Martial Universe (2018)

I will try to review this as a standalone drama first of all. (Rant about adaptation at the end)
The story line is nothing that we haven't seen before . There are some interesting developing here and there but it is kind of your typical weak to strong protagonist fighting against evil. The romantic develop between the character was good especially between Lin Dong and Ying Huan Huan. It would good to see how everything plays out in the second part (I wish they didn't split it up).
All the actor were serviceable and all the main leads did a good enough job. Sometime the dubbing is very noticeable but apart from that there are no major complaints.
One thing i noticed was the productions put a lot of effort into the set production. You can tell they probably spent a lot of money on set pieces and they tried to build a fairly realistic world. Of course there was still a fair amount of CGI.
The beginning of the show was very slow and I really struggled. However I still continued and I feel that the second half of the series is a better than the first half, the second half things were actually happening. Another thing I felt that was off through the series was the editing, i feel that sometime story arc seems to be rush or there is no proper conclusion.
Overall this was a very average drama.

Here is my rant about this being an adaption of the novel. Being someone who has read the book, I believe this is a failure of an adaptation. The book is very much centered around Lin Dong and I know this is a drama so they have to change things but the most important aspects should at least be kept but the drama does away with all of this. I personally believe that what make people root for Lin Dong was his drive and willpower to improve himself and get his revenge but the drama basically ignores this. For the most part of the series he either has character A or B helping Lin Dong and they have to encourage all the way. If you are a like the novel I do not believe many of you will like the drama so I will recommend that you do not think of this as an adaption but just a standalone drama that has similar character names and settings.

Read More

?? My Impression :
? This drama is a? new genre for me by all means ! I am not into manga, anime or fantasy dramas at all !! First 4 episodes were like a new experience to me ! couldn’t understand the story or adapt ?to its flow ! but by finishing ep 5, something like a magic has happened ! The story became so clear & each character too has became so defined ! at that moment I started to be hooked to the drama & kept watching all the episodes back to back & spent literally sleepless nights to do that ! I have read some reviews about this drama but I believe their disappointment because they read the novel or the manga so surely they couldn’t help but to keep comparing things ! Regarding the acting; though I am a big Yang Yang fan but I agree he needs to improve his acting more. Yet honesty I believe that he did already
a good job???????? it’s not his fault that the character required him to pl?ay the immature playful guy on the first 20s episode ! I think he did a great in portraying his character, if anyone interested to see Yang Yang acting as a mature adult, please go & watch him slaying these roles on Love O2O & the whirlwind girl but don’t blame the actor for conveying well the immaturity of his character ! About the story itself, it was an enjoyable journey for me. I liked how Lin Dong character has been developed over the episodes. In my opinion the flow pace was quite adequate, neither rushed nor slow ! Adding to that the fact that this drama has almost everything! Comic scenes, melodrama, fantasy, adventure, youth , friendship, brotherhood, family, loyalty, experiencing first love & true love, mentor - mentee relationship & action. Also the cinematography is so perfect ????????????????! for me each episode was like watching a movie! the quality of th?e effects? wer?e re?ally great, it’s indeed a high quality fantasy dram??a ?. The OSTs too were great & so wonderful.
?? My feedback & recommendation about this drama:
This basically will be divided into 4 categories!
1- If you are a Yang Yang fan; just proceed & watch it without any hesitation, surely you would love it ???????? It’s great to see a total new side of him portraying an adorable character like Lin Dong who is carefree kid, mischievous, playful & cheerful!
2- If you are a fan of fantasy drama, also would recommend you to check out this one because I believe it’s a high quality fantasy drama & deserves a chance to be checked out.
3- If you are not fan of either this genre nor Yang Yang, still would recommend you to watch it & give it a try at least till finishing ep 5, where everything becomes so clear, so you can have a better chance of deciding wisely whether to continue or drop it out though I believe you may like it just like me who have watched this genre for the first time ever yet have loved it ????
4- Here is the critical category! Those who have read the novel or the drama ! you probably would be disappointed because the drama didn’t take after the novel or the manga on their details specially about the main lead character traits ! I can understand your disappointment but maybe you would enjoy it if you decided to watch it without concerning so much over these differences !

Read More