Very shounen
Duoluo Continent reminds me of an RPG, or maybe shounen anime. Courageous young man embarks on life-changing adventures with his friends to get stronger, uncover the past, and save the world. It’s a classic shounen formula. (They don’t quite get to saving the world here, but you can tell it’s coming, in some sequel we’ll probably never see- afaik the listed sequel is not actually a sequel to this drama.)
What I like most about this show is the world-building, which is particularly RPG-esque. There is a set framework to the Soul Master system, but everyone has their own spin. It’s always fun to see what a character’s martial soul is or what new skill they’ve acquired.
They do try a little too hard to be cool sometimes- like strike a pose and show off your rings, which as far as I can tell, is the equivalent of flexing. It looks cool until you consider its nonexistent functional purpose. But that’s a minor quibble. I still think the system is well-structured, letting everyone have their own unique identity within a set framework.
The world itself is also beautiful and imaginative- lovely forests, sweeping CGI cityscapes, an exotic-feeling desert town, etc. And it is enhanced by some great music. I really like the instrumental BGMs, and the uplifting, pop-y songs (like that boyband-sounding opening). Altogether it invokes strong vibes of grand adventures, epic journeys, and lifelong memories.
What I like less… I wonder if it’s because I’m neither young nor male, so the shounen formula doesn’t quite do it for me anymore. The show just somehow feels a lot more simplistic than what I’m used to. The relationships and emotions all seem pretty straightforward.
The main character is Tang San. He seems to be your typical shounen lead: strong for his age but still needs to level up, a good guy trying to do the right thing, mysterious and special family lineage, etc.
Except, he is also really weirdly overprotective of Xiao Wu, to the point that it’s a little frustrating. It makes no sense and he behaves really stupidly sometimes. It was starting to make me like Xiao Wu less, even though she didn’t do anything wrong.
Xiao Wu, to her credit, just responds back: I can protect you too! She somehow manages to be cute without being annoying, which I consider a rare feat. I think it’s because she comes off as genuine; credit should go to the actress. However, as a character, she’s still not that deep. She has her secrets, but the show didn’t quite build up around it the right way to make me feel emotionally affected.
The rest of the band is nicely gender balanced (which I appreciate!) and they’re mostly paired off. Each person has maybe one or two characteristic personality features. Team spirit / loyalty / teamwork is a huge theme, but you know they all love each other and will stick together through anything. It’s got the same vibe as teenagers together on a sports team.
There are also some pretty great adults. The headmaster, for instance, is kind of hilarious. But in the end, the show isn’t that much about them.
The plot itself is fairly linear, one quest after another. Lots of stuff like, fighting to prove themselves, or overcoming obstacles through determination. I occasionally felt frustrated watching what I thought was stupid behavior, but framed as praiseworthy (eg returning a baby alpaca to its mom- I don’t understand the fuss, just give it back. Or, charging into another school and attacking people for no reason- how is this not recognized by all as a punishable offense?)
Aside from that, though, the plot is interesting enough. I was captivated for a while, but eventually my interest began to wane. I think I just wanted something deeper from the characters and relationships. I believe they were all children in the original (which I didn’t watch/read), so that might have made it all make more sense.
Acting-wise, I like Xiao Zhan as much as anyone, but I felt he overacted a few times (eg sobbing at his dad rather than trying to reason with him). It’s not just him, though- some other actors also felt kind of unnatural at times. It might be more about the script, or the fact that I didn’t emotionally connect to the story. Then it’s just weird to watch actors saying flat or cheesy lines so earnestly.
I think the actress playing Xiao Wu must have some dance training but not martial arts. Her movements have dance-like flourishes- suitable to her name, and pretty to watch- but some of her kicks were not real kicks, which made me want to facepalm.
The fighting overall is not bad though, very CGI-based. It’s more fun when they still are showing Martial Souls. Towards the end I think they got a little lazier and resort to things like blasts of energy.
Overall it’s not a bad show, I just think shounen is not my thing anymore. Maybe when I was a teenager I would have liked it, but now I want more depth and connection to the characters, which I found missing.
ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS
The ending feels more like a beginning. There is a whole donghua/manhua series behind this show, and I don’t know how much it’s true to them, but you can imagine that the story goes on and turns into an epic saga. This is clearly just the first chapter. The characters resolve the major conflict of the season, and all major secrets previously hinted at are revealed, but there is obviously more.
