unefemmegigi
Baltimore
This review may contain spoilers
Hampered By Censorship -- And I Don't Mean The BL Romance
**WARNING FOR SPOILERS**
I have several problems with this drama, and they all stem from how poorly it treats the source material. I really don't agree with many of the changes made to it, and I don't just mean the obvious stripping away of the gay relationship between WWX and LWJ -- that was flat-out inevitable given China's policies, there was no way around that, so there's no use complaining about it. The bromance was just as touching and intimate, regardless. But the plot changes in regard to demonic cultivation really annoyed me, especially when I discovered they were made to satisfy further censorship requirements regarding morality. WWX not CREATING demonic cultivation the way he did in the novel really bothered me because that was a central plot point, hence the novel's title translation Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation. Wen Ruohan being a demonic cultivator in the drama was a cheap plot device for a villain, in my opinion. In fact, the entire invention of the Yin Iron was a cheap plot device. I liked that they increased the role of the female characters such as Wen Qing, but I didn't like that they increased the role of Xue Yang, that was really bizarre and unnecessary. Honestly just listing out the little changes doesn't really illustrate my point, but I feel like these changes add up overall to make the story cornier and campier than the original, reducing the story from a more three-dimensional feel in the novel to a more flattened two-dimensional feel in the drama.
The acting however is really well done, the music is gorgeous, and the casting is very good. It was lovely to see the characters and settings and worlds come to life. These actors definitely ARE these characters now, and they did a phenomenal job. The dynamics between the characters are top-tier and really well depicted. I'm just tired of seeing amazing web novels made with no creative censorship and then adapted by a government with intense censorship in place. I don't know that really doing the best job is possible with those restrictions.
I have several problems with this drama, and they all stem from how poorly it treats the source material. I really don't agree with many of the changes made to it, and I don't just mean the obvious stripping away of the gay relationship between WWX and LWJ -- that was flat-out inevitable given China's policies, there was no way around that, so there's no use complaining about it. The bromance was just as touching and intimate, regardless. But the plot changes in regard to demonic cultivation really annoyed me, especially when I discovered they were made to satisfy further censorship requirements regarding morality. WWX not CREATING demonic cultivation the way he did in the novel really bothered me because that was a central plot point, hence the novel's title translation Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation. Wen Ruohan being a demonic cultivator in the drama was a cheap plot device for a villain, in my opinion. In fact, the entire invention of the Yin Iron was a cheap plot device. I liked that they increased the role of the female characters such as Wen Qing, but I didn't like that they increased the role of Xue Yang, that was really bizarre and unnecessary. Honestly just listing out the little changes doesn't really illustrate my point, but I feel like these changes add up overall to make the story cornier and campier than the original, reducing the story from a more three-dimensional feel in the novel to a more flattened two-dimensional feel in the drama.
The acting however is really well done, the music is gorgeous, and the casting is very good. It was lovely to see the characters and settings and worlds come to life. These actors definitely ARE these characters now, and they did a phenomenal job. The dynamics between the characters are top-tier and really well depicted. I'm just tired of seeing amazing web novels made with no creative censorship and then adapted by a government with intense censorship in place. I don't know that really doing the best job is possible with those restrictions.
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