more disappointing than the princess gambit
Hou Ming Hao is devastatingly handsome and gorgeous and a fantastic actor, but this drama has more scenes with the support characters than it does with our main leads. This is a problem because I am here mainly to see him act.Concerning the sets and scenes: it just feels like there are not very many and that they are really small. There doesn't seem to be a lot of money put into this aspect which is extremely necessary to make the world seem real and very big. They are relying too much on CGI.
The storyboarding causes scenes to feel harshly cut together and really makes the story as it is unfolding feel cut and paste, cut and paste.
Ming Yi solo scenes just feel so disconnected. Her dishonesty is obviously a plot point for climatic moments with the ML, but it just never stops. Then we aren't getting real connections, this is actually how toxic relationships begin.
I see people describe her as playful and silly and witty but actually her behavior is annoying and fake. It's cute once or twice. They could have toned it down a little so that we could see some real interactions and conversations between her and the ML. All the 'cute' moments that the show wants us to believe have endeared the FL to the ML are surface level and fake. Thus, as a viewer I don't like our FL very much and her behavior gives me the ick. And then the story wants us to see her as being righteous because her lying is meant to be a kindness to ML??? No. Just no. I don't want to dislike the FL in a drama. So, FL lead not very well written. The acting actually isn't that great either. I didn't believe any of the emotional moments.
Within the first 21 episodes our main leads hardly spend much time together. I am here to watch them and see their relationship develop. But that's not what we are getting. So it just makes all the affection and connection that is expressed when they are together so unnatural. All the encounters and play has felt so fake.
I am more disappointed than when I watched the princess gambit. Sorry to cast and crew to have to say this. I do appreciate so much all your hard work. I will finish this drama. I hope it resolves some of these issues btu I doubt it. Ugh, this is just the worst ML FL relationship I have ever seen. On episode 28 and would rather be stabbed than finish this...but I've come this far.
I finished it. Thank goodness it's over. The only saving grace about this drama, the only thing I really liked is that they didn't write this so that the FL saves the ML in the end. Which is just so overdone. The two actually worked together when they had to fight the hardest and it wasn't just one person saving the other. I would have rated this drama lower if they hadn't done this.
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Best Drama in all aspects!
This drama is truly the best I have yet watched. I have to say, it is my #1. The most devastatingly heartbreaking and incredibly fun story I have ever encountered. That is difficult to do. Hands down one of the best stories ever written. The best characters to witness. And the most fun adventure to ever go on.It is perfectly cast. The sets are robust. The costumes are amazingly gorgeous, The visuals and CGI are stunning!
I do adore our ML Xiao Se but also Wuxin and Lei Wujie as characters, they perfectly come together as brothers through their adventures. It is so heart warming and fun but deep and piercing at the same time. The roles must be perfectly csat to bring out the qualities of each character. It was also really fun to see the special project as well.
This is a shounen drama. So we are going to see fight scene after fight scene. This is going to be lots of high action scenes.. Our characters will be constantly meeting new opponents and having epic quests. The plot is wrapped up in the character growth, with especially a focus on heroism and perseverance of the ML. There are usually strong themes of friendship and personal growth and minor emphasis on romance. Think Dragon Ball Z or Jujitsu Kaisen or Naruto. These type of series have open worlds with open endless stories and are focused on the characters moving through experiences.
For me the theme of brotherhood is very strong in this series. And it is so deeply experienced on every level, especially between Xiao Se and Wuxin. There is sorrow for our antagonists as well. Which I value. I want to have feelings for them and not just a desire to see them lose.
Be sure to check out the prequel Dashing Youth which is fantastic as well! Tales of Dark River will be airing in OCT 2o25 and I can't wait!
Thank you so much to the cast and crew who brought this story to life, thank you for all your hard work. What a beautiful job.
If you didn't know, there is an animation/donghua of this title Shao Nian Ge Xing! Here is the link from youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMv3bOugc-2iZfRA8Pt20Pe1Cn_vvFj2c
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The visuals are like a painting come to life
Great characters, great story. Beautiful sets and costumes. Gorgeous colours and tone. The OST is nice as well. Really great script. Perfect casting and wonderful acting.The pacing is a bit slow, but I don't feel like any of the story was fluff and unnecessary. This is definitely a slow burn romance but their connections and interactions are always very deep. As if they are peering into each other, because this is what they are doing - seeing each other and valuing what they see.
