This review may contain spoilers
I recommend this drama to anyone who loves historical fantasies.I don't recommend it to people who like mostly lovely bubbly romcoms.
What I didn't like:
- seasons.... lol so meaningless, why separate it into seasons... ><
-too many names at the begging might be overwhelming plus the first episode is hectic as it doesn't show "passed...years" every time they time-skip.
What i liked:
- the story. It's different from what we usually see so i like it.
- twists and turns.
-costumes
-scenery
Overall I liked this first half of the drama :) but the whole season is more like an intro. and the real stuff will start i guess in the second. the story is nice and it gets more and more interesting later. as I said it is more like an intro and it gets power mostly during the 6th episode. However many historical dramas (and not only) have long introductions that are necessary for us to learn about characters, so it was okay for me. I liked this first season. The only thing is left is for the second and especially the last to be great. because an ending can ruin a drama lol. the first season is nice though.
MYTHOLOGY:
This series are based on Korean mythology about Dangun, who is considered the founder of Koreans. you can read about him on the internet. It is set in Ancient Jeoson and about Korea's first nation and Bronze Age. The myth depicts a story how a Heaven's Son comes to Korean Peninsula and makes The First Kingdom. Because he was the second or third son and couldn't become the ruler of Heaven. He lands on Great White Mountain. Later a Tiger and Bear come to him and ask him to turn them into human. So he tells them to go and eat mugwort and garlic only during 100 days or something. The Tiger gives up in the middle. But the bear eat's it and becomes a woman. The bear woman and Heaven's son have a child, Dangun. Dangun becomes the first real ruler of korea. Actually people say that he symbolizes a human as he was born from meeting of a spirit and an animal. Also he symbolizes the start of Bronze age in Korea. later he goes into a mountain and his spirit rests there. Well there are several versions and in one of them the capital they make is called Asadal. To compare it to the drama Dangun must be the Aramun Haesseula in the drama. Nheantals are the tiger tribe and Sarams (which means literally "human/person" in Korean) are the bear tribe. As you can see in the first episode, Naeanthals come to the meeting with tiger fur, tiger skulls, and Sanung Niruha (at the time ruler of Sarams) wears a bear mask. So this drama took this myth about creation of Koreans and made a fantasy :)
I think the production team just made several mistakes and that's why got so much criticism and low ratings. maybe im wrong, this is just my opinion but:1. they made this show come out not long after GoT ended.... many fans fresh from GoT came to this and saw many similarities. However historical fantasies all have similar clothes and similar power struggle. This series are based on Korean mythology. 2. they overestimated viewers lol I think many were not ready to get a different-like kinda a bit European setting fantasy from Korea. And were just too used to that the Korea usually does historicals mostly in Jeoson or Georyo (and sometimes Silla).
So if you are interested in this genre, don't let these things stop you from trying :) watch till the 4th or 5th episode and then decide if you like it or not :)
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BEGINNING!
The meaning of Chronical which is a Greek word is "annals of time." It's a record of past event, it represents the roots of history. So as it's name suggests "Arthdal Chronicles" it's history and the journey of Arthdals living on the land of Arth. It's not historical it's ancient. It's starting of civilization. Every era has it's own problem own struggles not even one era doesn't have passed that didn't had struggle of power. Though it's mythical story it represents the struggles and greed of power on the land of Arth.This part is just beginning of this journey. We don't explore many things it's like an introduction to all characters and the base of story. It's quite confusing in the first episode because of time laps but we get to know a whole imaginary world with different tribes with different cultures.
The cinematography in the best, it can't be more beautiful than this. Both ML and FL's character are likeable but it's not romance based drama so they don't get more screen time together.
It's very interesting and unique story, the best part is it's originality. I was hooked from the very first episode. Even the last twist of 6th episode wasn't unexpected but still I'm curious what will happen next. I really enjoyed the first season and now looking forward next two seasons. I hope they'll as good as I'm expecting.
