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This review may contain spoilers
Didn't meet my expectations; a good watch for xianxia beginners
Unpopular opinion but sorry to say, I don't think I got what I was looking for from this drama. I expected way better. This drama did disappoint me a lot.
The editing is a clear problem, especially in the first episodes. They cut the episodes mid conversation and scenes, resulting you to lose flow even if you watched episodes back to back. The scene editing in a single episode too is floppy, again interrupting the flow. But as the drama progresses, it gets a lot better.
Speaking of characters, starting off with the main leads. The usual naive girl and cold male trope typical to xianxia - felt too used. I genuinely didn't like Esther Yu's Orchid character. She is too naive in the beginning, and her character growth isn't clwarly visible. Being cute and overboard in a cringey way is one thing and being foolishly naive is another. Dongfang Qingcang is introduced as an unbeatable force but he soon lost his charm the moment he started developing feelings. The condition of no emotions for using hellfire just dampened the whole weight of the so called devil. Again, he isn't even a devil per say. That wasn't what I expected. The last minute addition of glazed fire concept is also not helpful, because we don't get to see him use it at all. Also, I feel the idea of having to teach an emotionless being to love is too old, frustrating and unhealthy. Esther Yu and Dylan Wang(especially) did not ensemble the weight of the characters they were playing; not because they aren't good actors but because they just don't visually fit in. In fact, I feel they did a wonderful job with the acting. A round of applause for both of them. But again, I don't think it's necessarily Esther Yu's acting that is faulty. Her acting is just not my cup of tea.
The characters that actually impressed me were Changheng and Danyin. Changheng is the one who really broke the usual xianxia norm and brought in freshness. Unlike the known outcast Qingcang, he, a god and someone who had never once broken a rule, chose to stand for Orchid even if it meant execution. That is not what you usually see in thos genre. Zhang Linghe's acting capability truly shines through in this drama. The different roles he played within a single drama was amazing. The mortal arc was definitely the best. Him and Qingcang's sworn brother scenes were hilarious. Dylan Wang does it really well too. Danyin is my next favorite. The most sensible character of all. Yes she loved a man, made the impulsive choice to face mortal tribulations with him, but also knew when to stop and let go. That is yet another breath of fresh air, considering how second female leads in xianxias are icky, petty and obsessive in all the most frustrating ways.
I couldn't give the slightest care for Ronghao and Chidi though. Their acting was good, I could say from the scenes I did watch. But for the most, I couldn't find myself involved in their storyline at all. Skipped a lot of it.
Jieli felt like a very fickle character too. All actions she does had a selfish gain and thus, the entire idea of 'it hurts to see you love me when I'm lying to you' wasn't convincing enough. I couldn't sympathize with her, viewing her as a good character who had her reasons. Just liked few moments here and there.
Lord Yunzhong of the fairy realm as well. I think he needed to be at least stripped of his post. He was clearly not a good leader.
Still there are plenty of good reasons to keep going.
The drama does a great job with visuals. Beautiful landscapes, costumes and special effects. Although the many immortals in the hall looked weird with the mask, it was adjustable. I loved the pink skies of the fairy realm and the night views of the moon tribe.
The depth and seriousness of being 2 lovers from different realms who are enemies, torn apart by responsibilities, is well potrayed. You can feel the helplessness and the moral dilemma. As much as I wasn't invested, I did tear up during the parting scene (but well, I'm prone to crying while watching shows T_T). The drama also has original ideas. Even if the 3 realm concept was retained, what the characters did and how they interacted are original to this drama. There isn't a whole new 'falling in love again' side quest, not just in the mortal realm (where it usually happens) but anywhere in the drama. It has it's own pros and cons though. Also, the drama doesn't drag with the same 2 things. There was a lot for 36 episodes.
The OSTs and background music are very big plus points too. I loved the songs.
Ya, final opinion is, I'm definitely not rewatching it ever because I had to force myself not to drop it. This drama to me was either 1) you are into a bunch of characters and watch them with a little skipping or 2) you don't and skip them entirely. If you are new to xianxia or in early stages of the genre, this one is considerably a better one.
