping for a 50% good. Something good enough that I can recognise the character. Anything beyond that will be a plus for me! And it's not that I don't think that there are good actors, it's just that there are a lot of people involved into making one complex project. The result will be a mix of it all. I've got my expectations low, but somehow I'm still confident that this drama will be at least entretaining!😆

After having thought of this, I can't take the extreme comments/criticism seriously anymore!!!😆

That's the normal and healthy position that I didn't see on weibo! People there are quite scary in their comments! And almost all comments I saw there were very harsh! They weren't about "not liking" but more about the incapacity of the rumored actors and production team! (Based on assumptions and not actual facts) Those comments are actually quite scary!!!😅 As for me, I don't have any expectations for the look of the actors except for the 2 main characters. But if the rumours are true, I'm ok with that! The actor for Hua Cheng doesn't match what I imagined but actually looks better than what I was expecting!😆 As for Xie Lian, as far as looks go it was a pleasant surprise for me! He's cute and has a baby face! It's what I was hoping for Xie Lian's look since he's super young looking! (Forever 17!😆 Wich is the only detail I think the donghua didn't get right) And I had no specific actors in mind. Couldn't really think of anyone that suited my view. So I was hoping an ok cast, but preparing for anything!🤣

With the "seemingly confirmed but not official" cast, I went to weibo to see what people are talking about it! And people are harsh!!! Many saying (according to the translations I got) that without a proper acting school and years of experience an actor is bad. Like, the prejudice that a curriculum is more valuable. I have no idea if the actors will work out for the characters or not, but that still doesn't give me any proof that they will fail! Some people are already saying that this drama will be terrible, but they haven't seen ANYTHING of it yet!

I don't know if it will be good or bad, but I'm waiting to see.

And a funny thought came to me today! Those fans who are only complaining and saying this drama is doomed and will be a faliure based only on the cast, they are just like the mortals in TGCF!!! If a god doesn't give them exactly what they want, that's a useless trash god! Better destroy their temples and go worship another god!

I wonder how those "fans" haven't seen this irony!!!🤣

I really hope that the actors aren't seeing any of this! Such hate, criticism and lack of support never does any good!

Judging it bad because you think it's not a faithfull adaption isn't actually a good thing. You are absolutely free to dislike it! If there was a category for "faithfull adaption", you could even give it a 0 if you wanted! Me, personally, I'm loving it! I'm at episode 5 and can't wait for more! Nice acting, and even special effects! I'm loving the peace/rythm of the story! It's not slow like other dramas and keeps me interested! It also has some very interesting choices in editing! So far, the characters and the story have been consistent! It's one of the best C dramas of the genre that I've watched recently! A pleasant surprise! Maybe you're too much of a fan of the animation or don't really watch c dramas to be able to see it beyond of what you wish it were. It happens. Not everything is for everyone.