An all-around excellent BL wuxia drama
As a wuxia, it really cares and pays close attention to detail, which helps to bring forth that jianghu feel that has been missing in CDramas nowadays. As a BL and a love story, it is incredibly heartfelt and compelling. Word of Honor has one of the best overall quality we've seen in CDramaland recently.WOH is the story of an encounter between people who have been hurt, cast out, damaged and let down, people who have given up on the world. That chance encounter then leads them to find the way back to trusting the goodness in others and themselves, and the belief to live and love. The idea is excellent, and the execution left little to be desired.
+ Story/Writing - 8/10
Most of what was left to be desired lies in the plot. Adapted from one of the lesser-known works by Priest, the story is solid but not too strong. It has both jianghu adventures and political intrigue, but to me the politics and scheming are not really interesting or convincing. The whole thing regarding that LiuLi jia is not particularly exciting either. A lot of the time, we see our male leads stand aside watching things happen. Albeit, there are enough happenings to hold my attention and they hold together well enough. They make a nice background overall.
The pull of this story is found in the many relationships between our characters: the manic, troubled master of the "ghosts" ready to set the world on fire, the disillusioned former assassin who does not want to care but care anyway, whose conviction is so steadfast it's immovable, two pure-hearted, conflicted yet determined boys, a wild "ghost" girl who's never known much sweetness or that she wants it, and more. I love how they could not help but reach out to save each other and found that they saved themselves in the process, how they helped each other see and believe the goodness in themselves. My heart aches in the best way watching this drama.
Unfortunately, there are many characters that feel unnecessary or uninteresting, even the more important ones. Here and there I can find the storytelling crumble or does not delve deep enough. I wish the scheming, some of the setups and unravelings were done and explored better (ex: the founding of the two main love stories, the sects' gatherings, the way they tell their past, the remorse of the two leads, the weird halfway Romeo-Juliet thing near the end, the everyone-dies ending...) but I guess there is a limit on what they could do with their budget.
Overall, I really appreciate the writer's commitment to telling a story that they obviously really love. The plot is cohesive and intriguing enough. The witty, poetic and idiomatic dialogue is a nice touch.
+ Production - 9.5
Seriously, this story was executed so well. The pace is really good and consistent throughout. The camera work and editing were done neatly and carefully. And the fight scenes, gosh they are so good; incredibly well-choreographed, they really feel wuxia. The way our two leads keep exchanging strikes and blows is both reminiscent of the golden-day wuxia and heart-racing. WOH's team repeatedly used a few same sets but I barely noticed. I'm not really impressed by the voice dubbing but it is fine. I wish they toned down a bit of the qinggong, those scenes look too much like flying in xianxia. (To me, Nirvana in Fire had the right amount of it).
+ Cast/Acting - 9.5
The level of acting is good and quite consistent throughout. GJ left a strong impression, Wen Kexing's animated flirtiness and manic anger are intriguing, compelling and sexy. ZZH snuck up on you with his subtle portrayal of the steadfast Zhou Zishu. The chemistry is lovely and when they looked at each other, their eyes were so full of love it was almost unbearably sweet.
The shiny sincere lovesick eyes of CWN's actor are heart-melting too. Later on I really felt Gu Xiang's sadness, pain and yearning, but I wish they did not go too hard in the cutesy direction for her earlier. I guess it makes a nice contrast so you'll see the character development, but I would prefer more of an edge and wildness. The acting of these four kept getting better and better later on, and their stories just broke your heart in the best way.
Overall, I don't have much to complain about the cast. Ye Baiyi and Gao Xiaolian, though, could be casted better, I think. However, I really wish there were one or two displays of emotions that hit me especially hard. There are plenty of compelling scenes, but somehow I keep feeling there could be more.
+ Music - 8
The songs sound good and they suit the drama nicely, nothing really hit hard for me though.