I would say it’s satisfying enough. I always find it frustrating to have to drop a story partway, but at least you know that the saga continues, which is better than an actual bad drama ending. Personally, I didn’t like the story enough to pine after it or even look up all the material behind it.
What I like most about this show is the world-building, which is particularly RPG-esque. There is a set framework to the Soul Master system, but everyone has their own spin. It’s always fun to see what a character’s martial soul is or what new skill they’ve acquired.
They do try a little too hard to be cool sometimes- like strike a pose and show off your rings, which as far as I can tell, is the equivalent of flexing. It looks cool until you consider its nonexistent functional purpose. But that’s a minor quibble. I still think the system is well-structured, letting everyone have their own unique identity within a set framework.
The world itself is also beautiful and imaginative- lovely forests, sweeping CGI cityscapes, an exotic-feeling desert town, etc. And it is enhanced by some great music. I really like the instrumental BGMs, and the uplifting, pop-y songs (like that boyband-sounding opening). Altogether it invokes strong vibes of grand adventures, epic journeys, and lifelong memories.
What I like less… I wonder if it’s because I’m neither young nor male, so the shounen formula doesn’t quite do it for me anymore. The show just somehow feels a lot more simplistic than what I’m used to. The relationships and emotions all seem pretty straightforward.
The main character is Tang San. He seems to be your typical shounen lead: strong for his age but still needs to level up, a good guy trying to do the right thing, mysterious and special family lineage, etc.
Except, he is also really weirdly overprotective of Xiao Wu, to the point that it’s a little frustrating. It makes no sense and he behaves really stupidly sometimes. It was starting to make me like Xiao Wu less, even though she didn’t do anything wrong.
Xiao Wu, to her credit, just responds back: I can protect you too! She somehow manages to be cute without being annoying, which I consider a rare feat. I think it’s because she comes off as genuine; credit should go to the actress. However, as a character, she’s still not that deep. She has her secrets, but the show didn’t quite build up around it the right way to make me feel emotionally affected.
The rest of the band is nicely gender balanced (which I appreciate!) and they’re mostly paired off. Each person has maybe one or two characteristic personality features. Team spirit / loyalty / teamwork is a huge theme, but you know they all love each other and will stick together through anything. It’s got the same vibe as teenagers together on a sports team.
There are also some pretty great adults. The headmaster, for instance, is kind of hilarious. But in the end, the show isn’t that much about them.
The plot itself is fairly linear, one quest after another. Lots of stuff like, fighting to prove themselves, or overcoming obstacles through determination. I occasionally felt frustrated watching what I thought was stupid behavior, but framed as praiseworthy (eg returning a baby alpaca to its mom- I don’t understand the fuss, just give it back. Or, charging into another school and attacking people for no reason- how is this not recognized by all as a punishable offense?)
Aside from that, though, the plot is interesting enough. I was captivated for a while, but eventually my interest began to wane. I think I just wanted something deeper from the characters and relationships. I believe they were all children in the original (which I didn’t watch/read), so that might have made it all make more sense.
Acting-wise, I like Xiao Zhan as much as anyone, but I felt he overacted a few times (eg sobbing at his dad rather than trying to reason with him). It’s not just him, though- some other actors also felt kind of unnatural at times. It might be more about the script, or the fact that I didn’t emotionally connect to the story. Then it’s just weird to watch actors saying flat or cheesy lines so earnestly.
I think the actress playing Xiao Wu must have some dance training but not martial arts. Her movements have dance-like flourishes- suitable to her name, and pretty to watch- but some of her kicks were not real kicks, which made me want to facepalm.
The fighting overall is not bad though, very CGI-based. It’s more fun when they still are showing Martial Souls. Towards the end I think they got a little lazier and resort to things like blasts of energy.
Overall it’s not a bad show, I just think shounen is not my thing anymore. Maybe when I was a teenager I would have liked it, but now I want more depth and connection to the characters, which I found missing.
ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS
The ending feels more like a beginning. There is a whole donghua/manhua series behind this show, and I don’t know how much it’s true to them, but you can imagine that the story goes on and turns into an epic saga. This is clearly just the first chapter. The characters resolve the major conflict of the season, and all major secrets previously hinted at are revealed, but there is obviously more.
I would say it’s satisfying enough. I always find it frustrating to have to drop a story partway, but at least you know that the saga continues, which is better than an actual bad drama ending. Personally, I didn’t like the story enough to pine after it or even look up all the material behind it.
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