1
AleksandraSucur
All alone in a foreign land, I am twice as homesick on this day. / Fear not the lack...
... of friends as you go along! There cannot be a connoisseur not loving your song
These verses are all about the protagonist, Yang Ling, a salesman with great social skills, playful, funny and imperfect, but possessing a deep sense of justice and care for the people around him, projected (via video-game) in the isekai-fantasy Dafeng world, with a new identity: Xu Qi'an, a low constable and nephew of a middle-poor commoner Xu family, destined to progressively become the greatest hero of that empire. He has no time to dwell upon the new environment because he immediately finds himself in danger, imprisoned, facing the task to detect the truth behind the accusation of silver robbery with death sentence pending upon his uncle. A strong start (with excellent camera-work) for a highly engaging plot which will gradully depict the Dafeng, the relevant characters, build up relations (friendship, camaraderie, love and attachments...) and branch out interesting twists and subplots, while keeping you constantly at the edge of your seat or loughing like crazy.
The Dafeng world resembles the parallel universe of Joy of Life: Guardians of GotD and Overwatch Department from JOL have similar tasks and objectives (intelligence, investigation, keeping in check power undercurrents...). Its head Wei Gong develops a strong attachment with XQ, similar to Chen Pingping's towards Fan Xian. Although the genres of two dramas slightly differ (being GoD more isekai, more comedy and less angsty than JoL), Xu Qian and FX both basically "rise up the ranks" through merits/tasks they've accomplished. Heroic vibe is also highly similar (relaxed, not taken too seriously, with a lot of comedy). XQ and FX are both righteous (well, that's why they are heroes) but they also both possess certain "rebel" traits, because of their intollerance towards injustice. Finally, both heroes smartly use Chinese classical poetry, though this use serves also to strongly differentiate one from another: while Fan Xian is a poetry nerd, capable of reciting hundreds of them in just one night, XQ barely remembers two verses of each (as most of the people do, I assume), mixes them up (as he mixed the verses in the title: the melancholic Wang Wei's "Nostalgia for My Brothers on the Double Ninth Day" with encouraging Gao Shi's couplet from “Farewell to Dong Da” - wherever one goes, he/she will always find friends and people able to appreciate his/her value), flows that make this streetsmart, thoughtful, practical, perserverant and competitive character even more relatable.
The scriptwriting is excellent both on plot-development and characters-building side, and it skillfully interweave comic moments, deeper thoughts on human relations, magic and subplots into a (gradually, more) complex tapestry story. There are no dull moments and a viewer feels various pieces of the puzzle dropping at the right moment in the right place, hinting towards the shape of a "bigger picture". It isn't a 10, only because the last third of the drama feels slightly rushed (but this is due to the 40-episodes limit for C-productions) with a few things happening off-screen. Deng Ke's direction is a full 10 and many moments, actions and thoughts ("equivalent exchange", "take it slowly"...) will remain deeply impressed in your memory, inviting you to rewatch them (as well as wishing a S2!). The comprehensive aesthetics and (non invasive) music are also well chosen. All the actors deliver perfectly their characters with a few of them having a chance to stand out brilliantly, not only delivering but becoming the character they were performing.
I invite you also to rate this drama positively after watching it, if not for other reasons... as a (minimum) equivalent exchange for the wonder and lols it provided you. It will make you Dafengers and when you'll hear: "Do no wrong!", you'll be tempted to reply: "And fear no Guardians!"
These verses are all about the protagonist, Yang Ling, a salesman with great social skills, playful, funny and imperfect, but possessing a deep sense of justice and care for the people around him, projected (via video-game) in the isekai-fantasy Dafeng world, with a new identity: Xu Qi'an, a low constable and nephew of a middle-poor commoner Xu family, destined to progressively become the greatest hero of that empire. He has no time to dwell upon the new environment because he immediately finds himself in danger, imprisoned, facing the task to detect the truth behind the accusation of silver robbery with death sentence pending upon his uncle. A strong start (with excellent camera-work) for a highly engaging plot which will gradully depict the Dafeng, the relevant characters, build up relations (friendship, camaraderie, love and attachments...) and branch out interesting twists and subplots, while keeping you constantly at the edge of your seat or loughing like crazy.
The Dafeng world resembles the parallel universe of Joy of Life: Guardians of GotD and Overwatch Department from JOL have similar tasks and objectives (intelligence, investigation, keeping in check power undercurrents...). Its head Wei Gong develops a strong attachment with XQ, similar to Chen Pingping's towards Fan Xian. Although the genres of two dramas slightly differ (being GoD more isekai, more comedy and less angsty than JoL), Xu Qian and FX both basically "rise up the ranks" through merits/tasks they've accomplished. Heroic vibe is also highly similar (relaxed, not taken too seriously, with a lot of comedy). XQ and FX are both righteous (well, that's why they are heroes) but they also both possess certain "rebel" traits, because of their intollerance towards injustice. Finally, both heroes smartly use Chinese classical poetry, though this use serves also to strongly differentiate one from another: while Fan Xian is a poetry nerd, capable of reciting hundreds of them in just one night, XQ barely remembers two verses of each (as most of the people do, I assume), mixes them up (as he mixed the verses in the title: the melancholic Wang Wei's "Nostalgia for My Brothers on the Double Ninth Day" with encouraging Gao Shi's couplet from “Farewell to Dong Da” - wherever one goes, he/she will always find friends and people able to appreciate his/her value), flows that make this streetsmart, thoughtful, practical, perserverant and competitive character even more relatable.
The scriptwriting is excellent both on plot-development and characters-building side, and it skillfully interweave comic moments, deeper thoughts on human relations, magic and subplots into a (gradually, more) complex tapestry story. There are no dull moments and a viewer feels various pieces of the puzzle dropping at the right moment in the right place, hinting towards the shape of a "bigger picture". It isn't a 10, only because the last third of the drama feels slightly rushed (but this is due to the 40-episodes limit for C-productions) with a few things happening off-screen. Deng Ke's direction is a full 10 and many moments, actions and thoughts ("equivalent exchange", "take it slowly"...) will remain deeply impressed in your memory, inviting you to rewatch them (as well as wishing a S2!). The comprehensive aesthetics and (non invasive) music are also well chosen. All the actors deliver perfectly their characters with a few of them having a chance to stand out brilliantly, not only delivering but becoming the character they were performing.
I invite you also to rate this drama positively after watching it, if not for other reasons... as a (minimum) equivalent exchange for the wonder and lols it provided you. It will make you Dafengers and when you'll hear: "Do no wrong!", you'll be tempted to reply: "And fear no Guardians!"
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