First impressions review (based off of 6 episodes):
1. Acting and cast: Casting was done pretty well imo. I was never a major fan of Yukee (except for Heavenly Sword Dragon Slaying Sabre. She has good chemistry with the male lead there), and even in this drama I feel like she's a bit lacking of something (I'm just not sure what. It's like an itch), but overall the performance is decent from most of the cast. 2. Visuals: Costumes look great. Sets look good. Colours are chosen really well (no over saturation). Makeup doesn't look chalky or too shiny. Everything visually is done extremely well EXCEPT Emei Sect Leader's eyebrows. Whose idea was is for her eyebrows to look like one that belongs on an anime character. 3. Music: Intro is okay, outro is also okay. Both aren't really memorable though. The music played during scenes are fitting. They occasionally play these tracks that are kind of a mix of indie rock with classical Chinese opera which works well together. 4. Story: yea... it's alright. It's in no way bad, just kind of really average so far. Pacing has been okay so far too. Not much to comment. 5. Fights and Choreo: There's been surprisingly a lot more fights than what I would expect in a romance-centered fantasy. It's done decently well too (I'll just say that the "I grab opponents leg and spin them in the air for a few seconds" move is a bit overused). The weapons also look really nice. 6. Cinematography: Filmed really nicely. There's already a decent amount of pretty shots.
Overall: 8/10 so far. There's just something about it that's lacking and slightly unsatisfying, but I can't put my finger on it. But please remember these are my personal opinions. I do suggest that you take a look at at least 3 episodes before forming your own ideas about the show <3
(12 episodes are currently out. I'm not sure where to find eng subs as of now. For those who don't need subs, I watch them raw on dramasq)
I don't know why but I really don't see the FL as lead potential. I don't like or dislike her. I haven't been…
She didn't seem like lead potential to me either, but she's starting to grow on me. I do understand why people would not like her though. I recommend giving it a try in the future if you're ever on a drama dry~
Heaven's official blessing is finally being adapted ~ The Untamed led the path to so many good opportunities for good novels like these to be adapted--
And I'll be honest here, I don't have many demands for the cast except PLEASE cast actual actors (like Liu HaoRan, Ma Tian Yu etc) for the job and not idol ones (Lu Han, TFBoys etc)...
Other than that, really hope the fanbase thrives but doesn't pull a "BTS" like the Untamed and become toxic/invasive.
Will there be NIF3?I prefer a prequel, I would like to know how Mei Chang Su build Jiang Zhuo Alliance.
There's so much content to the NiF world that can be build upon for years (prequels to NiF 2 that is). Mei ChangSu/Lin Shu's "childhood" story or the 12 years he was roaming in JiangHu, LangYa Hall origins, if Fei Liu is still alive then where did he go and so much more.
Nothing to my taste has been airing recently, so I decided to rewatch NIF for a fifth time. It's as amazing as it was every other time. One question I still have though... did Fei Liu die with Lin Shu on the battlefield? Or am I just blind....
Cute drama! Nothing outstanding but for sure not a waste of time. Since it's short it's good for a "I have nothing to watch" rewatch~
How they switch between Korean and Mandarin is also honestly really great (I'm pro no dub). We have no idea how some characters know Korean but who cares.
Current top reviews are a bit heavy hitting on the show, but keep in mind criticism still mostly valid. I would say it's a 7 stars--
Although I don’t know the exact situation, I really doubt he was unprofessional or rude... his co-stars don’t seem to hate him from behind the scenes and reaction videos. Kinda sucks that the language barrier is proventing him from expressing himself. I guess we have to wait for evidence, and if evidence never shows up then this mini scandal will be forgotten pretty soon.
Ah damn... kinda sucks he messed up. It was a bit obvious he was forced to apologise, but hopefully he sees what he did wrong. Love his work and would like to keep supporting, but I wanna make sure I'm supporting decent people.. y'know--
Came back to watch simply for the visuals. Although outdated, it's still one of best looking dramas costume wise (that is when they don't mess up the elf ear colorings and wig lines lmao). Other than the visuals... only story that was worth following for me was Ying Kong Shi.
Tried picking it up a THIRD time.. still nope, I give up,
Yea took me 5 times to pick up, and even then I only followed Ray Ma's character story and didn't care for anything else. The plot is just so long and draggy and didn't manage to catch my attention.