I value a FL who has been married before. This brings a richness to the characters experiences. And also a mature dynamic to the relationship that is being built between the ML and FL. What I really like about this FL is that she doesn't see herself in the high position but neither does she see herself as low. She refers to herself as a pawn and is willing to be one whereas in many dramas the FL is written to be the player. We need more thoughtful FL. The FL doesn't have to always win against the ML to be strong and smart and valuable. And we see these FL and ML navigate these dynamics between themselves which is part of what brings a deep maturity to this relationship that is so wonderful to watch. Our ML truly respects the FL and is impressed by her. He watches her cut a course when the path has a cliff behind her and a mighty tiger before her in order to fight for justice and to live.
The ex-husband ML is very well written as well. And this is an interesting character to see and consider. A pawn in the game as well who knows he is a pawn and doesn't know how to cut a course through it all and instead submits to the players desires. Is he to be pitied? Or at the core of it is his heart unrighteous? I have very mixed feelings about how I see his situation. The actor does a fantastic job with his portrayal with all the complex emotions. A stunning job.
These are strong characters, but they aren't 'in your face' obvious strong like the FL and ML in 'fated hearts' (which I do really like). But it's great to have just as many stories with these types of 'quiet strong characters'.
Wang Tao'er really is phenomenal in this role as Duke Su, His performance is why I have watched this show many times and see it as a show that has something special about it.
So thankful for all the hard work the actors and crew put into making this drama! Thank you all again.
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Princess gambit is a mixture of 'The prisoner of beauty' with 'The double'.
Listen, I'm writing this review because the drama does deserve support. It actually has a lot of merit. So hear me out. This show had such high expectations that viewers were too ready to be unforgiving if it missed the mark in any way. The hype up has led viewers to be dismissive and disappointed easily. Then the other issue is, that even though the first 22 episodes or so are interesting and good, the story and writing begins to kind of get ridiculous, over the top or overdone.First off, let's address the acting. Liu Xui Yi is a great actor and delivers a great and believable performance. He is always fantastic. I really like how he plays this character in this drama. Meng Ziyi does a good job. Could she have done better? Sure, any actor can. But she did actually do a good job and I did enjoy her in this role. All the other actors and their acting were fine as well. Most the characters were interesting. There really wasn't any terrible acting. Just that one ridiculous love affair which was just too ridiculous and gross for me.
Second, the sets and the costumes. Everything was truly beautiful and rich in colour and textures and it all really set a deep and emotional and thrilling vibe. The sets felt new and unique, so they created a fresh world to engage with. The first six or so episodes have been quite stunning and really got us excited for what could come.
I can't remember the music. I think it was average, which is fine.
So what are some of the biggest issues that played into viewers disliking the drama? For one, the main twist in the story which just seemed so over-the-top and random at the same time. I didn't really feel like there was too much filler or fluff. But there was enough clipped scenes which will make scenes seem abrupt or static because the editing seems to be clipping movements or space. I noticed this more with the fight scenes, so they don't feel flued. This is actually a failure to the actors because for viewers it makes it seem like an acting problem but its not necessarily. There are also some minor inconsistencies that occur throughout the drama, but we see this in almost every drama as well. Also some CGI issues here and there.
The story set up did give us interesting characters, some good plot points, and the story had the making for something great! Which is why the writing having fallen short for the end story is so disappointing. We always hope the story will become more interesting and engaging with the end story and when it isn't viewers will naturally blame and dismiss the whole series. Yes, there are a lot of overdone elements like being poisoned or fighting between princes or the revenge of our main ML. That's fine when the viewer still feels like the characters and world are different enough and I did. There are enough variations and directions that are unique to this story for it to not feel like 'this has been done before'. I truly was most disappointed with the last 10 episodes or so especially with the writing and story points they went with and felt the saying 'there is no bad script only bad actors' is not true. I just didn't like, and I think most viewers really didn't like the way things played out in the last 10 episodes or so.