All in all, WOH is really worth watching. You'll laugh and cry and lose sleep and have your heart broken for the characters. And you'll feel healed by the love. They really did the best they could do with the story they had. For people who are not very familiar with wuxia, I think this is an amazing introduction to the genre. For fans of BL, this is a must-watch.
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I'm so done! This drama ended my life!
First off, I was interested when woh started airing, but I didn't put much attention to it. There are other currently airing dramas that kept my daily watchlist full. But during the first few episodes, when not a lot of people were talking about woh yet, I gave it a try (I think it was around ep 5 on youtube when I started). All I can say is: This drama ruined my life! I couldn't stop watching and kept waiting for new updates weekly.At some point, I wanted my friend to try this, because it's just so good. Plus, I needed someone to talk about woh openly with. Little did I know, they watched woh too! And it was like fate all over again. We're watching the same drama. And someone could admire this piece of art with me.
Secondly, Woh, I think, is by far one of the most addicting "bromance" drama for me. I used to watch a few others, such as the untamed, guardian, the sleuth of ming, forward forever, etc., but I only managed to finish the untamed. As for the others, they're dropped or put on hold for now. I think what makes woh so special is because of the exceptional chemistry between the two main actors - gong jun and zhang zhehan, and with the help of the sides too.
I really fell in deep love with zhou zishu's aloof character, wen kexing's playful but sexy character, gu xiang's cheerfulness and cao weining's innocence, and not to mention zhang chengling's independence. Everyone executed the characters perfectly and made everyone fall in love with the drama.
side note: chengling got me so whipped! He's a literal babie who needs to be protected. And each episode, I look forward to his scenes, especially with zishu and kexing. They make a cute family of three.
Third, This drama was definitely more than bromance, which makes it all the more interesting to watch. Just look at how the two main characters treat each other. They're definitely not brothers!
Anyhow, I don't think I'll ever get over this drama. Not anytime soon. And I might try to read the novel and any other content related to this drama.
Lastly, woh was definitely a very beautiful drama. I'll definitely rewatch this in the near future. And I will 101% recommend my friends to watch woh, because it's just so good, you can't dislike it.
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Best drama of 2021
I wouldn’t suggest watching the trailer because I watched it after I already start the drama and the trailer is confusing.... that’s just my opinion.The first half of the first episode started a bit slow and dark but it will give you a great idea of the main character.
If you know Zhang Zhehan from other dramas, he always plays more of a quiet and strict character which is the opposite of his real personality. When he plays Zhou Zishu’s role, he brought out the perfect Zhou Zishu, quiet, smart, gentle, and harsh words but soft at heart. His acting is so on point, he uses his eyes, his actions, and his words to express the character in ways that you feel like he’s the real Zhou Zishu and not Zhang Zhehan anymore. His emotional scenes feel so realistic that my heart hurts for him.
Gong Jun always play the shameless flirt character in his dramas, but for this drama, Wen Kexin brings a deeper meaning than just shameless and flirty. One moment he would look at Zhou Zishu with so much vulnerability and sadness, the moment Zhou Zishu turn his back, Wen Kexin’s emotions change 180 degrees and turn back into the Lord of Ghosts that wanted to get rid of all the evil in the martial arts world.
Both actors have such amazing chemistry, flirtiness, and emotions for one another it was like they are Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexin and they were made for each other. Their trust and bond are deeper than words can express but these actors played it out so beautifully.
Every episode explores new hidden secrets and how they help one another through the tough times.
Lastly, I gotta give the most credit to the scriptwriter, China is very strict with their censorship and anything with BL content will not be able to air. The scriptwriter found ways around it by adding subtle hints in every scene and I had so much fun reading and finding out the subtle hints that other viewers have noticed. Many viewers who can read lips have posted about what the actor had actually said but later had to change due to censorship.
I'll drop a few scenarios below but it won't be a spoiler for anybody, a matter of fact if you decide to watch it I hope it will help you noticed and understand those scenes better.
