Just finished it! I was very conflicted with the first half because of the characters, plot holes, terrible CGI but I pressed on and thankfully, the drama really picked up in the second half, especially with the character development and plot twists. The CGI improved too. Not sure why there was such a discrepancy with the first and second half of the drama, but I'm definitely looking forward to the next season. The last episode was pretty amazing! :)
Have you tried the novel.. it's much more intriguing than the anime
I'm reading the Chinese edition, but if you google "Douluo Dalu Novel" you can find several sites with the English version (I'm not sure about the accuracy of the translations though!)
I just started watching the animation (my first time seeing a Chinese anime) for this drama and I'm really enjoying it! At ep 9 now. The world building is awesome and it's really nice to have a cunning and powerful male lead who is also incredibly loyal to his friends (and his one true love--yes I read up a bit about their history hehe) :D Can't wait for this drama to be out!
I'm on ep 35 now and gosh, the second lead syndrome. And can I just say how beautiful the OST is? I love it so much! Can't stop playing it over and over again!
Halfway through Ep 16....damn. This is the third show I've seen Xiao Zhan acting in. The first was the Untamed, the second was Joy of Life. I was honestly okay with him for both those shows...but I think he's totally winning me over in this one.
Haha it's "popular" in the sense many Japanese people are aware China did a live adaptation, but it was badly reviewed in the opinion section of the Japanese newspaper. They pointed out all the differences between the manga/anime and the Chinese adaptation. I'm pretty sure there was some level of bias in that review, given the political drama between the two countries! >.<
I have such mixed feelings about finishing this drama! On one hand, I really enjoyed the last two episodes (particularly how they developed Shi Guang and Yu Liang's bromance/friendship--which wasn't as prominent in the original manga/anime), and how they closed up the whole show (those who read the original manga will understand what I mean!)
I cried SO much during episodes 33 and 34 (I didn't even cry during the manga/anime). I really appreciate the depth of the relationship development explored between Shi Guang & Chu Ying, and Shi Guang and Yu Liang in this drama, something I felt was missing from the original manga/anime.
Overall, I think this was a fantastic adaption of the original manga (even though my Japanese friend remains picky about a lot of things haha). I just wish there was more!
Just finished ep 28! So exciting! Can't wait for the next one! I didn't really ship any of the characters in the anime, but I'm really shipping Akira/Yu Liang and Hikaru/Shi Guang in this one! I'm glad the drama decided to develop their bromance a little more. Hehe! And of course, Sai/Chu Ying is amazing! :D
When I first started watching this drama, I thought the first few episodes were so refreshing because HJP, the second male lead, was provided all the usual elements in Kdrama to become the first male lead and NDS was only introduced at the very end of episode 1. Little did I know it would cause all these ship wars.... >.< At this point though, I'm really much more invested in the success of SamSamTech (+ WIJ's company), rather than the romance. Lol. Am I the only one? 0_0
I cried SO much during episodes 33 and 34 (I didn't even cry during the manga/anime). I really appreciate the depth of the relationship development explored between Shi Guang & Chu Ying, and Shi Guang and Yu Liang in this drama, something I felt was missing from the original manga/anime.
Overall, I think this was a fantastic adaption of the original manga (even though my Japanese friend remains picky about a lot of things haha). I just wish there was more!