I will say that the pacing was good. It didn't have a lot if dead weight gaps or too much back story-telling. Some minor storyboarding issues, but most dramas have a few. The episodes have good flow for the most part.
We don't need to tear down the actors or the drama. It definitely missed and I'm sure everybody is disappointed. But even still, we are all thankful for the hard work the actors and crew put in so we could have something to watch. This work is grueling, but it doesn't need to be thankless. They really work hard during these dramas whether it turns out to be good or popular or not and for us who sit on our butts doing nothing but watching to be so harsh is not cool.
Honestly, I have rewatched his drama three times now. I skip through the parts that are just ugh and enjoy what is decent. Most of it is actually great. Having now watched 'Love in the Clouds' and 'shadow love' I'm just like, oh sh*t this is actually better than I really gave it credit...because those two...those are bad...like really bad and disappointing.
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The most crying in a drama award goes to...
Best OST ever. Ofc the song Liu Yu Ning sings, 'Unintentional Dreams' is the banger. And Huo Ming's 'Yuanzhou’s Youth' is so so lovely.Great costumes, great cast, great sets, great visuals, great production. Huo Ming Hao is stunning as always and does a great job creating this character. Chin Du Ling is adorable and does great as well in her role. Great dynamic relationships. Li Lun and Yichen are great characters as well and the actors do such a great job.
I enjoy the demon hunter setting and different micro stories with different demons. There was a lot of learning and growing for each character. However, a lot of it really seemed superfluous. Truthfully the story-telling was the biggest let down of this drama. The story has great bones, and is deep and emotional and interesting..
So here is the BUT - there are way too many long monologues used to tell the story. Many scenes are drawn out too long. the filler and fluff of it all is where the let down of the story telling happens. This drama uses a non-linear narrative and it honestly is just too much of back storytelling. Also, there is a lot of crying. Yes the drama has a dark and sad story as the big picture but everybody is crying like all the time...literally all the time.
That said, I'm so thankful to get to watch this drama and support the entire cast and crew. Thank you so much for all your hard work. It is definitely worth watching. But I will not rewatch it.
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The character of Su Muyu & Shounen type Wuxia
I want to paint a picture of his personality in hopes that Su Muyu is not misunderstood but beloved.Tales of Dark River is part of the 'The Blood of Youth' and 'Dashing Youth' world. Both shows depict the characters who move in the 'righteous' realms whereas Dark River is about the assassin sect and the shadow realms, the underbelly of society.
So consider that our main character in the 'TBoY' is sarcastic, emotional, thoughtful and strong willed. And our main character of 'DY' is youthful, jovial and mischievous.
While Su Muyu is reserved, calm, quiet, introspective, resolute. Then we have Changhe as our second ML and he is verbose, willful, playful, ambitious. He is Muyu's foil in Blood River. Considering these more charismatic character types, Su Muyu could seem bland or boring, not charismatic. But I don't think so. He is an atypical ML character type. It isn't that 'likable' or 'relatable' personality. We got those character perspectives in the other two dramas. Muyu's character type plays a big part in how we are meant to experience and witness this story arc, much more somber and darker.
Su Muyu has been raised as a weapon. He has been raised with the enforced beliefs that his life and value are tied together in obeying and killing. What is the meaning of life without freedom? Why should I kill? What do I stand for? These are the existential questions we see Su Muyu and the new generation of Dark River are working through as the story unfolds. And just as much as in the other two dramas, we are seeing the main theme is brotherhood.
I am very much looking forward to Gong Jun's interpretation of this character. I think he is perfect for the part. Especially because he has expressive eyes which are needed to play a role with someone who talks more with their eyes. However, 19 episodes in and I just really don't like what he did with his voice. It really has made Su Muyu seem like a robot when he is actually an interesting character even if more reserved.
The reason I have given the acting a rating of 6 has to do with all the actors and not just our MLs (which both equally have some flaws in really embodying their characters). It's not about Su Muyu's personality. There is something that feels slightly off with all of the actors. It might have more to do with the director's directions than with the actor and their skills. But idk. Something just feels restrained with all of their movements or it's that something feels lifeless in their movements.