1. In one scene where Wen Kexin cut the bloodied sleeve off of Zhou Zishu, cut-sleeve in china means homosexual.
2. One scene where A Xiang grilling the pancakes and put 2 pancakes together, means s*x.
3. When somebody put a hairpin in somebody else hair means they are married
4. One scene where the actor actually said "you are my person" but it got changed to "just hold your breath"
If I can give 15/10 for this drama I would. I literally watched it without any subtitles the moment it came out because I just couldn’t wait to see what happen next even though I won’t understand anything. Then I rewatched it with Vietnamese subtitles which I had to paused and read slowly every sentence and let the information sync in. Then I rewatched it again with English subtitles because I just want to make sure I didn’t miss any information through translation.
All I have to say is this drama is the best in 2021
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A true underdog that had people begging for more
You may think I am a little overboard with the 9.5, but I can't bring myself to give this drama a lower score. Yes, this drama has flaws, but I will happily oversee the flaws because of how this drama honored the the original novel/writer, the actors, and the audience. The interactions between the two main actors made me laugh multiple times throughout the series and they also made me cry for them.This drama is proof that there is no need for a drama to have a big production, well known big actors, lots of promo and/or famous scriptwriters/directors in order for a drama to be a hit. Despite having a low-budget, a newbie scriptwriter, a lesser known company that has the rights (Youku is weaker compared to big companies like iqiyi and Tencent, who usually has the rights to big and popular dramas) and zero anticipation from the public, the drama was one of the best in its genre to be put out in years.
Reasons why this drama is a hit:
1. The script follows the novel heavily (Finally a scriptwriter that shows respect to the original!)
Many dramas that are adopted from a novel are not well received because it strays away from the original source too much and basically becomes a separate entity. However, for this drama, the scriptwriter stayed true and respected the original book. Also, they included lots of interactions between the male leads! Which made me wonder what tricks Youku had up their sleeves to get it through censorship. They really need to share their secrets to other dramas that are currently in development.
2. The casting
Man, this is one of the best castings in a drama I have seen. The two actors fit their roles perfectly and they had great chemistry together. Who would've thought that they weren't the original choices for these roles! The original actor that was supposed to play ZZS dropped out and focused on another more popular project due to delays resulted from covid and the original actor that was supposed to play WKX thought he didn't fit the role and chose to play a supporting character instead.
3. The acting/story plots
Both main leads are very talented actors that showcased the personalities of their characters perfectly. Not only the main leads, but the side characters and side CPs are great as well. The drama did not drag out the meeting of the two for many eps nor did it have long periods of time where the two are apart from each other. After they meet, they stick together like glue, more like WKX sticking to ZZS and following him everywhere.
Also, a little side note. You know this drama is good when this drama debuted on duoban with an 8.3 and rose to a rating of 8.6 by the end. Duoban is very strict with their ratings as dramas rarely make it past the 8.0 rating. Even the very popular The Untamed debuted at 4.8 and managed to climb up to 7.7.
*Ending spoilers*
**********************************
Now, the ending, there were some loose ends, but since it is a happy ending I will forgive them for that. Youku made it weird by making the happy ending a 7-ish minute special episode and the beginning part of that special looks like a music video. However, I loved the last couple minutes, as it is a mirror of the fight scene they had on the boat at the river. My fave pairing will be missed, but I was happy to see that they managed to successfully cultivate and become immortals living in seclusion together on the snow mountain!
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The most touching BL adaption
Just finished watching this drama last night and I cannot get it out of my mind!At first, I didn't have high expectation on BL adaption. I have read the original novel Faraway Wanderers by Priest and quite like it.
When I heard that there would be adaption of the novel, I check the actors and thought that they look kinda good as the characters in my imagination. Therefore, I decided to give it a try. And this one is surprisingly much better than my expectation. I got into it more and more and chased the drama everyday (it never happened before).