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My rating here will be for this portion of the drama only. At this point, the drama started out pretty strong, got kinda muddled in the middle, but seems to be picking up again.
I wish it was better organized. I said this in the comments, but the writers, directors, editors - they all tried to do too much. A high fantasy drama is innovative enough in the Korean drama scene, but splitting it into multiple "seasons" did more harm than good. The pacing is all over the place, they established different story-lines faster than others so we had to wait while they caught up. And most importantly, there needed to be way better world building. This is a completely imagined setting with its own groups of people, religion, beliefs, society, hierarchy, government, etc. and the director or some editor or whoever thought occasionally adding captions to explain original vocabulary was enough. It's not. Some of our very important characters are missing important screen time and story development time because of the weird pacing, but it seems that this will be rectified soon in future episodes so I'm not to hung up on that point. This drama would have benefited so much from being longer; the world that they have created is fascinating and it should be fleshed out way more than it was.
The acting is phenomenal and the characters are really interesting. Like I said, I just wish it was better organized.
All in all, it's a good watch. It's not god-tier iconic, but I do recommend it - especially to people who are looking to watch something different.
EDIT AFTER FINISHING THE WHOLE THING: Don't do it. If you're reading this while contemplating watching the drama, it just got worse and worse. The story didn't get better. The story was shit. Save yourself.
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This is the first time a kdrama with such a storyline and theme and CGs has been made and all people can do is critisize it
This drama has such a strong and impactful start ... Each and every actor is doing such an amazing job as if the characters has been tailored for them ...
I watched all the 6 episode and I can't wait to watch more ... The story is really intriguing and you won't date to skip any scene
For me the 1st season goes to TAGON ... Jang has portrayed it so FLAWLESSLY and he makes you fall I n love with such a brutal character
Song Joongki is as always MIND BLOWING in his character
So all I have to say is give this drama a chance for a change and you won't be disappointed
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So, the whole setting is magnificent and the cinematography is amazing. The costumes and make up were top notch as well. I don't really like the way they divided the series into three seasons though, as it didn't make sense and they didn't concluded the first season smoothly.
That said, the first episodes presented the whole arthdal universe. However, they should have made a better job with it, as it was not easy to understand it and it takes a while to remember the characters (part of the three main).
Overall, the three main characters were the best part of the drama, in addition to the cinematography. They were interesting and well presented. The performances were excellent as well.
So, seven out of ten, because the story hasn't even progressed yet.
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The story is very decent and intriguing (although its just the first part and everything isn't clear yet) and it kept me very interested to know what happens next (it doesn't happen easily for me especially with these types of dramas)
The acting is amazing!! everyone is made for their part. I can't find one actor that wasn't absolutely immersed in their character like it was what they were born to do!!
The only thing that was bothering me was that the episodes are a little too long so we end up with too much walking and going up the stairs and calling names 15 times in a row. I think it could've been better if it was an hour long but I'm an impatient person so I think some people won't care about that.
Do I think this is perfect? no but it's really really good and definitely worth the watch.
In the end I won't tell you to go watch it but if you're thinking about watching but not sure because of all the hate just give yourself a chance to judge for yourself because people are really being unfair to this drama.
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The acting is great. The CGI, makeup, costumes, and set are all top notch (I was worried that for korea's first truly fantasy drama, the would be cringey, but luckily, I was proven wrong). The story so far (considering we are only a third of the way through) is amazing and fresh, and I'm loving every single character (even the antagonist Tagon). I can't wait for the next part to come out.
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"I just can't wait to be king" Ta Gon and "I just can't wait to be queen" Tae Al Ha^^
Two tribes live in a mythical land called Arth; the red-blooded humans who can't dream and the blue-blooded humanoids who can dream, and who are also faster and stronger than humans. A war for resources breaks out between the two and the humans end up winning the war through some trickery. Years later, the struggles and greed of power continues...This drama is unique, it brings you to the bronze age. There's a lot of knowledge on anthropology, evolutionary biology, politics, civilization stages, farming, domestication, religion/mysticism. More than just entertainment, they kept me occupied intellectually. I appreciate them to realize this daring concept into a drama. The story itself is using the common fantasy trope; like a prophecy, a mysterious barrier between two tribes, and it's very plot-driven.