It could have to do with the sets and the space they have to act in idk. But it also gives off that, 'I'm on a set' feel. There is a lack liveliness which should still be there even if there is a lot of standing around and talking. It's been disappointing but is also remissible. I know all the actors work so hard and so much work goes into filming and making these dramas. It's great when the drama can meet our expectations. Ofc we feel disappointed when the drama doesn't. I haven't been able to get past these issues and have dropped the drama. I'm so sad about it because I loved loved loved TBOY and DY and had such hopes.
As far as how the story gets told. One thing I really liked about 'TBoY' is that the storyboarding for the episodes paralleled the animation. Blood River is also following the storyboarding of the animation also. Also, if you need something to do between updates you can also watch the animation of this series here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI7aLF7AWBk. And ofc, if you haven't yet, definitely watch 'Dashing Youth' and then 'The Blood of Youth' which are both phenomenally done (Su Muyu also makes appearances in these dramas as well).
Also, please note that this is a Shounen Drama. All three of these series are. Already reviewers have criticized this aspect of this series. There are going to be fights ever other scene. This is going to be high action scene after scene, constantly meeting new opponents and epic quests. The plot is wrapped up in the character growth, with especially a focus on heroism and perseverance of the ML. There are usually strong themes of friendship and personal growth and minor emphasis on romance. Think Dragon Ball Z or Jujitsu Kaisen or Naruto. These type of series have open worlds with open endless stories and are focused on the characters moving through experiences. Don't judge the show and rate it low because you expected it to be something else. Or because you just don't have a great grasp on shounen story-telling. It may not be your preferred story type, but rate within its genre context please.
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Some general remarks
I think the reason why this drama differs from others is what makes it stand out. Many stories will rely on a suspension bridge effect to establish deep connections with emotional climactic moments. But the relationship between the main characters is developed through real communication and understanding, also acceptance of each other.It was also funnier than I was expecting it to be. So that was refreshing.
They did a great job giving everyone unique fighting choreography. A lot of the fighting kinda just looks the same in every drama. It was Ning Yuan Zhou's fighting style that was the strongest to see this. It is glorious. Even through the fighting style we are able to see his character come through.
So, let's see...the drama has strong leads, bromances and friendship, great character development arcs.
As always, I'm so thankful to get to watch this drama and support the entire cast and crew. Thank you so much for all your hard work. It is definitely worth watching. I'm not sure if I would rewatch it.
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some remarks on the characters stories and connections
One thing that I really liked about this drama is that the relationship between the male leads isn't neglected. And that each of the male leads have very strong story arcs that aren't just frivolous fluff to offset the times when one ML is growing closer to the FL then the other at their respective times. I'm very invested in each MLs stories to the very end; this is something a lot of dramas lack in producing. The truth is that this drama is about the two men and their stories. The girl is the lense with which we peer into these stories.From the beginning, our FL doesn't fully trust either of the MLs. And from the beginning, neither of the MLs is meant to be seen as wholly bad or good. Our FL is an unexpected blessing to both of the ML which neither had planned on. Both are challenged and changed by her. Who do you think is the one who valued her spirit and independence best?
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Can't stomach lead actress in rl - this is not a hate review
I love this story. I love the setting. Beautiful scenes and shots. I love the characters that are written. I love the cars. I love the costumes/clothing. I love He Yu for this role. He is just perfect for it and a 10/10 with his acting.But I can't seem to get past how much I don't like Esther as a person. I enjoy cutesy girl characters like this role and I get why she was chosen for this part. It's b/c she plays up this type of thing in rl and it's just so fake.
I Try not to hold it against her that I don't like her. An actress can create a facade however she wants. But public opinion can have repercussion on a drama like this.
I'm trying not to hold it against the drama. She is playing the part, she is pretty, she can act....but I can't seem to get past how much I just don't like her.
Unfortunately, I am dropping this drama. Everything else is so great. I'm bummed. I just keep vomiting in my mouth every time I see her...oh cutesy girl knows how to fix cars...oh cutesy girl can drift...oh cutesy girl gets on the motorcycle in skimpy clothes... if it wasn't Esther I would totally be fine with this trope.
If yuo don't have a problem with Esther I think you will really like this drama. I just can't get into it.
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