They cut so much that transition from one event to the next are almost inexistent. I personally struggle with…
Fandom site can be helpful, but many characters were cut from the story. As viewers, we shouldn't be confused; this suggests that the production and scriptwriters—especially in post-production—didn't do a great job.
Initially, the drama was meant to have 40 episodes, but it was reduced to 36, and then again to 30 episodes. That's a significant amount of material, including dialogues and events, that were removed.
One aspect I regret is how some characters appear out of nowhere, like the horned beast and certain villains. It feels like their stories were rushed.
Ultimately, the "boom boom" event could have been omitted. While this was likely included due to the lead actress's popularity in the entertainment industry, it was unnecessary to the story. In truth, her character won't appear until season 3 (if we even get a second and third season). In the novel, her role is minimal, and the backlash against this drama is considerable. Much of it stems from the misleading label of "romance," and viewers are right to feel upset about it.
Overall, the drama could have been much better. I personally regret that the special effects were underwhelming and felt outdated. Additionally, I found the transitions between frames and events to be rushed, while unnecessary scenes, like those with Han Li and Miss Mo, felt repetitive. I think I saw them three times lamenting that she was human and he was a cultivator. While she is an adorable actress, her role is insignificant since the story primarily revolves around Han Li.
That is sad. We are almost at the end of the drama, and my conclusion is that it had so much potential for a full 40 episodes. However, the strengths include Yang Yang, who I believe performed excellently, as well as Zhao Ming, whom I recently discovered, and many supporting roles such as Edward Zhang and Chin Shih Chieh.
I wonder if they were trying to avoid the criticism of Ever Night by shortening the number of episodes. In Ever…
I've read that the Chinese media system is largely influenced by platforms like YOUKU, as well as the advertisements and sponsors associated with them, rather than by the actual production itself. Although I'm not very familiar with the topic, I believe I came across this information on a forum. Additionally, I heard rumors (shared on this forum as well by a member) suggesting that YOUKU is likely to favor either 2-minute or 10-minute dramas while further reducing the number of traditional dramas. It seems that everything revolves around money. Initially, this drama had 40 episodes, but that number decreased to 36, then 30. It's no wonder viewers are left with many moments of confusion.
When the Chinese regulation was introduced limiting productions to 40 episodes with a maximum duration of 60 minutes each, I thought producers would still have the freedom to utilize this format. However, I've noticed that it is quite rare for them to do so, as many series have only 36 episodes or even fewer.
What's striking is that the episode duration has also been reduced from 60 minutes to 45 minutes. This is significant; while most viewers might not calculate the total time reduction, it amounts to an overall decrease of 7.5 hours of content, which is substantial.
Some drama series that received backlash for a lack of episodes offered additional short episodes after the finale. I have seen this happen with a few drama, generally 3-4 episodes. So maybe we'll be lucky.
Erm, I read the 2 volumes several times over already (to pass time). I read only during my spare time and about…
I searched for the question on Google, and an AI provided me with an answer. I found it a bit excessive because I typically read over 3,000 chapters in a month. Anyway, I'm not sure where the AI sourced the information; I forgot to copy the link.
An average Chinese reader can read 200-300 characters per minute. I can do 400-500 depending on the subject. Even…
This is based on Google AI. I started re-reading volume 1 three days ago. It has 451 pages, and I have already read 311 pages. I read around 6-7h per day. I thought it would be a slow read, but it isn't. lol
The Chinese novel "A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality" (凡人修仙传) is a web novel that contains over 10 million words, according to Wikipedia.
**Calculation:** 10,000,000 words ÷ 60 words per minute = 166,667 minutes. 166,667 minutes ÷ 60 minutes per hour = 2,777.78 hours.
**Realistic Time:** The actual time it takes to read this novel will depend on how much time a person dedicates to reading each day. If someone reads for 2 hours a day, it would take approximately 1,388.89 days, or about 3.8 years. If someone reads for 4 hours a day, it would take around 694.45 days, or roughly 1.9 years.
**Comparison with drama:** For 30 episodes of a show that are 45 minutes each, the total time would be 22 hours and 30 minutes, including an estimated 5 minutes of music at the beginning and end of each episode, which adds up to an additional 2 hours and 30 minutes. Therefore, the real content time for 30 episodes is approximately 20 hours.
I hope a Chinese gossip site will shed light on the dissatisfaction surrounding the significant cuts made to the original version of this drama. These edits have diminished the opportunity for the show to receive unanimous praise, and I hope it prompts better practices in the future. (My hopes aren't high, but one can dream.)
Limiting dramas to just 40 episodes is becoming increasingly uncommon. When so much material is omitted, the final product can feel cheap, unfinished, and unpolished. This approach is disrespectful to the actors, scriptwriters, director, and the entire crew behind the scenes.
