i share your rants and more. I'm also continuing because I've invested so much time in this and I've only begun…
I'm at 36 but it's lost my interest a dozen episodes back- I'm still in it cuz I have to finish it but it's not as painful as Winner is Love even though I like Luo Yun Xi. Allen Ren isn't bad here but I'm just not connecting to the series. The trailer made it look very good but sadly it's another disappointing series - 3 one in a row for me.
I missed seeing Xu Kai and love that he's reunited with Wu Jia Yi from Military Arsenal Academy. In that series, Wu Jia Yi had an unrequited love for Xu Kai's character. At least in this series, they are meant to be lovers. I cringed to hear the dubbing again but it's the same dubber for Xu Kai in Military Arsenal Academy- so that is more acceptable to me. Can't wait to start the episodes.
I'm on episode 18 and I'm quickly losing interest. I think it will go back once Allen Ren's character turns dark but until then, I'm just watching to fill silent air
I admit that when it was first released and I heard bits and pieces of it's amazingness, I was hesitant to watch. I recall hearing the male leads were from boy bands (that turned me off) as I wasn't interested in boy bands and their music. I belong in the generation of looking for more experienced actors. I also heard there wasn't much of a romance part (no female lead), that also turned me away. So I missed the initial hype and excitement. Fast forward to April 2020, during quarantine, I saw a clip on youtube of The Untamed, I was hooked. Sadly, the clip I saw was from episode 42 and I went to episode 1 and binged it in 4-5 days of the 50 episodes.
I found myself replaying various scenes that I loved- upwards to a dozen times. I admit, I have become one of those fans- can't get enough and can't get into any new dramas afterwards. I never read the novel nor watched the animation so I only had the show's synopsis to go by- it does not do proper justice.
What really got me hooked to the show- several aspects. Xiao Zhan's super acting. I didn't know him prior to the show. When searching his bio, I realized he was in Battle Break Sphere which I also loved. I recalled a character in their that caught my eye but didn't know his name- it was him. I always like a good story where the main lead has complex emotional scenes- one of my fave is Hu Ge in Nirvana in Fire. Xiao Zhan's portrayal of WWX's 3 lives is very distinct and what is the true beauty is to get the audience to truly feel what he's feeling at that given scene- immerse into that hard place he's in. We feel happy when WWX is sad, we feel sad when WWX is sad.
I also liked that the story was neatly tied together- with mystery and the whole thing about morals- right and wrong. Despite people saying there was more than friendship between WWX and LZ- I still like the subtleness they did in portraying those scenes together. There is quite a few xuxia dramas- maybe older ones that talk about brotherhood and it's intensity may be viewed by the Western world as boy love but I think WWX and LZ chemistry is just that intensive brotherhood. The one where they would die for each other.
So many painful and heartfelt scenes to compare- the one that really takes the cake is JC finding out about his golden core. WWX's ultimate sacrifice is right there. Many wuxia characters would leap to their deaths for their loved ones- that's sacrifice but WWX sacrifice I would argue is the greatest of them all. Why? It's easy to just off yourself in place of the person- you end up dead. End of story. But what about when you make the sacrifice that gives meaning to your life but still live on? That's WWX's sacrifice. He gave up what would define him, make him survive in The Untamed world but he nonetheless still has to live on- that's painful. In contrast to JC, he lost his core = he lost his will to even live. WWX is stronger than that. Even before he learned demonic cultivation, he wasn't eager to die. Given time, he would figure out how to live- it may be more simpler, less heroic but he would be with his family (which mattered a lot to him), he would still have his best friend, JC. He would have found a way to survive.
Overall, despite a nearly all new/young cast- all characters were played wonderfully well. Even the minor roles of Xue Yang, Xiao xing chen, etc. They had their own story arc that equally tugs the heartstrings. So now, I find myself watching all those BTS, interviews- anything to keep the obsession alive.
I found myself replaying various scenes that I loved- upwards to a dozen times. I admit, I have become one of those fans- can't get enough and can't get into any new dramas afterwards. I never read the novel nor watched the animation so I only had the show's synopsis to go by- it does not do proper justice.
What really got me hooked to the show- several aspects. Xiao Zhan's super acting. I didn't know him prior to the show. When searching his bio, I realized he was in Battle Break Sphere which I also loved. I recalled a character in their that caught my eye but didn't know his name- it was him. I always like a good story where the main lead has complex emotional scenes- one of my fave is Hu Ge in Nirvana in Fire. Xiao Zhan's portrayal of WWX's 3 lives is very distinct and what is the true beauty is to get the audience to truly feel what he's feeling at that given scene- immerse into that hard place he's in. We feel happy when WWX is sad, we feel sad when WWX is sad.
I also liked that the story was neatly tied together- with mystery and the whole thing about morals- right and wrong. Despite people saying there was more than friendship between WWX and LZ- I still like the subtleness they did in portraying those scenes together. There is quite a few xuxia dramas- maybe older ones that talk about brotherhood and it's intensity may be viewed by the Western world as boy love but I think WWX and LZ chemistry is just that intensive brotherhood. The one where they would die for each other.
So many painful and heartfelt scenes to compare- the one that really takes the cake is JC finding out about his golden core. WWX's ultimate sacrifice is right there. Many wuxia characters would leap to their deaths for their loved ones- that's sacrifice but WWX sacrifice I would argue is the greatest of them all. Why? It's easy to just off yourself in place of the person- you end up dead. End of story. But what about when you make the sacrifice that gives meaning to your life but still live on? That's WWX's sacrifice. He gave up what would define him, make him survive in The Untamed world but he nonetheless still has to live on- that's painful. In contrast to JC, he lost his core = he lost his will to even live. WWX is stronger than that. Even before he learned demonic cultivation, he wasn't eager to die. Given time, he would figure out how to live- it may be more simpler, less heroic but he would be with his family (which mattered a lot to him), he would still have his best friend, JC. He would have found a way to survive.
Overall, despite a nearly all new/young cast- all characters were played wonderfully well. Even the minor roles of Xue Yang, Xiao xing chen, etc. They had their own story arc that equally tugs the heartstrings. So now, I find myself watching all those BTS, interviews- anything to keep the obsession alive.