oreades206

I think the drama should have deserved big budget considering the scale of the story but maybe since it's heavy on politics and not romance, they had difficulty getting an investor or investors on board to produce the drama. Just my assumption.

Yeah. Season 1 focuses on Zi Chuan and the political intrigue within the clan. After all the drama's original title is 紫川 (Zi Chuan) so it's only natural that it introduces Zi Chuan first as the central of the story.. but yeah too much Ning in there lol.

You're right. So probably budget issue. I read it in some thread. 2 or 3 production companies producing it which could mean that the cost of production was shared equally among them (including iQiyi).

LOL!

Bai Chuan is snarky lol. But Xiu really trusts her loyalty.

The drama had 2 or 3 directors working at the same time in different locations with different actors, I believe. That's why we see some choppy editing.

They had like 2 or 3 directors working simultaneously. I'm not sure why. Perhaps budget was the issue.

I think they're bound to meet again as the tension and conflicts are escalating among the clans and tribes, Zichuan, Bei, Liufeng, etc

Season 1 animation ends with them separated. At least Di Lin and Si Yi Lin stay in Zichuan while Xiu with his band of merry men.

I haven't read the novel but I have watched the animation. The animation goes by the same title as the novel "Purple River". The animation also consists of 2 seasons. Season 1 aired in 2021 or something but I'm not sure if season 2 has.
As far as faithfulness is concerned, the characters portrayed in the drama are pretty consistent with those portrayed in the animation. There's definitely some deviation but not much and in some areas the drama improves what the animation lacks and vice versa.
e.g.
- Ka Dan in the animation is portrayed as a babe. In the animation, Si Yilin falls instantly in love with her at first sight because of her looks. In the drama, their love takes more time to grow, which I like and doesn't seem as shallow as in the animation.
- Di Lin is slightly more colder and ruthless in the animation than in the drama.
- Si Yi Lin is warmer in the animation.
- Ning is.. well annoying in the drama LOL, but not that much in the animation.
As for other characters such as Zichuan Xiu and his gang (Bai Chuan, Luo Jie and Ming Yu), they're quite consistent in the drama and animation.

In my opinion, what distinguish the drama from the animation is that the drama focuses more on the characters' growth and the relationship among them and between them and heavy political intrigue whereas the animation focuses on the plot and action.

I understand. Since they have a lot of HK actors, they should have had a Cantonese version. I also watched only a couple of episodes just to see how YXW did in the drama. The genre is not my cup of tea. But I think it was really good of him to play alongside these actors so that he could learn and improve his acting skills. These recent years, he seems to have costarred with veteran actors than actors/actresses of the same age. I'm not sure if that's something he consciously chose or just coincidence.

LOL! But unlike Ning or Ka Dan, LSF is also a general.

Zichuan Xiu will meet Liu Feng Shuang, the princess from House of Liufeng.
https://kisskh.at/photos/yWXNjN_3
I'm not sure though if he will end up with her or not in the drama adaptation.

You're welcome! :)

Have you watched Contenders? He played alongside veteran HK actors.

I read somewhere that this drama was a skit so not really a serious big project drama.

Thanks for the info!

Yang Xuwen is probably one of those chameleon actors :) If you'd like to watch his other works, I recommend Legend of The Condor Heroes 2017 version where he played naive Guo Jing and Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty season 1 & 2 where he played a rigid Jin Wu guard. I didn't watch Love in Time but a lot people like his performance there too.

He just played a gangster in a mafia drama Contenders. I just watched a couple of episodes coz the genre is not my cup of tea. But he did well there too.

I meant in the anime/ donghua :) Yes, in the drama, Di Lin and Si Yi Lin don't have this ability. I have watched the anime/ donghua but I haven't read the novel. So I have no idea which adaptation is the most faithful to the novel :)