The characters are a lot of fun, especially Tagon, the human leader, he's morally ambiguous and dignified, at the same time he hides a dark secret which is a real high stake. I have to say his younger self gave me chills more than the adult version, he had a very cool charisma; great job Moon Woojin, I always admire you, also in It's Okay to Not be Okay, The Devil Judge, yeah). This is also my only favorite Song Jong Ki drama so far, he's magical in his dual twin roles, together with the irreplaceable Kim Ji Won. There's a lot to enjoy within their relationships and dynamics.
Overall,I think it's a really darn good fantasy. I wanted to know more, the characters surprisingly got stuck with me personally, like I think about them when i'm not watching. The first season is laying a wonderful groundwork for the 2nd season.
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This review may contain spoilers
So much unused potenial (review for all 3 parts together)
Story: The plot is actually pretty classic and could be great. A people get enslaved and a hero reaches out to safe the people he loves. A little of romance, family issues, religion and an antagonist who does not want to be evil.The story is extremely slow developing and it gets worst in part 2 and 3. There are many scenes of conversations, thinking and recalling conversations up to the point I thought: "Ok even the last person got it now". The few scenes in which actually something happened were good, either thrilling or emotional.
Cast: Obviously the cast is amazing and all of them did a great job! However, the way the characters are written cannot be compensated by amazing performances.
Characters: There are a lot of characters but only two of them undergo a character development. Almost every character stays in their line and no matter what happened they stay the way they are. There are scenes in which they have high thoughts of "I will kill..." or "This is just the beginning" but basically nothing happened. The figures are rather plain characterized and the interactions are short. Some figures and character combinations could have been interesting... even great, but they did not draw that picture to the end.
Cenementory: The drama could have been visually stunning. Obviously the budget increased while airing. In the first view episodes there were some beautiful scenes but later on not even this was given. They only have shown a view interesting or impressive places. They used fast camera movements to mask the fighting performances and used less visual elements which could have been touching.
Music: There is only a small variety of instrumental background music. Most sounds pretty much the same and didn't affect my emotions at all.
End: It is an open end obviously Netflix wanted to open a floodgate to catch audience and save their futur income
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The cast is superb! Each actor is well suited for their role and the acting is top notch. The standouts are definitely Song Joong Ki, Jang Dong Gun, and Kim Ji Won. I do wish that certain characters were given more screen time but I hope that the seasons that follow will give the characters more time to shine.
I recommend this series and I hope the episodes that follow continue to be as strong or stronger than the initial few episodes.
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When you pour too much water in a glass.....
It is true I cannot stand Soon Jong Ki. When an actor personal life become more prominent that their work it changes the public view on their performance. I always found him to be a bit dull, and beside "Boy wolf" and "Descendant of the sun" I have yet to see a different set of emotions on his (once) perfect face. BUT I gave it a shot and watched Arthdal Chronicles because the storyline seemed interesting. What a mess !! If you could pour in a shaker bits and pieces of Lord of the ring (the 3 of them ) and the entire series of Games of Thrones and serve it on ice you would remain puzzled as to what exactly have you order. The basic idea of a sci-fi/fantasy/historical drama is absolutely fantastic, however the ability to start threading without ending up with a huge inconsistent amoeba is slim. The main issue is SIMPLICITY AND CLARITY. So far only Lord of the rings and the original Star-wars (yep the 70's one) are real inspirations. When you have so many events, in different geographical areas, diverse names and cultures and a variety of never ending twists and turns, if director, screenwriters and actors do not sync perfectly, it's just a mess. You know as a viewer if you find it difficult to remember who did what, who was who, and why is this happening now. Great performance by Kim Ji Won ! My preconceived idea of her was gladly crushed.Was this review helpful to you?