The runtime for each episode has been reduced to just 45 minutes, resulting in a total decrease of 7 hours and 30 minutes of content if the episodes were 60 minutes each. This change brings the overall runtime down from 30 hours to 22.5 hours, which includes 2.5 hours of music intros and generic content. The actual content now amounts to 20 hours (20episodes/1h or 30 episodes/45min)
While some elements of this drama are good and a few are exceptional, the coherence and special effects leave much to be desired. That’s my opinion.
I've been very busy in real life so I just watched. I think I finally understand why Youku needed more edit. And…
I'm not a professional in games or special effects, but I’m experienced enough to notice outdated graphics. Thank you for the details; I couldn't quite pinpoint why I disliked the special effects, but your explanation makes sense now.
Comparing real and what we see side by side is cool: https://weibo.com/7833484884/5197436979249622
It's quite interesting that they are using the same process as magazines do with photos. I'm sure many people noticed that his face has been slightly altered—his face appears a bit longer, and his cheeks are slightly more pronounced. Additionally, his lips have been more defined, and the color of his skin has changed as well. If you look closely, you can see that the changes are subtle, but they contribute to him looking ten years younger.
the main female character (Wife) shows up only 5% or at most 5 times of the entire novel Bk of 2455 chapters.…
They also altered the drama joy of life the same way. The two princes and the wife characters were given an abundance of screen time, with scenes that were not present in the original novel.
Drama is different. To attract viewers, producers often hire big-name actors or popular in the moment. However, these actors typically demand significant screen time. As a result, screenwriters tend to rewrite dialogue and events to accommodate their characters. This is a common practice.
Gina Jin's character had limitations compared to Zhao Ming and Zhao Xiao Tang.
There's nothing new about it. There are thousands of dramas with cliffhangers already available on every platforms.…
It's a matter of personal choice. You can either watch a show without knowing if it will be complete or start with a season that may not get a second or third season. Alternatively, you could wait a couple of years to see if the drama is finished. "Special Agents" (which is my second favorite after "Joy of Life") encouraged me to read the novels. The same goes for "Joy of Life." I'm very familiar with both novels. "Special Agents" left me feeling more emotionally upset than "Moon Lovers." Personally, I dislike cliffhangers and bittersweet endings; however, the reality is that if I want to watch a drama, there's a 99% chance it will have one of those. It’s frustrating, but they make the rules. This situation is similar to censorship. I strongly dislike censorship for many reasons, but in the end, it's my choice to watch or not watch. If this is a person's first time watching a c-drama, it can be frustrating; however, for regular viewers, it is a reality we must accept.
Ep 19 was the best in my opinion, that underground fight with that spider was epic. As a donghua viewer, I'm satisfied…
I applaud the original soundtrack (OST) and the martial choreography; they are excellent. The aerial natural scenery was enjoyable for the first one or two episodes, but after that, it seemed like there wasn’t enough budget to build the sect halls, living quarters, and other necessary sets. This felt redundant and odd. While I understand that they isolate and cultivate in caves, it doesn't happen all year round. This isn’t how I envision sects looking, especially considering scenes like the four seniors sitting on a dead tree, the grandmaster on her rock, the disciples in the desert, and the villains walking through nature. I wanted to be wow and I wasn't. But mostly the special effects disappointed me.
I agree that I've seen worse, but I’ve also seen better.
Ep 19 was the best in my opinion, that underground fight with that spider was epic. As a donghua viewer, I'm satisfied…
I enjoy the drama, but I regret some of the edits, and I don't think it deserves an S level rating. The special effects could have been improved; for instance, episode 23 was especially poorly done, resembling a paper-mâché mask. The drama started off strong up to the fourth episode, but then it became just okay.
I am a huge fan of the donghua and the novel, but I try to separate my comparisons between them.
I'm currently (re)reading the novel and purchased the first two volumes on Kindle.
I'm disappointed. While the English is decent, it hasn't been edited properly. This is evident in the visual rules and the way paragraphs, dialogues, and internal thoughts are structured. Additionally, there are no endnotes to explain cultural references.
Overall, it’s neither bad nor good; it’s just slightly better than the free versions available online. There is only a reference to the author, who has been silent for years, leading me to suspect that someone may have taken advantage of the drama's momentum to quickly edit and publish it on Amazon for profit. There are seven volumes available, each posted with a two-week interval and I believe still ongoing since the 7th was posted 2 days ago l (Chinese version has 11 volumes).
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https://a-record-of-a-mortal-is-journey-to-immortality.fandom.com/wiki/Han_Li
Initially, the drama was meant to have 40 episodes, but it was reduced to 36, and then again to 30 episodes. That's a significant amount of material, including dialogues and events, that were removed.
