"The Long Ballad" really met its intended audience in you. All the positivity and beauties that are beyond the looks of it are clearly appreciated by you in this review. I agree with you on how Chang Ge and Sun's relationship - built on friendship and trust through a lot of trials, ups and downs - is such a highlight of this story and their developments. In real life, this type of relationships is proper strong and healthy. It's good exposures for young, impressionable viewers. May they stick with this rather than many of the outrageous, delusional ones.
Well, that's a first. Most people loved the wigs that Wu Lei wore and would argue that Wu Lei looked far better…
Firstly, thank you for sharing. I simply wanted to record my viewing experience and thoughts here. I didn't expect for any comment as this series is around 5 years old. It's nice to hear from someone who cares about this series and know the manhua :D
I agree with you that fans of the manhua might have difficult times with this drama, evidently many Douban reviewers. Truthfully, I don't think I'm a diehard fan. I read the manhua many years ago, long before the drama, and had strong impressions with it. However, when I watched for three separate occasions/years, my memory of the manhua wasn't as prominent. I recently re-read it and was clearer on how this adaptation is... an adaptation of its own. A lot of changes were made and they tried their best to link them together to make a more-or-less cohesive story. Still, the concurrent storylines never help, but distract.
My third time, I actually tried to look at it as its own rather than an adaptation. I believe, viewers without prior knowledge of the source materials might enjoy it much more. But the jumble-mumble storylines still took my attention away, making me impatient, frustrated. Even on its own, many of the points in my review stands: how irritating Chang Ge's characterisation is, how that in turn affects the dynamic and relationship between her and Sun, how Yong An and Hao Du's arcs derails the main stories of Chang Ge and Sun, even Muji and Mimi's stories too.
I also agree with you how it's very difficult to achieve the looks and feels in a comic adaptation. But I think, I would mind none of that if the story were better. I have my doubt about Dilireba. But Wu Lei, I think he can deliver, he only needs good materials.
I can't really think of a live-action adaptation from Asian comics that is good. Many raved about "One Piece" but I haven't seen it, even though I do follow the manga. On the other hand, Western comic movies are pretty good, in my opinion. They take the source materials and give different spins that befit the stories that they craft. It's not exactly a live-action, but I am a fan of "Spider-Verse". I read the comic, it was good. But the animated film elevated it to a whole new level. I plan to watch "The Penguin" because I heard good things about it and I have read "The Long Halloween". I feel that, generally, Batman adaptations are pretty on-point. Not the exact storylines, but the creativity and the fresh takes that are the adaptations are satisfactory and exciting. What I mean to say is, I don't mind if changes are made, as long as the story and storytelling are good. Ah, I just remember watching "F4: Thailand" recently. That was a refreshing and well-made adaptation! It modernised, even upgraded, "Hana Yori Dango".
To be honest, I don't have anyone in mind when it comes to who should play who. I never even expected "Chang Ge Xing" to get a live-action and only learned about it some time after it was fully released haha. What's most important to me remains: a good story. Let's start from there. And with a production team of people who believe in that story, who want to make it happen to the best of their potentials, I think it can happen. I understand there are a lot of stakes and conflicting interests in the film-making industry in China. "The Long Ballad" might have tried to make the most of it. Dilireba and Wu Lei might have given their all to their roles. And I will continue to hope for good, quality Chinese series because there are potentials and there have been some really outstanding ones.
As for Wu Lei's wig, "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" haha. It's a good thing that he received much love and positivity from the viewers like yourself. I must say, among the commericial actors, he is definitely one of the very few with proper acting chops.
I was curious about this and finally decided to watch, but couldn't get into. After reading your review, I knew for sure, this wasn't my cup of tea. Your piece is so well-written. Thank you.
I agree with you on how Chang Ge and Sun's relationship - built on friendship and trust through a lot of trials, ups and downs - is such a highlight of this story and their developments. In real life, this type of relationships is proper strong and healthy. It's good exposures for young, impressionable viewers. May they stick with this rather than many of the outrageous, delusional ones.
I agree with you that fans of the manhua might have difficult times with this drama, evidently many Douban reviewers. Truthfully, I don't think I'm a diehard fan. I read the manhua many years ago, long before the drama, and had strong impressions with it. However, when I watched for three separate occasions/years, my memory of the manhua wasn't as prominent. I recently re-read it and was clearer on how this adaptation is... an adaptation of its own. A lot of changes were made and they tried their best to link them together to make a more-or-less cohesive story. Still, the concurrent storylines never help, but distract.
My third time, I actually tried to look at it as its own rather than an adaptation. I believe, viewers without prior knowledge of the source materials might enjoy it much more. But the jumble-mumble storylines still took my attention away, making me impatient, frustrated. Even on its own, many of the points in my review stands: how irritating Chang Ge's characterisation is, how that in turn affects the dynamic and relationship between her and Sun, how Yong An and Hao Du's arcs derails the main stories of Chang Ge and Sun, even Muji and Mimi's stories too.
I also agree with you how it's very difficult to achieve the looks and feels in a comic adaptation. But I think, I would mind none of that if the story were better. I have my doubt about Dilireba. But Wu Lei, I think he can deliver, he only needs good materials.
I can't really think of a live-action adaptation from Asian comics that is good. Many raved about "One Piece" but I haven't seen it, even though I do follow the manga. On the other hand, Western comic movies are pretty good, in my opinion. They take the source materials and give different spins that befit the stories that they craft. It's not exactly a live-action, but I am a fan of "Spider-Verse". I read the comic, it was good. But the animated film elevated it to a whole new level. I plan to watch "The Penguin" because I heard good things about it and I have read "The Long Halloween". I feel that, generally, Batman adaptations are pretty on-point. Not the exact storylines, but the creativity and the fresh takes that are the adaptations are satisfactory and exciting.
What I mean to say is, I don't mind if changes are made, as long as the story and storytelling are good. Ah, I just remember watching "F4: Thailand" recently. That was a refreshing and well-made adaptation! It modernised, even upgraded, "Hana Yori Dango".
To be honest, I don't have anyone in mind when it comes to who should play who. I never even expected "Chang Ge Xing" to get a live-action and only learned about it some time after it was fully released haha. What's most important to me remains: a good story. Let's start from there. And with a production team of people who believe in that story, who want to make it happen to the best of their potentials, I think it can happen.
I understand there are a lot of stakes and conflicting interests in the film-making industry in China. "The Long Ballad" might have tried to make the most of it. Dilireba and Wu Lei might have given their all to their roles. And I will continue to hope for good, quality Chinese series because there are potentials and there have been some really outstanding ones.
As for Wu Lei's wig, "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" haha. It's a good thing that he received much love and positivity from the viewers like yourself. I must say, among the commericial actors, he is definitely one of the very few with proper acting chops.