1. Chemistry ujseydhfgasukhdyf. The leads chemistry is really nice to see 2. Really well done sets 3. Costumes can look odd at times, but none have been "bad looking" so far (example of bad looking costumes can be seen in Legends of Awakening) 4. Music is okay. 5. Makeup is done okay imo, but I would see why people wouldn't like it. 5. CGI is very... extremely iffy... magic effects are okay, but actual items and animals like wolves are done pretty badly. 6. Story so far has been a bit boring, but interesting things did happen so those watching for plot (like me), you should not be disappointed. If you are should not last past these 12 episodes (hopefully). 7. Super cute, fluffy drama, almost mind numbingly "uwu vibes". Good watch if you don't want to invest too much time, for skipping scenes should not be a problem, or if you need something to watch after a heavy, plot centered drama. 8. Although very eye pleasing, there are many visual flaws (there's an instance where you can see the actor's hair through a snow-white wig).
Overall: 7.5 for now. Love so many aspects of it, like the supernatural stuff, but it's a tad bit too sweet/idol drama-y for me. Wish there was more focus on the magic and over arching plot, but there will for sure be someone that'll enjoy this.
1 
1. Acting and cast: Casting was done pretty well imo. I was never a major fan of Yukee (except for Heavenly Sword Dragon Slaying Sabre. She has good chemistry with the male lead there), and even in this drama I feel like she's a bit lacking of something (I'm just not sure what. It's like an itch), but overall the performance is decent from most of the cast.
2. Visuals: Costumes look great. Sets look good. Colours are chosen really well (no over saturation). Makeup doesn't look chalky or too shiny. Everything visually is done extremely well EXCEPT Emei Sect Leader's eyebrows. Whose idea was is for her eyebrows to look like one that belongs on an anime character.
3. Music: Intro is okay, outro is also okay. Both aren't really memorable though. The music played during scenes are fitting. They occasionally play these tracks that are kind of a mix of indie rock with classical Chinese opera which works well together.
4. Story: yea... it's alright. It's in no way bad, just kind of really average so far. Pacing has been okay so far too. Not much to comment.
5. Fights and Choreo: There's been surprisingly a lot more fights than what I would expect in a romance-centered fantasy. It's done decently well too (I'll just say that the "I grab opponents leg and spin them in the air for a few seconds" move is a bit overused). The weapons also look really nice.
6. Cinematography: Filmed really nicely. There's already a decent amount of pretty shots.
Overall: 8/10 so far. There's just something about it that's lacking and slightly unsatisfying, but I can't put my finger on it. But please remember these are my personal opinions. I do suggest that you take a look at at least 3 episodes before forming your own ideas about the show <3
(12 episodes are currently out. I'm not sure where to find eng subs as of now. For those who don't need subs, I watch them raw on dramasq)
Emei sect leader's eyebrows are one of the worst things I've ever seen.
And I'll be honest here, I don't have many demands for the cast except PLEASE cast actual actors (like Liu HaoRan, Ma Tian Yu etc) for the job and not idol ones (Lu Han, TFBoys etc)...
Other than that, really hope the fanbase thrives but doesn't pull a "BTS" like the Untamed and become toxic/invasive.
One question I still have though... did Fei Liu die with Lin Shu on the battlefield? Or am I just blind....
It's... disappointing.
I really wanted to love it or get better... but it just didn't.
How they switch between Korean and Mandarin is also honestly really great (I'm pro no dub). We have no idea how some characters know Korean but who cares.
Current top reviews are a bit heavy hitting on the show, but keep in mind criticism still mostly valid. I would say it's a 7 stars--
1. Chemistry ujseydhfgasukhdyf. The leads chemistry is really nice to see
2. Really well done sets
3. Costumes can look odd at times, but none have been "bad looking" so far (example of bad looking costumes can be seen in Legends of Awakening)
4. Music is okay.
5. Makeup is done okay imo, but I would see why people wouldn't like it.
5. CGI is very... extremely iffy... magic effects are okay, but actual items and animals like wolves are done pretty badly.
6. Story so far has been a bit boring, but interesting things did happen so those watching for plot (like me), you should not be disappointed. If you are should not last past these 12 episodes (hopefully).
7. Super cute, fluffy drama, almost mind numbingly "uwu vibes". Good watch if you don't want to invest too much time, for skipping scenes should not be a problem, or if you need something to watch after a heavy, plot centered drama.
8. Although very eye pleasing, there are many visual flaws (there's an instance where you can see the actor's hair through a snow-white wig).
Overall: 7.5 for now. Love so many aspects of it, like the supernatural stuff, but it's a tad bit too sweet/idol drama-y for me. Wish there was more focus on the magic and over arching plot, but there will for sure be someone that'll enjoy this.