One aspect I regret is how some characters appear out of nowhere, like the horned beast and certain villains. It feels like their stories were rushed.
Ultimately, the "boom boom" event could have been omitted. While this was likely included due to the lead actress's popularity in the entertainment industry, it was unnecessary to the story. In truth, her character won't appear until season 3 (if we even get a second and third season). In the novel, her role is minimal, and the backlash against this drama is considerable. Much of it stems from the misleading label of "romance," and viewers are right to feel upset about it.
Overall, the drama could have been much better. I personally regret that the special effects were underwhelming and felt outdated. Additionally, I found the transitions between frames and events to be rushed, while unnecessary scenes, like those with Han Li and Miss Mo, felt repetitive. I think I saw them three times lamenting that she was human and he was a cultivator. While she is an adorable actress, her role is insignificant since the story primarily revolves around Han Li.
That is sad. We are almost at the end of the drama, and my conclusion is that it had so much potential for a full 40 episodes. However, the strengths include Yang Yang, who I believe performed excellently, as well as Zhao Ming, whom I recently discovered, and many supporting roles such as Edward Zhang and Chin Shih Chieh.
When the Chinese regulation was introduced limiting productions to 40 episodes with a maximum duration of 60 minutes each, I thought producers would still have the freedom to utilize this format. However, I've noticed that it is quite rare for them to do so, as many series have only 36 episodes or even fewer.
What's striking is that the episode duration has also been reduced from 60 minutes to 45 minutes. This is significant; while most viewers might not calculate the total time reduction, it amounts to an overall decrease of 7.5 hours of content, which is substantial.
Some drama series that received backlash for a lack of episodes offered additional short episodes after the finale. I have seen this happen with a few drama, generally 3-4 episodes. So maybe we'll be lucky.
The Chinese novel "A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality" (凡人修仙传) is a web novel that contains over 10 million words, according to Wikipedia.
**Calculation:**
10,000,000 words ÷ 60 words per minute = 166,667 minutes.
166,667 minutes ÷ 60 minutes per hour = 2,777.78 hours.
**Realistic Time:**
The actual time it takes to read this novel will depend on how much time a person dedicates to reading each day. If someone reads for 2 hours a day, it would take approximately 1,388.89 days, or about 3.8 years. If someone reads for 4 hours a day, it would take around 694.45 days, or roughly 1.9 years.
**Comparison with drama:**
For 30 episodes of a show that are 45 minutes each, the total time would be 22 hours and 30 minutes, including an estimated 5 minutes of music at the beginning and end of each episode, which adds up to an additional 2 hours and 30 minutes. Therefore, the real content time for 30 episodes is approximately 20 hours.
Limiting dramas to just 40 episodes is becoming increasingly uncommon. When so much material is omitted, the final product can feel cheap, unfinished, and unpolished. This approach is disrespectful to the actors, scriptwriters, director, and the entire crew behind the scenes.
The runtime for each episode has been reduced to just 45 minutes, resulting in a total decrease of 7 hours and 30 minutes of content if the episodes were 60 minutes each. This change brings the overall runtime down from 30 hours to 22.5 hours, which includes 2.5 hours of music intros and generic content. The actual content now amounts to 20 hours (20episodes/1h or 30 episodes/45min)
While some elements of this drama are good and a few are exceptional, the coherence and special effects leave much to be desired. That’s my opinion.
Drama is different. To attract viewers, producers often hire big-name actors or popular in the moment. However, these actors typically demand significant screen time. As a result, screenwriters tend to rewrite dialogue and events to accommodate their characters. This is a common practice.
Gina Jin's character had limitations compared to Zhao Ming and Zhao Xiao Tang.
Her weibo: https://weibo.com/u/6001612742
https://youtu.be/zbo1SA-vqTI?si=PVkZTCne17Tf9la_&utm_source=ZTQxO
I agree that I've seen worse, but I’ve also seen better.
I am a huge fan of the donghua and the novel, but I try to separate my comparisons between them.
I'm disappointed. While the English is decent, it hasn't been edited properly. This is evident in the visual rules and the way paragraphs, dialogues, and internal thoughts are structured. Additionally, there are no endnotes to explain cultural references.
Overall, it’s neither bad nor good; it’s just slightly better than the free versions available online. There is only a reference to the author, who has been silent for years, leading me to suspect that someone may have taken advantage of the drama's momentum to quickly edit and publish it on Amazon for profit. There are seven volumes available, each posted with a two-week interval and I believe still ongoing since the 7th was posted 2 days ago l (Chinese version has 11 volumes).