The editing is a clear problem, especially in the first episodes. They cut the episodes mid conversation and scenes, resulting you to lose flow even if you watched episodes back to back. The scene editing in a single episode too is floppy, again interrupting the flow. But as the drama progresses, it gets a lot better.
Speaking of characters, starting off with the main leads. The usual naive girl and cold male trope typical to xianxia - felt too used. I genuinely didn't like Esther Yu's Orchid character. She is too naive in the beginning, and her character growth isn't clwarly visible. Being cute and overboard in a cringey way is one thing and being foolishly naive is another. Dongfang Qingcang is introduced as an unbeatable force but he soon lost his charm the moment he started developing feelings. The condition of no emotions for using hellfire just dampened the whole weight of the so called devil. Again, he isn't even a devil per say. That wasn't what I expected. The last minute addition of glazed fire concept is also not helpful, because we don't get to see him use it at all. Also, I feel the idea of having to teach an emotionless being to love is too old, frustrating and unhealthy. Esther Yu and Dylan Wang(especially) did not ensemble the weight of the characters they were playing; not because they aren't good actors but because they just don't visually fit in. In fact, I feel they did a wonderful job with the acting. A round of applause for both of them. But again, I don't think it's necessarily Esther Yu's acting that is faulty. Her acting is just not my cup of tea.
The characters that actually impressed me were Changheng and Danyin. Changheng is the one who really broke the usual xianxia norm and brought in freshness. Unlike the known outcast Qingcang, he, a god and someone who had never once broken a rule, chose to stand for Orchid even if it meant execution. That is not what you usually see in thos genre. Zhang Linghe's acting capability truly shines through in this drama. The different roles he played within a single drama was amazing. The mortal arc was definitely the best. Him and Qingcang's sworn brother scenes were hilarious. Dylan Wang does it really well too. Danyin is my next favorite. The most sensible character of all. Yes she loved a man, made the impulsive choice to face mortal tribulations with him, but also knew when to stop and let go. That is yet another breath of fresh air, considering how second female leads in xianxias are icky, petty and obsessive in all the most frustrating ways.
I couldn't give the slightest care for Ronghao and Chidi though. Their acting was good, I could say from the scenes I did watch. But for the most, I couldn't find myself involved in their storyline at all. Skipped a lot of it.
Jieli felt like a very fickle character too. All actions she does had a selfish gain and thus, the entire idea of 'it hurts to see you love me when I'm lying to you' wasn't convincing enough. I couldn't sympathize with her, viewing her as a good character who had her reasons. Just liked few moments here and there.
Lord Yunzhong of the fairy realm as well. I think he needed to be at least stripped of his post. He was clearly not a good leader.
Still there are plenty of good reasons to keep going.
The drama does a great job with visuals. Beautiful landscapes, costumes and special effects. Although the many immortals in the hall looked weird with the mask, it was adjustable. I loved the pink skies of the fairy realm and the night views of the moon tribe.
The depth and seriousness of being 2 lovers from different realms who are enemies, torn apart by responsibilities, is well potrayed. You can feel the helplessness and the moral dilemma. As much as I wasn't invested, I did tear up during the parting scene (but well, I'm prone to crying while watching shows T_T). The drama also has original ideas. Even if the 3 realm concept was retained, what the characters did and how they interacted are original to this drama. There isn't a whole new 'falling in love again' side quest, not just in the mortal realm (where it usually happens) but anywhere in the drama. It has it's own pros and cons though. Also, the drama doesn't drag with the same 2 things. There was a lot for 36 episodes.
The OSTs and background music are very big plus points too. I loved the songs.
Ya, final opinion is, I'm definitely not rewatching it ever because I had to force myself not to drop it. This drama to me was either 1) you are into a bunch of characters and watch them with a little skipping or 2) you don't and skip them entirely. If you are new to xianxia or in early stages of the genre, this one is considerably a better one.
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