Although the story is quite different from the original novel but they successfully keep the essence of it. The part I like the most in the novel is the relationship between 2 male leads and the drama has well delivered it. This is the story about 2 mature man who have done many bad things in their life and have no joy to keep on living. They are both ready to die but they found each others. That when they found their salvation and desire to live. Their relationship is subtle but deep. It was built with mutual understanding and sympathy, no chaos, no misunderstood and always support each others without doubts. I think the drama expressed this relationship well. The two main actors Gong Jun and Zhang Zhe Han also portrait the characters really well. I was touched by their acting skills and great chemistry.
Other aspects of the drama such as costume, martial arts, action scenes are also very well done. Only the VFX is not good at some scenes and that is understandable since they didn't have big investment. But overall, they still managed to produce a beautiful work.
I want to express my appreciation to all the actors, staff and crews of Word of Honor for their dedication to make an excellent drama! Thank you for giving me great experience and beautiful memories with your drama!
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Absolute MASTERPIECE.
I’ve never watched two males on the screen with such intriguing allure before. Their chemistry is off the chart and even better than most male/female relationships. The way they speak their love language through the intensity of their eyes, the intricate words and subtle touches- all absolutely beautiful.Acting: Gong Jun’s best work so far. You feel his pain and the complexity of his character all through his eyes and facial expressions. All of his scenes are truly remarkable. His portrayal of the cunning, playful and remarkable Wen Ke Xing is breathtaking. He is stunning in this drama. I am taken away by how he could easily transition between all these complicated emotions so effortlessly. I am definitely a huge fan, now.
Speaking of, Zhang Zhe Han’s portrayal of the righteous and distinguished Zhou Zhi is enough to last a lifetime. The softness in his eyes and the way he can control the scene with very subtle expressions are amazing. I love how his character develops and the overall story arc.
Storyline: 9/10. Absolutely outstanding. 37 episodes are not enough! We need more!!
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SO BEAUTIFUL OMG‼️‼️
Literally THE BEST!!!!! I’m lost for words♥️♥️♥️♥️ Wish I could give it 100000000/10. I love it soooo much. HIGHLY RECOMMEND! I’ll be rewatching it again and again. I don’t even know how it passed the censorship(all the flirting and touching OMG)??.All of them look so beautiful, and the storyline is very unique. IT ALSO HAS A HAPPY ENDING which I LOVED.
I both laughed and cried while watching this. This drama will stay with me for a very VERY long time. I don’t know how it passed the censorship, but this is the best costume BL out there and nothing tops it. I never skipped and watched every second of it. I wish I could erase my memory and watch it for the first time again.
I was so mad at myself for waiting this long to watch it because I was so skeptical about it at first. This drama is just PERFECTION and very unpredictable.
The love A’Zu and Old Wen have for one another is very VERY clear.
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this is how I fell in love with wenzhou
I watched this not knowing I would be crying at the pain all of them endure and screaming at the ultimate villain every time I see him. My heart broke ? seeing those two get married and then murdered and I felt bed for scorpion king all he wanted was someone who loved him. The ending was so frustrating why couldn't We Kexiang tell zhou Zishu that he was going to fake his death and then after Kexiang's hair turned white the abrupt flash forward of chenling telling his disciples the story of WenZhou I thought Kexiang died. My heart was reading so fast I had to take a walk to calm down and couldn't sleep that night.Was this review helpful to you?
