This review may contain spoilers
Came to laugh at the costumes, stay for the tragic white-haired elf prince
Yeah so when I first saw this I figured it was some sort of weird L.O.R.D. spinoff because of the Western fantasy aesthetic, but what the heck it had Ma Tianyu in it so I went to watch and accidentally got addicted. Can you blame me? He looks gorgeous as Ying Kongshi.
And yeah, maybe the wigs aren't the best and some effects are laughable but the actors in here put their sincerity into the production and that's what really sold the work for me. The characters and supporting cast all had their own fleshed out backstories, the history and relationship between the two ice brothers was heartwarming and tragic, and overall it was like a fun adventure romp through a mystical magic land which I loved.
I also liked how Ma Tianyu played 4 different roles in here! His acting's not the best (he scrunches his eyebrows waaaay too often to convey emotion), but he did well as human!YKS, sword spirit!YKS, normal!YKS and evil/blackened!YKS. His eyes are amazing at conveying emotion here and I cried for him during the emotional scenes. He is also super pretty anytime he came onscreen which was a plus.
Strictly speaking I didn't watch the whole thing from beginning to end; I skimmed some episodes that were too Ka Suo-centric because FSF's character didn't resonate with me (I liked his morally gray younger bro instead) but it was good and coherent...up until the last episode, where Director Guo's obfuscation ray struck.
What the heck was he thinking giving us another open/vaguely tragic ending with YKS killing himself again and again to revive his brother? This is why I treat his works with trepidation, he loves tragic endings way too much!
Also I tried to check out the sequel, Ice Fantasy Destiny which takes place in the present, but it just wasn't as appealing and the plot felt even more obscure (too many Xanatos gambits) so I gave up. I'll keep my memory of this series clean and untarnished, just like the ice kingdom.
And yeah, maybe the wigs aren't the best and some effects are laughable but the actors in here put their sincerity into the production and that's what really sold the work for me. The characters and supporting cast all had their own fleshed out backstories, the history and relationship between the two ice brothers was heartwarming and tragic, and overall it was like a fun adventure romp through a mystical magic land which I loved.
I also liked how Ma Tianyu played 4 different roles in here! His acting's not the best (he scrunches his eyebrows waaaay too often to convey emotion), but he did well as human!YKS, sword spirit!YKS, normal!YKS and evil/blackened!YKS. His eyes are amazing at conveying emotion here and I cried for him during the emotional scenes. He is also super pretty anytime he came onscreen which was a plus.
Strictly speaking I didn't watch the whole thing from beginning to end; I skimmed some episodes that were too Ka Suo-centric because FSF's character didn't resonate with me (I liked his morally gray younger bro instead) but it was good and coherent...up until the last episode, where Director Guo's obfuscation ray struck.
What the heck was he thinking giving us another open/vaguely tragic ending with YKS killing himself again and again to revive his brother? This is why I treat his works with trepidation, he loves tragic endings way too much!
Also I tried to check out the sequel, Ice Fantasy Destiny which takes place in the present, but it just wasn't as appealing and the plot felt even more obscure (too many Xanatos gambits) so I gave up. I'll keep my memory of this series clean and untarnished, just like the ice kingdom.
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