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Good Start though Suffered a Steady Decline towards the End
When Xiao Chuhe, the 6th and most talented prince, fell from the majesty’s grace for his relentless support for his master who is also his uncle, Lord Langya, who was accused of treason, he was banished from the capital and his rival in the shadows attacked him en route to cripple his martial arts. Thus Xiao Chuhe vanished from the public eye to settle in a remote land to open the Snowfall Inn with an alias Xiao Se. Four years later, a wandering warrior Lei Wujie wrecks the inn in a fight with bandits, and to collect the debt, Xiao Se tags along in Lei’s journey to Xueyue City in search for a master among the 3 Sword Dieties who are the city lords. The thorny journey leads Xiao Se to encounter numerous jianghu warriors who would later become his brothers in arms as he makes his appearance back into the realm as Lord Yong An, a worthy rival for the crown prince position of the realm.
I did not expect this to actually be in the same universe as the series Blood River, with some key characters from the series such as Su Changhe, Su Muyu, Sword Diety Li Hanyi and that Poison Mu Lady making appearances here. No wonder the cities mentioned in the earlier parts of the series sounded so familiar, I only realized it when Dark River is mentioned towards the middle of the series. Though I gotta say Blood River had waaaaay better action and plot than this one. The Su Muyu here isnt as impressive as the Blood River’s, and his umbrella didnt have that wow effect as it had in Blood River.
As for the characters, I also feel like they lack refinement and connections with each other unlike other brotherhood-type of series like A Journey to Love or Zhan Zhao Adventures that I have watched where I could easily feel their strong brotherhood very early on. The Four Guards who were supposed to be Xiao Chuhe’s brothers-in-arms looked like mere fillers instead. The romantic nuances were also poorly built with zero chemistry among the designated couples. Xiao Chuhe looked more in-sync with Lady Yi instead of Sikong Qiaoluo whom I could only see as a mere childish sister to Xiao than a romantic partner. But since romance made up less than 5% of the plot i guess I could overlook this. Honestly the series wouldnt have been affected even a tiny bit if they had dropped mainleads’ romance from the plot altogether. The comedic air they try to build was quite okay in the earlier parts but grew corny and slapstick as the show progresses.
Sadly none of the female warriors here are memorable even those supposedly sword dieties. I also failed to notice Xiao Chuhe’s power progress. First he was crippled, then gained sudden power after practicing some skill, suddenly soared into the top 10 fighter list, got cured then he suddenly gets all powerful again. I mean, i don’t see his progress, he just turns up in a fight after all his guards are down, miraculously saved their asses then cough some blood later upon victory. This gets repeated quite a few times i could literally guess what his next move would be whenever they face-off some challanger. It just kills the vibe. Yeah the action moves are eye catching but the characters and plot fell short as the story moves along the plot. I think the only character that keeps the story from falling apart is Xiao Chuhe with his “all-rounder knowledge and strategy” that always saves the day, and Wuxin the colourful yet unpredictable monk who always seem to appear whenever his friends are in need.
Honestly there aren’t many things I could appreaciate in the series other than the good kungfu moves and the brotherly vibe among the Xiaos, good or bad they may be.
I cant shake how much of a resemblance Li Hongyi had to Cheng Yi. Honestly at the start of the series i thought the ML was Cheng Yi, so I was ready for a sad ending really. i only realized his real name after I looked at the cast list. One good thing about this not being a Cheng Yi work is, i guess I can look forward to an ending that is not open or tragic one. 😆
I did not expect this to actually be in the same universe as the series Blood River, with some key characters from the series such as Su Changhe, Su Muyu, Sword Diety Li Hanyi and that Poison Mu Lady making appearances here. No wonder the cities mentioned in the earlier parts of the series sounded so familiar, I only realized it when Dark River is mentioned towards the middle of the series. Though I gotta say Blood River had waaaaay better action and plot than this one. The Su Muyu here isnt as impressive as the Blood River’s, and his umbrella didnt have that wow effect as it had in Blood River.
As for the characters, I also feel like they lack refinement and connections with each other unlike other brotherhood-type of series like A Journey to Love or Zhan Zhao Adventures that I have watched where I could easily feel their strong brotherhood very early on. The Four Guards who were supposed to be Xiao Chuhe’s brothers-in-arms looked like mere fillers instead. The romantic nuances were also poorly built with zero chemistry among the designated couples. Xiao Chuhe looked more in-sync with Lady Yi instead of Sikong Qiaoluo whom I could only see as a mere childish sister to Xiao than a romantic partner. But since romance made up less than 5% of the plot i guess I could overlook this. Honestly the series wouldnt have been affected even a tiny bit if they had dropped mainleads’ romance from the plot altogether. The comedic air they try to build was quite okay in the earlier parts but grew corny and slapstick as the show progresses.
Sadly none of the female warriors here are memorable even those supposedly sword dieties. I also failed to notice Xiao Chuhe’s power progress. First he was crippled, then gained sudden power after practicing some skill, suddenly soared into the top 10 fighter list, got cured then he suddenly gets all powerful again. I mean, i don’t see his progress, he just turns up in a fight after all his guards are down, miraculously saved their asses then cough some blood later upon victory. This gets repeated quite a few times i could literally guess what his next move would be whenever they face-off some challanger. It just kills the vibe. Yeah the action moves are eye catching but the characters and plot fell short as the story moves along the plot. I think the only character that keeps the story from falling apart is Xiao Chuhe with his “all-rounder knowledge and strategy” that always saves the day, and Wuxin the colourful yet unpredictable monk who always seem to appear whenever his friends are in need.
Honestly there aren’t many things I could appreaciate in the series other than the good kungfu moves and the brotherly vibe among the Xiaos, good or bad they may be.
I cant shake how much of a resemblance Li Hongyi had to Cheng Yi. Honestly at the start of the series i thought the ML was Cheng Yi, so I was ready for a sad ending really. i only realized his real name after I looked at the cast list. One good thing about this not being a Cheng Yi work is, i guess I can look forward to an ending that is not open or tragic one. 😆
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