Stick through the beginning and it's wonderful
I was a little worried going in to WoH because I had kept hearing such great things about it, and I was concerned it wouldn't live up to the hype. However, after getting through the beginning of the show, each episode started to get better and better.WoH is about Zhou Zishu, who is the chief of Window to Heaven. Window to Heaven is an elite team of assassins who take out corrupt officials in the martial arts world. However, Zhou Zishu's family has all left or been killed, so he decides it's time fo rhim to leave too. However, in order to leave Window to Heaven, he must imbed the seven nails of torment into his body, which leave him with only three years to live. He decides he will spend these three years wandering the world, drinking good wine, and basking in the sun. However, it seems that his remaining years won't be so peaceful - he gets wrapped up in saving a child, Chengling, after his clan is killed, and Wen Kexing, a fellow martial artist, is following them and trying to befriend the two. Zhou Zishu is wary of Wen Kexing, but over time the two become closer and jointly help to teach Chengling. But it seems the entire martial arts world is against them as everyone tries to get their hands on the Glazed Armor, which opens an armory said to hold all the secrets of the martial arts world.
Overall, this series was great. I honestly don't know how the relationship between Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing got past any kind of censorship, because calling someone your soulmate THAT many times is not something two homies do. It was great to watch their "friendship" develop over the series, and as secrets come to light, we see that friendship tested. I do think the "I'm going to sacrifice myself to protect you!" got a bit old after the (I don't know) 5th time?? But it truly went to show how much these characters learned to trust and rely on one another. I do think my biggest complaint about this show is that I think it would have been much more interesting if it was told from the perspective of Wen Kexing instead of Zhou Zishu. I found Wen Kexing to be a much more interesting character, and I feel like we could have gotten a little more exploration of his character. Still, I would highly recommend this one! BUT BE SURE TO WATCH THE EPILOGUE AFTER YOU FINISH EP 36!
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Main characters seem almost like a side story as the plot does not actually revolve around them and all they do is wander around and talk, talk, talk some more.
The chemistry is nonexistent. Dramatic moments have no impact, because there's no built up or base for them. Those two work as friends, but I don't see anything that would turn this into a b/romance. Which would not be a problem, if said bromance was not pushed into my face at every turn. 5 eps in and they are soulmates *facepalm* On what basis?
Also, that is of course very subjective, but the costumes are horrible. Both of them look pretty much ridiculous. Wen Kexin looks like he's a part of a circus and Zhou Zishu like he run out right after taking a bath.
The only part I had no problem with is acting. I liked ZZH's stoic and subtle acting and GJ did a good job on his character as well. But unfortunately, good acting can't save a boring story.
I probably would have finished it on fast forward, if not for the Legend of Fei. I have already wasted a lot of time on one boring drama of the same caliber, I don't want to waste more.
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I have become the biggest fangirl!!
I usually write my review in sequence and avoid writing reviews in the middle before finishing. But I am just so obsessed with this drama that I have to speak about this. Word of Honor is the best BL-adapted dramas I have watched so far. In fact, I have lost sleep and working time in the last few days because of this drama.Don't get me wrong, I still love and fangirl the Untamed, but Untamed was "just" a great drama, one of the best in China's drama history. But with regards to BL, I still had to get all the fangirl elements from many alternative sources (e.g., all the interpretation videos, the audio production, the original novel, etc.), while with Word of Honor, there is no need to look elsewhere. Everything is there, right in front of your eyes, in 3D, in sound, no need for imagination!! Sometimes we wonder, was there even a censorship committee? The makers only over-dubbed some of the too apparent lines but then put the original source shots with original words spoken online for us fans to see! OMG! And for me, that is reason enough to put this as no 1 of the BL-adapted dramas.
Some prefer to have BL elements slightly more settled where you have to read between the lines. I don't. But that's everyone's preference.
Now to the main content of this review. There are three elements that make up great BL-drama: Sticking to the original source material, suitable plus good-looking main leads, the chemistry between the two main leads (we called this the CP-Feel).
The first point, sticking to the source material: Unfortunately, many great BL-adaptions are downgraded or even destroyed because their adaptations are entirely beyond recognition. Why would they do this despite knowing that there is a natural flow of fans who will watch this because they like the original novel? Of course, we can always blame the China censorship, but that should not be an excuse for a bad script. There are many examples that showed us that.
