Wish Upon A Star

AOS is an enjoyable watch, though it did not hit me strongly like TU. You may want to wait for AOS2 to air in Dec, as season 1 has a cliffhanger ending.

I watched The Untamed knowing nothing about the background, the bl novel nor any of the actors, but only that it is the top rated cdrama on MDL that is available on Netflix. I couldnt find Nirvana in Fire on Netflix and so settled for next top rated cdrama TU. I later found and completed Nirvana in Fire on YouTube. And The Untamed resonated and overwhelmed me in an unprecedented way.. never was i so invested in the drama characters.

And no, i find the story is more poignant depicting the deep brotherly bonds between WY and LZ and the eventual parting of Yunmeng brothers WY and JC, due to differences in values (三观) i.e. one's world view (世界观), values of worth (价值观) and philosophy on life (人生观).

And yea, the lousy CGI due to low CGI budget and the loads of details in the first two episodes probably ward off viewers, which is such a pity. On Chinese accents, i actually like the dubbed version, perhaps i'm more used to 普通话 (Standard Mandarin/Putonghua) than accented Mandarin.

i noted that you have watched 2 episodes so far.. the chronology start of The Untamed is at the last few minutes of Episode 2 when the Jiang Clan arrives in a town to attend boarding school. The 1st 2 episodes have a lot of details which may be confusing for new viewers. Starting from the chronology start (i.e. the last few minutes of Episode 2) helps.

I enjoyed Princess Agents too, especially the Yan Xun arc. But it is not a full series, and the second season is almost unlikely.

Yea, you are right, many of the ancient costume cdramas have an ensemble cast. I dont think the part on filler episodes that do not move the story or world build is c-drama specific as many many k-dramas i watched tend to drag with neither plot development nor character growth in the middle episodes, even for AOS.

I didnt notice the trend of c-dramas using cute pet dogs as terrifying monsters .. for The Untamed, the protagonist was an orphan fighting for food with stray dogs for a few years after his parents passed away, before he was brought to and raised at the Jiang Clan. And only the protagonist is afraid of dogs :)

Start anywhere, as you probably will end up re-watching anyways! The chronology start is at the last few minutes of Episode 2.

Nice! If ever you need to discuss the plot, please do not hesitate to message me.. and i'm probably your opposite.. i find it easier to get into c-historical than k-historical, as everyone in k-historical (especially in k-palace) seems to wear the same clothes and has the same hair-do! :)

ahh i see.. while there's no romance here, it's not uncommon to get immensely touched and deeply invested with the characters. Do give it a try :)

Do you mean k-historical drama somehow were easy to get into? I will encourage you to re-pick up TU if you are open to it; it is a late bloomer drama, with the first one-third of the drama on world setting, before the story twists and plot thickens.

Similarities abound as detailed in the article, and TU is not bl, though it is widely misunderstood as a bl, just because it is adapted from a bl novel. Watch for yourself and you will realise it is a big story on the ugliness of society, the struggles to uphold justice and the growing up journey of the key characters.

Yea, JC is also in some ways bearing the blunt of his mom's jealousy of WY's mom. While he blames WY for his parents' deaths and the fall of the Jiang Clan, deep in his heart, he cares for WY deeply, just like how he blamed WY when his dogs got sent away the moment WY was brought to the Jiang Clan, but went out alone to look for him after chasing him out. Yes, NHS is the mastermind behind WY's revival in the drama, which you will notice quite clearly in a rewatch :)

WY and JC do not have the same configuration (格局) nor share the same three fundamental views (三观) or values of a person, i.e. one's world view (世界观), values of worth (价值观) and philosophy on life (人生观). WY is for the greater good and justice, while JC is only for the Jiang clan. It is sad but inevitable that they split ways eventually. To me, JC is the most tragic character in TU.

Thanks, I will keep a lookout for those tomb genre series :)

Quite a bad experience with the ML playing 2 characters, and the subsequent lives in the mortal and immortal realms

TU is not the first cdrama I watched, but the first drama that got me rewatching soon after the first watch, and I usually moved on to other dramas after one watch, and have rewatched only just a handful 5-10 years later

I had thought TU as the Asian version of GOT - on noble clans vying for power, good vs evil, magic, swords, zombies, kinships, friendships, rules of life..

The article was meant for viewers who have watched AOS, but you are right, could have taken extra step to use spoiler tag, as the article can be for TU viewers to also watch AOS.

Example: TU bridge meeting is also referencing the no longer lonely single plank bridge the ML when he went against the society.

Tbh, while I enjoy TU, I won’t recommend TU to new ancient costume Cdrama viewers, if not for AOS and the similarities and deja vu scenes to TU, as TU can be complex with the many names (birth/courtesy/title/ nickname) for each character and the sorcery element. 13 episodes is actually less than 10h as each episode is only 45 minutes, and it is towards the end of the story set up. In another 2-3 episodes, the story takes a turn as the plot thickens. The first third of the series will eventually stitch back to the whole plot. This is a late bloomer drama that eventually overwhelms viewers, thus the terrible ratings in its initial airing and the strong pick up as the series progressed.

I have yet to watch LBFAD, still scarred by my experience watching Eternal Love featuring immortals and deities..

Thank you! TU resonates with me and touches me ever so immensely. Every moment is part of the story, right from the very 1st episode and the long flashback from the boarding school episodes. But new viewers may find the initial episodes to be plotless, boring and confusing, which is such a pity.

Thank you and glad you enjoyed this article! Let me know if you find other similarities or deja vu moments while rewatching TU!