I haven't read the original material (but definitely intend to check this out after drama), but I have heard from multiple sources that the drama is very close to the original material. Not only that, it added to the original source and expanded the plots of supporting and main characters even further to make it even better. For instance, the fact that both male leads know from childhood is something that was not in the original novel. In the book, Wen Ke Xing is into handsome men (also because he is gay) and therefore started to follow Zhou Zi Shu out of curiosity. This would have made his character shallow. But this change not only put WKX's personality in a better light but also circumvents the pronounced gay element: two birds with one stone. I found out that the scriptwriter is a big fan of Priest, and you can feel the love and delicacy she has put into this work. In fact, a lot of details you can only notice once you watch this drama a second time. And don't worry, you won't get bored even watching it n-times.
Second point: suitable plus good-looking male leads: there is no denying that both leads are delicacies for the eyes. Both leads have had some years of experience, but none of them were that famous at that point in time. I even heard that Gong Jun's acting is rather wooden and of low-quality. Well, not in Word of Honor. He seems to have found his natural element. All the eying, evil smiles and small gestures are on the point. Also, Zhang Zhe Han, although he seems to be slightly stiff in the first six episodes, his expressions become much more vivid and soft after that. I am also very impressed with the gap he showed before and after the disguise - both from acting and from make-up; I really believed these are two different actors! It is said that the scriptwriter asks the director to find someone who has edgy and sharp facial features for ZZS and someone who has soft and slander features for WKX. I have to say the team did a great job picking the perfect actors for the roles. One cannot imagine someone else playing these roles.
Finally, the last point and most important: the CP-Feel:
The biggest thing you worry about in a BL adaption is that both actors cannot act out their affection naturally because it is just awkward. But that's no issue in Word of Honor. I only knew later that GJ's first major acting role was in an actual BL movie. It got taken down because of censorship issues. This explains a lot of his very natural and open form of acting as the "lover-hunter." And you can find this in all the apparent expressions he makes when eying his beloved. Of course, many of the gestures would have come from the master-level instructions of the directors. On the surface, WKX seems to be a witty, sometimes cute, and confident character. But we all know that this character’s dark and mad side which is feared by everyone will be slowly revealed. Will ZZS’s warmth save WKX from his despair? My anticipation rises to the maximum when thinking about the upcoming reveal of this most interesting and deep character.
On the other hand, it is also ZZS's set-up, starting off cold and indifferent towards the temptations of WKX, slowly opens up like a beautiful flower. This slow change in attitude is perfectly shown in his facial expressions, word choice, and gestures in response to WKX. Again, another mastery by Zhang ZZH, the director, and the writer! There is also a slight gap between his mostly cold sober side and sometimes dorky side + loving side that reveal themselves at times. It is like finding a treasure that brings me to smile. Both of the characters, putting together, brings this big explosion of sparks from whom I just cannot get enough.
There are many other great aspects of this drama that I won't go into details: e.g., great music, well-choreographed fighting scenes, well-framed shots, a terrifically tragic side love-line, in-depth supporting characters including even villains.
Certainly, there are some flaws (e.g. the first episode is slightly boring, the entry of clans and characters is too quick, and can be confusing, the low-quality CG, and some acting of the main characters can still be improved). However, these weaknesses just become so insignificant that I just cannot rate this drama with a rational mind anymore. In fact, I think the makers spent their little money on the right things (camera angles and costumes instead of the not-so-important ones (using the same sceneries for multiple scenes).
Now, I just can hope the team will do this drama justice and carry this quality, pacing, and acting into the second half of this drama. This will hopefully create some history for the Chinese BL-drama fandom.
*Edits after watching the full drama
There are a few plot holes, poor editing, and out-of-character behavior in the last episodes (particular episodes 31 and 32) that have made me downgrading the drama from a 10 to a 9.5. However, in my heart, this is still the best drama I have seen so far and really deserves a special place. I am particularly happy with the character development and acting of ZZH as ZZS, truly a man with 2000 layers of ashes.
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